🔧 Plenty of People Know Michael Judd. Few Know How Much He Has Done for Kingston.
🍄 What’s That in the Grass? Fungi Season Is Here
🍂 Fall Brush Pickup Is Underway, and the Map Has Changed
🏥 Stephen Sorensen Gives $103,000 for an AI Upgrade to KHSC’s MRI
🗳️ The Votes Are In: Kingston Picks Its 2026 Voter Stickers
🐾 A Surprise Vow Renewal Raised Money for Kingston4Paws Service Dogs
🧸 Awesome Kingston Funds Maya Halton’s 3D-Printed Inclusive Dolls
🧡 The Kind Heart Behind Environmental Services at Providence Care
🌃 Art After Dark | Downtown Kingston | September 25
🎓 2026 Royal Society of Canada Eastern Ontario Symposium | The Isabel | September 25
🥁 Culture Days Drum Circle at Rossland Gardens | Amherst Island | September 26
✈️ Wheels on the Runway | YGK Airport | September 26
🎞️ My Dear Theo | The Screening Room | September 27
🥾 2026 Hike Challenge | Cataraqui Conservation Areas | September 1 to October 31
It’s gotten too long to include here in the summary! Click Events Calendar to see our list for the next few days.
🔦 The Cover
🍄 What’s That in the Grass? Mushroom Season Is Here
An amanita mushroom, likely the yellow form of fly agaric, spotted along the Rideau Trail on September 20. Photo by Les Cseh, Kingston Spotlight.
Les spotted this striking amanita (likely the yellow form of the classic fly agaric) while out on the Rideau Trail on September 20. Fall is peak fruiting season for fungi around Kingston, so expect to see all kinds of caps popping up in lawns, ditches and under the trees over the next few weeks. As eye catching as they are, treat any wild mushroom as a look, don’t touch situation unless you actually know what you’re doing.
Amanitas include some of the most dangerous mushrooms out there, and even an experienced eye can’t always tell species apart on sight alone. Real identification usually takes a spore print, so admire the show and leave the handling to the pros.
🔦 Local Spotlight
🔧 Plenty of People Know Michael Judd. Few Know How Much He Has Done for Kingston.
Michael Judd, community advocate, Kingston. Photo: Janet Trost.
That’s Michael Judd smiling back at you from today’s cover, and if all you know about him is a wave from across Rideau Heights, you are about to learn a lot more. Over four and a half years he has quietly moved more than half a million dollars of donated food and goods through this region, including one single shipment that arrived by the tonne. He also spent a year getting a leaking, abandoned boat out of a Kingston river after nobody else could, and got a provincial law changed along the way. Last year the King recognized his overall volunteer record with a medal. He is also on your ballot this October. Read the full story.
📰 Kingston & Area Local News
🍂 Fall Brush Pickup Is Underway, and the Map Has Changed
City of Kingston’s seasonal brush and leaf collection graphic.
Brush collection starts the week of September 21, and leaf collection kicks in October 26, but the bigger news is that the collection map has changed this year. If you have been putting brush at the curb on the same week for years, double-check before you haul it out, because your week may not be your old week anymore. Find your updated collection week and sign up for a reminder at CityofKingston.ca/Collection.
Read the full story at: City of Kingston
🏥 Stephen Sorensen Gives $103,000 for an AI Upgrade to KHSC’s MRI
An MRI scan takes place at KGH.
Kingston philanthropist Stephen Sorensen has given Kingston Health Sciences Centre $103,000 to add the Siemens Healthineers Deep Resolve AI imaging suite to its 3-Tesla MRI scanner. The upgrade means faster scans, sharper images and more patients seen every day, without a single new machine on the floor. It is Sorensen’s second gift to KHSC this year, after a separate $1.25-million donation to emergency care back in June.
Read the full story at: Kingston Health Sciences Centre
🗳️ The Votes Are In: Kingston Picks Its 2026 Voter Stickers
The winning designs in the City of Kingston’s 2026 voter sticker contest from their website.
Over 60 artists entered and more than 1,200 Kingstonians voted, and the city has its 2026 “I Voted” stickers. Judy O.’s cityscape design and Mavis C.’s “Future Voter” illustration are the two winners, and you will spot them at advance polls and again on election day, October 26.
