🪶 Who Is LodgePole Arts Alliance? The Indigenous Arts Charity Dreaming Big at Lemoine Point
🕯️ Standing Together After the Belleville Synagogue Attack
🌙 Islamic History Month Marks Its 20th Year in Kingston
📚 KFPL Wants Your Feedback, and the Survey Closes Wednesday
🏃 Terry Fox Runs Across the Region Raise Big, and Howe Island More Than Doubles Its Goal
🏄 Paddleboarders Raise Nearly $17,000 for the Maltby Centre
🧸 Kahwá:tsire Brings Indigenous-Led Child and Family Programs to Providence Village
🧡 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation | Confederation Park | September 30
📚 KWF Kick-Off: Michelle Good Opens Kingston WritersFest | The Isabel | September 30
🎃 Forman Farms Pumpkin Smashing and Corn Maze | Forman Farms, Seeley’s Bay | October 3 and 4
📖 Kingston WritersFest Day 1: The Short Story Showcase and More | Kingston Marriott | October 1
📖 Kingston WritersFest Day 2: Our Reconstructions and More | Kingston Marriott | October 2
📖 Kingston WritersFest Day 3: The Inbetween Leader and More | Kingston Marriott | October 3
📖 Kingston WritersFest Day 4: Grease on the Palms Closes the Festival | Kingston Marriott | October 4
It’s gotten too long to include here in the summary! Click Events Calendar to see our list for the next few days.
🔦 Local Spotlight
🪶 Who Is LodgePole Arts Alliance? The Indigenous Arts Charity Dreaming Big at Lemoine Point
Lemoine Point Farm from above, with its stone house, barn and water tower among the fields and woods. Photo courtesy of Aanii Nichii Drones.
That's Lemoine Point Farm from above: a stone house, a white barn, a rust-red water tower and its own stretch of Lake Ontario shoreline. The City of Kingston bought it this year. Now a national, Indigenous-led arts charity wants to buy it from the City, and it has big plans for those fields and buildings. We heard the story from LodgePole Arts Alliance's Dr. Terri-Lynn Brennan, on a spring Jane's Walk and a follow-up call: who they are, why this land matters, and what they're bringing to Kingston WritersFest this week. Read the full story.
📰 Kingston & Area Local News
🕯️ Standing Together After the Belleville Synagogue Attack
The sanctuary window of Belleville’s Sons of Jacob Synagogue. Photo via the Sons of Jacob Synagogue website.
The attack on Belleville’s Sons of Jacob Synagogue on Yom Kippur landed close to home here. Kingston Jewish Council president Debbie Fitzerman had a friend inside. Rabbi Erin Polansky of Beth Israel Congregation calls Kingston’s Jewish community an extended family that nobody will divide, and to close the holiday her congregation walked together from the synagogue down to the lake, with Kingston’s police chief and officers alongside. Mayor Bryan Paterson posted his support, and the Thousand Islands Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (the local Quakers) pledged to stand with their Jewish neighbours and speak out against hatred.
Read the full story at: Kingston Whig-Standard and Kingstonist
🌙 Islamic History Month Marks Its 20th Year in Kingston
City Hall glows green for Islamic History Month, and it happens again on Oct. 3. Photo: Islamic Society of Kingston.
October is Islamic History Month in Kingston for the 20th year in a row, and this year’s theme is one you can actually go and look at: Islamic Calligraphy: A Living Legacy of Faith, Art, and Expression. City Hall glows green on Saturday, October 3. The Islamic Centre of Kingston on Sydenham Road opens its doors on Sunday, October 25, with calligraphy on display and local artisans on hand. Then on Thursday, November 5, you can pick up the pen yourself at a workshop with calligrapher Jamal Saeed at KFPL’s Central Branch.
Read the full story at: Kingstonist
📚 KFPL Wants Your Feedback, and the Survey Closes Wednesday
Five minutes, one survey, and a shot at a $50 Visa gift card before Sept. 30. Graphic from kfpl.ca.
