🔦 In This Issue of Kingston Spotlight
🫶 Tracey Graves: Volunteer, Fundraiser, Force of Nature
🧠 A Groundbreaking New Mental Health Clinic Has Opened in Downtown Kingston
🫨 Did You Feel That? A 3.9 Earthquake Rattled Eastern Ontario
🎨 Tyendinaga Artist Kory Parkin Brings Indigenous Storytelling to the Lennox Generating Station
🧦 Nine Years, 50,000 Socks, and a World Changed One Pair at a Time
🌟 It's Official: Kingston's Jumpstart Inclusive Playground Has Broken Ground!
🎭 Domino Theatre's "Wit" Takes Best Production at Eastern Ontario Drama League Festival
🌿 Pitch-In Kingston 2026 | Across Kingston | April 18–26, 2026
🐾 The Gilded Beagle Spring Pop-Up Shop | Kingston Antiques & Vintage | April 18, 2026
👻 Ghost & Mystery Trolley Tour | Kingston Visitor Information Centre | Saturdays until May 16, then daily until November 1
🌍 Earth Day Celebration | Confederation Park | April 26, 2026
🌿 Pitch-In Kingston 2026 | Across Kingston | April 18–26, 2026
🐾 The Gilded Beagle Spring Pop-Up Shop | Kingston Antiques & Vintage | April 18, 2026
🗳️ Vote for The Spire | Next Great Save | Until April 24, 2026
👻 Ghost & Mystery Trolley Tour | Kingston Visitor Information Centre | Saturdays until May 16, then daily until November 1
🌍 Earth Day Celebration | Confederation Park | April 26, 2026
🎷 Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) | Various Kingston & Belleville Venues | All of April 2026
🍽️ Spring Countylicious | Prince Edward County | Until April 26, 2026
🥑 Guac for Griff | Lone Star Kingston | Until May 10, 2026
🏛️ History Exposed: Enslavement of Black People in Canada | Kingston City Hall | Until May 22, 2026
🚋 City Trolley Tour | Visitor Information Centre | Weekends in April
🔦 Community Spotlight
🫶 Tracey Graves: Volunteer, Fundraiser, Force of Nature

Tracey Graves presenting a whopping donation from the 2025 Annual Mason Golf Classic to Partners in Mission Food Bank
To say Tracey Graves is involved in the community is an epic understatement. Between her board seat at Breast Cancer Action Kingston, her work with Kingston 4 Paws Service Dogs, Kids 4 Kids, and the Kingston Canadian Film Festival, she somehow fits it all in on top of a full-time career.
But the project closest to her heart is the Annual Mason Golf Classic, a tournament she created to honour her late husband Chris, a beloved Kingston financial advisor who spent nine years on the board of the Partners in Mission Food Bank. Chris lived by one simple rule: no one should ever go hungry. In just three years, Tracey and her crew have raised over $66,000 to keep that mission alive.
This year's tournament is Saturday, September 12 at Amherstview Golf Club. We wrote the full feature on Tracey because her story deserves more than a paragraph. Give it a read.
👉 Read the full feature: Tracey Graves: Volunteer, Fundraiser, Force of Nature
📰 Kingston & Area Local News
A Groundbreaking New Mental Health Clinic Has Opened in Downtown Kingston

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in Kingston
from BrainStim’s Facebook Page
Veterans, first responders, and others who've exhausted conventional treatment options now have a significant new resource right here in Kingston. BrainStim opened its doors downtown earlier this month, offering deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) — a non-invasive, medication-free therapy that uses magnetic pulses to help rewire the brain's circuits. It's designed for people dealing with treatment-resistant PTSD, depression, chronic pain, and substance use disorder. The Kingston clinic is led by CEO and former Queen's University biochemistry professor Vinay Singh, and is the company's sixth location in Canada. The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 560 was among those at the opening, and the response from the veteran community has been warm.
"It's like a light goes on inside the brain," said Singh, describing patients who came in isolated from their families and left looking forward to the future. For a military city, this is a welcome addition.
Read the full story at: The Kingston Whig-Standard
🫨 Did You Feel That? A 3.9 Earthquake Rattled Eastern Ontario

Screenshot from u/nFxTh3F0rce on Reddit,
from Earthquakes Canada (Government of Canada)
If you felt a brief shudder earlier today, you weren't imagining it. Earthquakes Canada confirmed a 3.9 magnitude quake shook parts of eastern Ontario on Tuesday afternoon, April 14, and Kingston felt it. No damage or injuries reported. Consider it the earth's way of keeping us humble. (And yes, it counts as your weekly excitement quota.)
Read the full story at: Kingstonist
🎨 Tyendinaga Artist Kory Parkin Brings Indigenous Storytelling to the Lennox Generating Station

One of the murals by Kory Parkin at
Ontario Power Generation’s Lennox Generating Station, from the OPG website
Two large-scale murals by Tyendinaga-based Indigenous artist Kory Parkin now line the interior of Ontario Power Generation's Lennox Generating Station, bringing centuries of cultural storytelling into a space more often associated with turbines than art. The project was supported through the Local Journalism Initiative. It's the kind of collaboration that changes how you see a place.
Read the full story at: Ontario Power Generation
🏆 Community Champions
🧦Nine Years, 50,000 Socks, and a World Changed One Pair at a Time

Jessica Baird, Founder of The Sock Project
Nine years ago, Ottawa elementary school teacher Jessica Baird (she grew up right here in Kingston) took medical leave and turned her experience living with chronic illness into something unexpected: sending colorful socks, each with a handwritten note of encouragement, to people around the world dealing with autoimmune conditions. The Sock Project has now delivered over 50,000 pairs globally and raised nearly $100,000 for medical research and health programs, including donations to Kingston-area hospitals. Follow along on Instagram. Nine years. Fifty thousand socks. One note at a time.
If that doesn't restore your faith in what one person can do, we don't know what will.
Read the full story at: The Kingston Whig-Standard
🌟 It's Official: Kingston's Jumpstart Inclusive Playground Has Broken Ground!