Read the full story at: City of Kingston
🏆 Community Champions
🐾 A Surprise Vow Renewal Raised Money for Kingston4Paws Service Dogs
Submitted photo, via the Napanee Beaver.
Terry and Eilene Brinklow thought their 60th anniversary party on August 15 was just that: a party. Their daughter had other plans. What the Brinklows walked into was a surprise vow renewal, and the 150 guests who came skipped the gifts entirely, giving instead to Kingston4Paws Service Dogs. Sixty years together and still finding new ways to make it about somebody else.
Read the full story at: Napanee Beaver
🧸 Awesome Kingston Funds Maya Halton’s 3D-Printed Inclusive Dolls
Maya Halton’s 3D-printed, ball-jointed dolls, designed to be more inclusive and representative.
Kingston’s Maya Halton just won the September Awesome Kingston microgrant for a project close to our hearts: 3D-printed, ball-jointed dolls built to actually look like more of the kids who play with them. The grant helps her expand production and make the dolls more accessible to families who have never quite found themselves on a toy shelf before.
Read the full story at: The Awesome Foundation
🧡 The Kind Heart Behind Environmental Services at Providence Care
Scott Phinney, Facilities Coordinator at Providence Care.
Scott Phinney’s job title says environmental services. What he actually does at Providence Care’s AB Smith Homestead House hospice goes well past it: baking for families sitting with someone they love, checking in on colleagues, and doing the small things that make a hard place feel a little more like home. Third of three Providence Care stories we have lined up this cycle, and a good one to lead with.
Read the full story at: Providence Care
👋 The newsletter only goes one way
Twice a week we write, you read, and that’s that. Nothing comes back. The socials are where it actually turns into a conversation: people chime in with what they know, correct us when we get something wrong, and point us at things we would never have found on our own.
There’s also plenty that doesn’t fit here. Events that pop up between issues, photos from around town, the smaller stories that didn’t make the cut.
Come find us wherever you already are:
🆕 New Events In and Around Kingston
🌃 Art After Dark | Downtown Kingston | September 25
Art After Dark event cover photo, Downtown Kingston.
Downtown Kingston’s Art After Dark gallery crawl is back on Friday, September 25. Wander in and out of downtown galleries and studios after hours, meet the artists behind the work, and turn an ordinary Friday night into a proper art walk.
Full details at Downtown Kingston.
🎓 2026 Royal Society of Canada Eastern Ontario Symposium | The Isabel | September 25
The four speakers at the 2026 Royal Society of Canada Eastern Ontario Symposium.
Four members of the Royal Society of Canada take the stage at The Isabel on Friday, September 25, to talk about their research. It is a free public event, with a reception at intermission if you want to keep the conversation going.
Details and registration at The Isabel.
🥁 Culture Days Drum Circle at Rossland Gardens | Amherst Island | September 26
Joanne Macksey, facilitator of the Indigenous Drum Circle and Cultural Experience.
Facilitator Joanne Macksey, who is of Métis ancestry, leads this free outdoor drum circle at Rossland Gardens on Amherst Island as part of Culture Days 2026. It opens with a smudge and incorporates the Four Directions, and no drumming experience is needed. Refreshments and a small-batch preserves tasting follow. Rain date is Sunday, September 27.
Advance registration is required and spots are limited, with accessibility arrangements available. Register at Rossland Gardens.
✈️ Wheels on the Runway | YGK Airport | September 26
The SkyHawks parachute team performs at a past Wheels on the Runway.
The fifth annual Wheels on the Runway lands at YGK Airport on Saturday, September 26, presented by Hartington Equipment in support of United Way KFL&A. Expect the SkyHawks parachute team (weather permitting), Kubota tractors, aircraft, farm equipment, CN Little Obie train rides for the kids, a PumpHouse Museum passport stamp trail and a draw for a sightseeing flight. Admission is by donation, and every dollar goes to United Way KFL&A.
No pets except service animals. Parking is a $20 minimum donation, so consider one of the two free Kingston Transit shuttle routes instead. Details at the City of Kingston.
🎞️ My Dear Theo | The Screening Room | September 27
The official poster for My Dear Theo.
Ukrainian filmmaker Alisa Kovalenko’s documentary My Dear Theo, built from video diaries she sent her son from the front line, screens at The Screening Room on Sunday, September 27. Queen’s University Ukrainian Students’ Association and the Ukrainian Canadian Club of Kingston are presenting. Ages 13 and up.