The Kingston Frontenac Public Library wants to hear what’s working and what isn’t, from programs and collections to the buildings themselves and the help at the desk. It only takes a few minutes, it closes Wednesday, September 30, and finishing it enters you in a draw for a $50 Visa gift card. If you have ever wished your branch did one thing differently, this is the easiest way to say so: take the KFPL survey.
Read the full story at: Kingston Frontenac Public Library
🏆 Community Champions
🏃 Terry Fox Runs Across the Region Raise Big, and Howe Island More Than Doubles Its Goal
Close to 400 people ran, walked and pedalled at Lake Ontario Park. Photo: Kristi Murphy, via Kingston Daily.
Terry Fox season came through around here. On Howe Island, 60 people raised more than $51,000 against a $22,000 goal, with one local resident covering about half of it, and the Howe Island Terry Fox Run has now raised $232,000 since 2005. In Kingston, close to 400 people turned out at Lake Ontario Park and had raised about $52,000 of a $54,600 goal at last count. Napanee’s run has raised more than $690,000 since 1982, and donations stay open through the end of October, all for the Terry Fox Foundation.
Read the full story at: Kingston Daily, Kingston Daily (Howe Island) and Napanee Beaver
🏄 Paddleboarders Raise Nearly $17,000 for the Maltby Centre
Nine years in, the paddle has now raised more than $100,000. Donations stay open until Oct. 3. Photo: Lisa Sykes, via Kingston Daily.
On September 11 a crew of stand-up paddleboarders spent about eight hours on the St. Lawrence, covering 42 km from the Kingston Yacht Club to the Ivy Club in Gananoque. The Big Paddle is nine years old now, and this year’s paddle was for the Maltby Centre, which provides mental health and autism services for kids, youth and families across KFL&A. Maltby board member Peter Dalton was out on the water too. The total sits at nearly $17,000, well past the $10,000 goal, and you can still chip in until Saturday, October 3.
Read the full story at: Kingston Daily
🧸 Kahwá:tsire Brings Indigenous-Led Child and Family Programs to Providence Village
Drumming and singing are part of the plan at Kahwá:tsire’s new home. Photo: Providence Village.
Kahwá:tsire Indigenous-Led Child and Family Programs, run by the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, has a new home in the west wing of Providence Village. It serves Indigenous kids from birth to age six and their families, and the plans include an Indigenous Children’s Book Club, Tea with Kokum (that’s Grandmother), language playgroups, and drumming and singing. Program manager Nicole Loft says every Indigenous child has a right to learn about their cultures. Want a look inside? Providence Village holds its first public open house on Saturday, October 3, free with registration.
Read the full story at: Providence Village
👋 We can't say it about ourselves
Someone landing on our Facebook page can see plenty of what we do, but it's all coming from us. What tells them more is hearing from the people who actually read it, about what they like and why they stick around.
Our Facebook recommendations section is empty, and that's because we've never asked. We've been kinda busy building everything ;-)
Honest is the only kind we want, same as always.
🆕 New Events In and Around Kingston
🧡 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation | Confederation Park | September 30
City Hall glows orange for the children lost to residential schools, and it will again on Sept. 30. Photo: SkEye Stream, via Kingstonist.
On Wednesday, September 30, Kingston gathers for the Community Walk for Truth and Reconciliation. It starts at McBurney Park with a smudge and opening words, then walks to Confederation Park with drumming, singing and dancing along the way, and the Every Child Matters Kingston Transit bus offers rides back. The 94 Calls to Action panels stand at Confederation Basin from September 28 to October 2, and City Hall is lit orange. Heads up: garbage and green bin pickup runs a day late that week, and some City buildings close. Full list of closures and service changes.
📚 KWF Kick-Off: Michelle Good Opens Kingston WritersFest | The Isabel | September 30
Michelle Good opens Kingston WritersFest at The Isabel. Image from The Isabel.
Kingston WritersFest opens Wednesday, September 30 at The Isabel with Sculpted by Storms: Michelle Good in conversation with Shelagh Rogers about her new novel, Eliza Sunshine, three generations of Cree women, plus a performance by Kym Gouchie. We covered the opener a couple of issues back, so here’s the new part: this issue’s Local Spotlight on LodgePole Arts Alliance is tied to this night too, so give it a read before you go. Tickets at The Isabel.
