Local Spotlight

🔎 How Leah Riddell’s SignAble Vi5ion Is Making Kingston More Inclusive

Kingston & Area Local News

📱 A Kingston Councillor Built the City Its Own Public-Service App
🏡 A 128-Bed Elder Care Home Opens in Tyendinaga, a Promise Decades in the Making
🍪 The Tragically Hip Now Have Their Own Ice Cream: Meet the Tragically Chip

Community Champions

🍁 Three Kingstonians Join the Order of Canada
🎓 Nine More Limestone Grads Land Major Scholarships
👗 “I’m Here to Rescue a Graduation Dress”: A Selby Community Rallies

New Events In and Around Kingston

🎸 The World’s Greatest Traveling Wilburys Tribute | The Spire | July 2
🧸 Teddy Bear Hospital at KFPL | Central & Calvin Park Branches | July 7 & 10
🍶 Miss Emily Stars in “In the Key of Blue” | Isabel Bader Centre | July 10 to 12
🐟 Aquaculture: Farming the Waters | Great Lakes Museum | to October 18

Events Calendar

It’s gotten too long to include here in the summary! Click Events Calendar to see so many great events!

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Leah Riddell believes communication should never leave anyone out, and she has built a whole business around that belief. A Deaf entrepreneur, ASL instructor, and sign-language illustrator, Leah founded SignAble Vi5ion to teach businesses, schools, and organizations how to genuinely connect with the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community, one sign at a time. What started here in Kingston now reaches well beyond it, helping workplaces and classrooms across the region and further afield become spaces where everyone can take part.

A little over two years in, her work has already earned a Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification and a City of Kingston accessibility award. But the awards are only half of it. The real story is why Leah does this work, what true inclusion looks like when a community actually commits to it, and the moments that keep her going. Do yourself a favour and read this one.

Read the full story: 🤟 Inclusion That Actually Works: How Leah Riddell Built SignAble Vi5ion from the Inside Out

Ever wanted to snap a photo of a pothole and send it straight to the city? Meadowbrook-Strathcona councillor Jeff McLaren has built a progressive web app called Kingston City Works to do exactly that, letting residents photograph and geolocate a problem like a downed tree limb and file it in seconds. He calls it a public-good civic technology project, dreamed up after a trip to Finland and meant to augment the City of Kingston’s slower comment and complaint channels. Fellow councillors Conny Glenn, Lisa Osanic, and Gary Oosterhof are listed as operators. It is not live yet, and the city is reviewing it for privacy and security, but McLaren hopes to hand it over.

Read the full story at: The Kingston Whig-Standard

After decades of advocacy, Mohawk Elders can finally receive long-term care in their own community. Tsi Thonwatihsnye’s Elder Care Home, a 128-bed licensed facility whose Mohawk name means "the place they take care of them," opened in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory with a June 23 ribbon-cutting that drew more than 250 people. Built with culturally rooted care, gardens, and walking trails, it is the first of its kind here. Chief R. Donald Maracle of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte called it more than a building, a promise to our Elders. Managed by UniversalCare Canada, the home expects its first residents later this summer.

Read the full story at: Kingstonist

Kingston’s own Tragically Hip just got the sweetest tribute. Kawartha Dairy teamed up with the band on a limited-edition flavour called The Tragically Chip, a bourbon-forward maple-whisky ice cream loaded with cherries and chocolate chips, and yes, the band approved the name. It landed the week of June 22, just in time for Canada Day, marking both the 150th birthday of Bobcaygeon (the village behind the Hip’s Juno-winning song and home of Kawartha Dairy) and the 10th anniversary of the band’s 2016 farewell tour. Surviving members even helped taste-test, and a portion of proceeds goes to Breakfast Club of Canada. Consider it a delicious warm-up to August’s Forever Hip celebrations.

Read the full story at: The Kingston Whig-Standard

Kingston is celebrating three of its own. Announced Friday, June 26, Bhavana Varma, Nancy Nicol, and Dr. Stephen Archer were each appointed Members of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honours. Varma, past president and CEO of United Way in KFL&A, was recognized for a career in the non-profit sector and community service. Nicol earned hers for advancing human rights through activism, research, and documentary filmmaking, including decades documenting 2SLGBTQI+ advocacy. And Archer, an internationally recognized cardiologist at Queen’s University, was honoured for his contributions to cardiovascular medicine and research. Three well-earned nods for people who have given so much to this community.

Read the full story at: Kingstonist

The good news from Limestone District School Board just keeps coming. Beyond the grads we already celebrated, nine more local students have landed major post-secondary scholarships. Ernestown’s Hayleigh Knetsch earned a Queen’s Promise Scholarship worth up to $100,000, while Sydenham’s Kayl Vankoughnett and Ava Sauve each secured a Queen’s Chernoff Family Award. Over at LCVI, Yuyue Feng picked up a $30,400 Schulich scholarship to Calgary, Hannah Kim won a $25,000 Horatio Alger honour, and Minh Ho, Tooba Waseem, Malika Rouse, and Clara Christopher all earned awards of their own. The Community Foundation for Lennox and Addington also handed out $84,000 in student awards at its "Take It for Granted" evening in Selby. Congratulations, all.

Read the full story at: Limestone District School Board

On the morning of her Grade 8 graduation, 13-year-old Remi Martin’s big day nearly slipped away. A hazardous-materials incident forced her family to evacuate their Selby home on foot, no vehicle, hours before the ceremony. Then the community showed up. A worker named Stella at nearby ABcann brought water and food, town staff drove the family and their dog Winnie to a shelter at Best & Bash Arena, and Remi’s cousin, Greater Napanee Fire and Rescue firefighter Nathan Bruce, arrived with the best line of the day: well, I’m here to rescue a graduation dress. He drove her back into the evacuation zone to grab it, the family got cleared to return home in time, and Remi made her ceremony after all.