Tickets at Eventbrite.
🥾 2026 Hike Challenge | Cataraqui Conservation Areas | September 1 to October 31
Two hikers on a fall trail for the Cataraqui Conservation Foundation’s Hike Challenge.
The Cataraqui Conservation Foundation’s fall Hike Challenge runs through October 31 across its conservation areas. Lace up, pick your trail and see how many kilometres you can rack up before the leaves are gone.
Details at Cataraqui Conservation.
📅 Events Calendar
🗓️ The following is just for the next few days. The full Kingston events calendar lives here.
What’s Happening the Next Few Days
🪵 Fall Brush Pickup Starts, and the Map Has Changed | Across Kingston | Week of September 21
🍷 Italian Wine Tasting and Dinner Pairing | The Seniors Centre | September 24
🤝 Enhancing Care Program Talk for Dementia Care Partners | The Seniors Centre | September 24
🗳️ All-Candidates Meeting: Countryside District | Online, advance registration required | September 24 | 🔦 Read our story
🎓 2026 Royal Society of Canada Eastern Ontario Symposium | The Isabel | September 25
🌃 Art After Dark | Downtown Kingston | September 25
🎷 The Jazz Room: A Journey to the Heart of New Orleans | The Spire | September 25
🎶 Sound Escapes: Retro Kings | The Seniors Centre | September 25
💀 Domino Theatre: I Hate Hamlet | Domino Theatre, 52 Church St | September 10 to 26 | 🔦 Read our story
🎖️ Napanee Legion Week | Legion Branch 137, Napanee | September 20 to 26
🥞 Breakfast on the Farm | River Valley Cattle Company, Newburgh | September 26
✈️ Wheels on the Runway | YGK Airport | September 26
🎸 Guitars ’n Cars | Downtown Napanee | September 26
🥁 Culture Days Drum Circle at Rossland Gardens | Rossland Gardens, Amherst Island | September 26
🖌️ Culture Days at the Tett | Tett Centre | September 26
🏡 Culture Days at Fairfield Gutzeit House | Fairfield Gutzeit House, Bath | September 26
🖼️ Bath Artfest | Centennial Park, Bath | September 26
🦇 Bats, Birds and Housing: Build a Bat House for Local Wildlife | 212 Church St, Bath | September 26
🌳 TD Tree Days at Lemoine Point | Lemoine Point Conservation Area | September 26
🍄 Foraging for Local Wild Food | KFPL Isabel Turner Branch | September 26
🌈 Vibrant Voices: A Song Circle for the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community and Allies | KFPL Central Branch | September 26
🌙 Up Close with the Moon | L&A County Dark Sky Viewing Area, Erinsville | September 26
🏋️ Fitness Frenzy | Various City recreation facilities | September 21 to 27
🚗 QMC Kingston Car Show presented by Wraptors Kingston | Springer Market Square | September 27
🪶 Beyond Land Acknowledgements: From Words to Transformative Change, With John A. Olthuis | The Spire, Upper Hall | September 27
🍕 Kingscourt Street Festival: Potluck and Pizza | Fourth Avenue, Kingscourt | September 27
🎞️ My Dear Theo Documentary Screening | The Screening Room | September 27
🎻 Surprise! Kingston Symphony With Angela Cheng | The Isabel | September 27
📖 WritersFest Kick-Off: Sculpted by Storms, Michelle Good with Shelagh Rogers | The Isabel | September 30
📚 WritersFest Thursday: fantasy, personal essays, nature writing and the Short Story Showcase | Kingston Marriott | October 1
🎭 Ontario Culture Days in Prince Edward County | Prince Edward County | September 18 to October 2
📚 WritersFest Friday: Helen Humphreys and Judith Thompson, Wayne Johnston, and a free night at the RCHA Club | Kingston Marriott and the RCHA Club | October 2
Know of something we should add? Let us know.
🗓️ The full Kingston events calendar lives here.
BTW, if you don’t want to receive this anymore, please help all the subscribers by just using the Unsubscribe link at the bottom instead of marking this as SPAM… remember, you did subscribe ;-)
All feedback and suggestions are appreciated!
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Email Les at [email protected]
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