🎃 Forman Farms Pumpkin Smashing and Corn Maze | Forman Farms, Seeley’s Bay | October 3 and 4
Last weekend for the corn maze: Oct. 3 and 4 at Forman Farms. Poster from formanfarms.ca.
One weekend left at Forman Farms: Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4, out on Brewer’s Mills Road in Seeley’s Bay. The farm’s own corn maze is the main event, with wagon rides, pumpkin cannons (a junior cannon is new this year) and a trebuchet, pumpkin decorating, face painting and a brand new obstacle course. Admission is $10 a person or $50 a car, kids under three are free, and every child’s admission includes a pumpkin to decorate. Local food vendors are on site too. Details at formanfarms.ca.
📖 Kingston WritersFest Day 1: The Short Story Showcase and More | Kingston Marriott | October 1
Three short story writers, one stage, Thursday at the Marriott. Graphic from kingstonwritersfest.ca.
Thursday, October 1 at the Kingston Marriott features short fiction. The Short Story Showcase puts Jess Gibson, Wayne Grady and Chanel Sutherland on one stage with Sarah Tsiang, and if you have ever finished a short story and sat there for a minute before getting up, this one is for you.
Also on Thursday: Beyond the Veil of Things with Kate Heartfield, Sophia Hannan and Rebecca Hirsch Garcia, Odds, Ends, and Exile: Essays in Focus, and Into (and Out of) the Wild with Robert Moor and Andrew Westoll. Writers can also sign up for workshops (ticketed separately from the festival pass) on historical fiction, poetry and humour, plus one taught in Arabic by Jamal Saeed.
📖 Kingston WritersFest Day 2: Our Reconstructions and More | Kingston Marriott | October 2
Helen Humphreys and Judith Thompson share the stage Friday. Graphic from kingstonwritersfest.ca.
Friday, October 2 puts Helen Humphreys (Summerland) and Judith Thompson (In Crow’s Field) side by side in Our Reconstructions, moderated by Eric Friesen at the Kingston Marriott.
Also on Friday: Reckonings with Tara Gereaux and Wayne Johnston, and A Fan’s Life with David Macfarlane on sports. And the free one: The Page on Stage at the RCHA Club on Ontario Street, where local actors read from festival books, directed by Theatre Kingston’s Rosemary Doyle. Writers can choose from workshops on memoir, writing from a meaningful object and stories for the screen, or a full-day advanced fiction class with Dennis Bock, and Merilyn Simonds gives a talk comparing three classic North American novels.
📖 Kingston WritersFest Day 3: The Inbetween Leader and More | Kingston Marriott | October 3
Jody Wilson-Raybould and Roshan Danesh headline Saturday. Graphic from kingstonwritersfest.ca.
Saturday’s marquee event is The Inbetween Leader: Cultivating Courage and Unity in a Complex World, with Jody Wilson-Raybould and Roshan Danesh in conversation with Kyle Wyatt at the Kingston Marriott. It’s sponsored by LodgePole Arts Alliance, the Indigenous-led arts charity in this issue’s Local Spotlight.
Also on Saturday: Familiar Creatures, where Dan Werb and veterinarian Nadja Lubiw-Hazard dig into how animals shape our lives, with Mark Medley. Saturday’s workshops cover plotting a novel, style, and collage and poetry, plus a full-day stage and screen intensive with Judith Thompson. The talks are Tara Henley on rebuilding trust in the media and a session on narrative-based medicine.
📖 Kingston WritersFest Day 4: Grease on the Palms Closes the Festival | Kingston Marriott | October 4
Maude Barlow and Don Gillmor close out WritersFest on Sunday. Graphic from kingstonwritersfest.ca.
WritersFest wraps up Sunday, October 4 with Grease on the Palms: Maude Barlow and Don Gillmor on the forces driving the climate crisis, in conversation with Tara Henley at the Kingston Marriott. It’s a big conversation to close a big week, and a good one to keep talking about on the drive home.