Read the full story at: Kingstonist

Talk about good timing, this one lands the very night this issue does. Legends Revisited brings "The World’s Greatest Tribute to The Traveling Wilburys" to The Spire for one night only on Thursday, July 2, an authentic recreation of the supergroup that was George Harrison, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne, and Bob Dylan. Expect the Wilburys hits plus each legend’s solo classics. Tickets are $69 (plus HST and fees) through the Kingston Grand box office, available at the Kingston Grand Theatre event page.

Got a little one with a well-loved stuffed animal? The Kingston Frontenac Public Library and the Canadian Museum of Health Care are teaming up for a free Teddy Bear Hospital, where kids bring a stuffie in for stories, songs, and a teddy check-up designed to make real doctor visits a little less scary. It runs twice, and registration is required: the Central Branch on Tuesday, July 7, and the Calvin Park Branch on Friday, July 10. It is open to children of all ages, so sign up at the Central Branch or Calvin Park Branch event pages.

Kingston’s own Miss Emily (Juno-nominated Emily Fennell) co-stars in In the Key of Blue, an original musical built around the songs of Blue Rodeo and written by Prince Edward County’s Mike Trites. Backed by a live band and musical director Daisy Box, the show comes to the Isabel Bader Centre for three nights, July 10 to 12, after premiering in Picton. Profits benefit Picton’s Regent Theatre. Get tickets for the Kingston run at The Isabel.

Ever wondered how we farm fish, shellfish, and even seaweed? The Great Lakes Museum’s newest exhibit, "Aquaculture: Farming the Waters," dives into underwater farming, with ties to the fishing communities of Prince Edward County. On loan from Ingenium, Canada’s museums of science and innovation, it opened June 11 and runs through October 18, so there is plenty of summer left to catch it.

Read the full story at: Kingston Daily

🎸 World’s Greatest Tribute to The Traveling Wilburys  |  The Spire, 82 Sydenham St  |  July 2

🔬 Exploration Days  |  Babcock Mill (Odessa) & Bath Museum  |  Thursdays & Fridays, July 2 to Aug 21

🎂 Macpherson House 200th Birthday Bash  |  Macpherson House, Napanee  |  July 3

🎭 Come Play by the Lake One-Act Play Festival  |  Domino Theatre, 52 Church St  |  July 3–4

🎮 Eh! Game Expo  |  Slush Puppie Place, 1 The Tragically Hip Way  |  July 3–5

⛵ Summerfest Regatta + Swim the Lake  |  Kingston Yacht Club, 1 Maitland St  |  July 4

💜 Lavender Bloom Fest  |  Lavender Queen Lavender Farm, Yarker  |  July 4–5

💚 Canadian Injury Prevention Day Illumination  |  City landmark, Kingston  |  July 6

🧸 Teddy Bear Hospital  |  KFPL Central Branch  |  July 7

🤹 Kingston Buskers Rendezvous  |  Springer Market Square & downtown  |  July 9–12

🧸 Teddy Bear Hospital  |  KFPL Calvin Park Branch  |  July 10

🎶 In the Key of Blue (Miss Emily)  |  Isabel Bader Centre  |  July 10–12

🌅 A Summer Evening in the Islands  |  Rockport Barn, 28 Old River Rd, Rockport  |  July 16

🎊 Napanee Connect Block Party  |  Market Square, Greater Napanee  |  July 17

🥩 Schnitzel Fundraiser Dinner  |  Golden Links Hall, Harrowsmith  |  July 18

🦋 Remembering by the River  |  Macpherson House, Napanee  |  July 18

🚒 Pull Together for Epilepsy Fire Truck Pull  |  Confederation Park, downtown Kingston  |  July 19

🏊 Loyalist Township Barr Homes Aquatic Centre Opening  |  W.J. Henderson Community Centre, Amherstview  |  July 20

🎨 Kingston Craft & Collectable Show  |  The Kingston Shrine Club, 3260 Princess St  |  July 25

🛍️ Princess Street Promenade  |  Princess Street, Downtown Kingston  |  August 1

🛶 Rideau Canal Lock & Paddle  |  Rideau Canal  |  August 15

⚔️ Ironwood Fantasy Fair  |  The Spire, Kingston  |  August 15

🎸 Forever Hip  |  Springer Market Square  |  August 20–22

🎶 Music Festival in Compton Park  |  Compton Park  |  August 23

🚗 RoadTrip Music Festival  |  Princess Street & Springer Market Square  |  September 12

Ongoing Events

🚤 Rideau Canal Free Lockage  |  Rideau Canal  |  Season open (through Sept 7)

🚢 S.S. Keewatin Tours  |  Great Lakes Museum  |  Season open

🐟 Aquaculture: Farming the Waters  |  Great Lakes Museum  |  to October 18

Ongoing Markets

🥕 Kingston Public Market  |  Springer Market Square, downtown  |  Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays

🥬 Memorial Centre Farmers’ Market  |  303 York St  |  Sundays

🪶 Katarokwi Indigenous Market  |  Springer Market Square  |  Monthly Sundays (June–Sept)

🛠️ Makers at the Mill  |  Babcock Mill, Odessa  |  Sundays (through Oct 18)

🎪 Gananoque Farmers’ Market  |  Town Hall Square, 30 King St E  |  Thursdays

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