Groundbreaking ceremony at Shannon Park
from City of Kingston website
Update: We covered the Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaign supporting this project in our April 9 issue.
The dream is becoming reality. Community leaders, partners, and families gathered this week to break ground on the Jumpstart Inclusive Playground, a fully accessible space where children of all abilities can play, connect, and belong. The Inclusive Play Project has been working toward its $1.5 million goal, and breaking ground is the milestone the community has been waiting for. This one has been a long time coming, and Kingston showed up to celebrate it right.
Read the full story at: City of Kingston
🎭 Domino Theatre's "Wit" Takes Best Production at Eastern Ontario Drama League Festival

Kingston's Domino Theatre is celebrating a significant sweep at the Eastern Ontario Drama League Full Length Play Festival. Their January production of "Wit" (Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play) was named Best Production. Director Martha Bailey earned Best Director honours, Helen Bretzke received a Best Actress nomination for her portrayal of Dr. Vivian Bearing, and the entire cast was nominated for Best Ensemble.
"Wit" is not a light night out. It's a deeply moving piece about a professor confronting terminal illness, and doing it with the craft that earns awards takes real commitment. Congratulations to the whole Domino team. Kingston's theatre scene is punching well above its weight.
Read the full announcement at: Domino Theatre on Facebook
🆕 New Events In and Around Kingston
🌿 Pitch-In Kingston 2026 | Across Kingston | April 18–26, 2026

Every spring, Kingston does something quietly wonderful: thousands of people (individuals, families, workplace teams, schools, and community groups) fan out across the city for a week to pick up litter and tidy up green spaces. Sustainable Kingston's annual Pitch-In Week runs April 18–26 this year, and registration is open now. It's free, it's flexible (clean up wherever and whenever works for you), and it makes a real difference you can actually see.
Whether you want to tackle your own block, organize a team at work, or just get outside and do something good. This is your invitation.
Register at: Sustainable Kingston
🐾 The Gilded Beagle Spring Pop-Up Shop | Kingston Antiques & Vintage | April 18, 2026

If a Saturday morning spent hunting for vintage treasures sounds like your idea of a good time, clear your schedule. Kingston Antiques & Vintage at 1724 Bath Road is hosting The Gilded Beagle for a spring pop-up shop this Saturday, April 18, from 10am to 5pm. Expect curated finds, hidden gems, and the very specific joy of discovering something you didn't know you needed until you saw it.
Follow @kingstonantiquesandvintage for a sneak peek of what's coming. They're promising more photos soon.
Stay up to date at: Kingston Antiques & Vintage on Instagram
🌍 Earth Day Celebration | Confederation Park | April 26, 2026

Artwork by W.C. Creatives
Earth Day 2026 is fast approaching. Join the City of Kingston at Confederation Park on Sunday, April 26 for interactive community engagement booths, local vendors, and creative expressions that honour Mother Earth while inspiring environmental responsibility and collective care. It's a great way to spend a Sunday doing something good for your community and the planet.
Want to get involved? Fill out this form or contact [email protected] for more info. Helping hands welcome at 10AM for setup!
Full event details: Facebook Event
👻 Ghost & Mystery Trolley Tour | 209 Ontario St | Saturdays until May 16, then daily until November 1

From Kingston Trolley Tours website
Kingston has a dark and delicious history, and now you can ride through it. The Ghost & Mystery Trolley Tour is already rolling for the season (it kicked off April 4), with tours departing at 6:30pm from the Kingston Visitor Information Centre at 209 Ontario St. Over 90 minutes, you'll ride past the infamous Kingston Penitentiary, glimpse the eerie Rockwood Asylum, and hear the local legends behind some of the city's most notorious neighbourhoods. Live commentary from local guides keeps it lively. This one is equal parts spooky and fun. Runs Saturdays April 4 through May 16, then daily May 16 through November 1.
Tickets are $48.50 for adults and $43.50 for children (2–15), plus HST. Pick up your tickets in person at 248 Ontario St before your departure time.
Book online or call 1-800-848-0011: kingstontrolley.ca
📅 Events Calendar
Events Calendar
🌿 Pitch-In Kingston 2026 | Across Kingston | April 18–26, 2026
🐾 The Gilded Beagle Spring Pop-Up Shop | Kingston Antiques & Vintage | April 18, 2026
🗳️ Vote for The Spire | Next Great Save | Until April 24, 2026
👻 Ghost & Mystery Trolley Tour | Kingston Visitor Information Centre | Saturdays until May 16, then daily until November 1
🌍 Earth Day Celebration | Confederation Park | April 26, 2026
🎷 Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) | Various Kingston & Belleville Venues | All of April 2026
🍽️ Spring Countylicious | Prince Edward County | Until April 26, 2026
🥑 Guac for Griff | Lone Star Kingston | Until May 10, 2026
🏛️ History Exposed: Enslavement of Black People in Canada | Kingston City Hall | Until May 22, 2026
🚋 City Trolley Tour | Visitor Information Centre | Weekends in April
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Email Les at [email protected]
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🌊 This Newsletter is just the tip of the iceberg
Beyond the Inbox ➕
I find way more "local gold" every week than I can actually fit in this newsletter without turning it into a novel! If you want the daily updates, extra tips, and the cool stuff that didn't make the cut, come hang out with us on our social channels.
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