Sunday’s workshops are an editing toolbox for experienced writers and two on writing about illness and health care, and the talks are Kim Echlin on storytelling in turbulent times and Richard Stursberg on the state of Canadian publishing. Full festival lineup at kingstonwritersfest.ca.
📅 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
🗳️ All-Candidates Meeting: King’s Town District | Central Public School | September 29 | 🔦 Read our story
🗳️ All-Candidates Meeting: Lakeside District | Online, advance registration required | September 29 | 🔦 Read our story
🎼 Missing, an Opera in English and Gitksan | The Isabel | September 29
🧡 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Community Walk | McBurney Park to Confederation Park | September 30
🚶 Every Child Matters Walk and New Survivors’ Monument | Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory | September 30
🗳️ All-Candidates Meeting: Meadowbrook-Strathcona District | Online, advance registration required | September 30 | 🔦 Read our story
📖 WritersFest Kick-Off: Sculpted by Storms, Michelle Good with Shelagh Rogers | The Isabel | September 30 | 🔦 Read our story
📚 WritersFest Thursday: fantasy, personal essays, nature writing and the Short Story Showcase | Kingston Marriott | October 1
🗳️ All-Candidates Meeting: Trillium District | Online, advance registration required | October 1 | 🔦 Read our story
🤠 Lyle Lovett and His Small Large Band | Slush Puppie Place | October 1
🎸 The White Buffalo | The Spire | October 1
💛 United Way Seeing Is Believing Tours | Local United Way agencies | 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
🌕 Harvest Moon Celebration With David R. Maracle | The Isabel | October 2
🎻 The Festival of Small Halls: Ashley MacIsaac | The Spire | October 2
🦹 Dr. Experimentor and the League of Evil! | Lennox Community Theatre | September 18 to October 3
📚 WritersFest Saturday: The Inbetween Leader with Jody Wilson-Raybould and Roshan Danesh, and Familiar Creatures | Kingston Marriott | October 3
🌙 Kingston City Hall Lit Green for Islamic History Month | Kingston City Hall | October 3
🏡 Providence Village Community Open House | Providence Village, 1200 Princess St | October 3
🐛 Bug Safari | Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area | October 3
🥁 Build Your Own Beat With Jam for Justice | KFPL Central Branch | October 3
📖 Family Storytime With Vicki From Kahwá:tsire | KFPL Isabel Turner Branch | October 3
🔧 Repair It! | KFPL Central Branch | October 3
🤘 Hells Bells (AC/DC Tribute) | Kingston Grand Theatre | October 3
🌵 Los Desperados (Eagles Tribute) | Kingston Grand Theatre | October 3
🚴 Willem Sagriff’s 100-Kilometre Challenge for the NICU | Point Municipal Park, Sydenham | October 3
🖼️ Pay Attention! Exhibition | Tett Centre | September 22 to October 4
🎃 Forman Farms Pumpkin Smashing and Corn Maze | Forman Farms, Seeley’s Bay | October 3 and 4
📚 Kingston WritersFest 2026 | The Isabel and Kingston Marriott | September 30 to October 4
🫖 Cha Cha Tea Turns 20 | Cha Cha Tea, 506 Days Rd | October 3 and 4
🎨 Kingston Studio Tour | Studios across Kingston | October 3 and 4
🎞️ Silent Movie Weekend With Live Piano | The Screening Room | October 3 and 4
📚 WritersFest Sunday: Grease on the Palms With Maude Barlow and Don Gillmor | Kingston Marriott | October 4
🎂 W.J. Henderson Community Centre Turns 50 | W.J. Henderson Community Centre, Amherstview | October 4
🗳️ All-Candidates Meeting: Kingscourt-Rideau District | Venue to be confirmed | October 5 | 🔦 Read our story
📸 Cataraqui Trail Photo Contest | Cataraqui Trail | July 8 to October 30 | 🔦 Read our story
🥾 2026 Hike Challenge | Cataraqui Conservation Areas | September 1 to October 31 | 🔦 Read our story
Know of something we should add? Let us know.
🗓️ The full Kingston events calendar lives here.
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