Local Business Spotlight

🎾 Pickleball Fever: How Kingston Pickleball Club Built a Community from Scratch

Kingston & Area Local News

🏗️ What Replaces Kingston's Consumption Site? Planning Has Begun
🚲 Have Your Say: Kingston's Integrated Mobility Plan Heads to Public Open House | May 11

Community Champions

✊ Neighbours Worth Celebrating: Kingston Honourees at Catholic Education Week
🏰 The First Fort Henry You've Never Seen: Paul Amirault's 25-Year Mission

New Events In and Around Kingston

🎵 Danish Folk in a Kingston Living Room: Fionia Stringband at John Valberg's Home Concert | May 12
💼 Could You Spare a Morning for a Student? | Holy Cross Secondary School | May 13
☀️ Summer Starts Here: Free Live Music, Drones & Fireworks at Confederation Park | May 18
🏆 Celebrating Kingston's Young Athletes and Builders: Kiwanis Sports Awards | May 28
🎤 A World of Music in One Concert: Open Voices Carnival of Song | May 30

Events Calendar

It’s gotten too long to include here in the summary! Click Events Calendar to see our list for the next few days.

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Kingston's pickleball scene has a home base, and the story of how it got there is the kind of scrappy, volunteer-powered origin story that makes you want to high-five a stranger. The Kingston Pickleball Club went from taped lines on outdoor courts to a full indoor facility that members gutted and renovated almost entirely themselves, and they've got a Best of Kingston & Area 2026 win to show for it.

How they got there involves a living room meeting, some portable nets, a failed deal, an empty warehouse, and a whole community that refused to quit. The full story is worth a read.

Read the full story at Kingston Spotlight

Kingston's supervised consumption site at the Integrated Care Hub is closing September 30, 2026, and a lot of people in our community are counting on what comes next. The province is replacing it with a HART Hub, a model focused on addiction recovery and housing support, and the good news is that local organizations are already at the table planning it together. AMHS-KFLA is leading the way, with Kingston Community Health Centres and other community partners helping shape services that will actually fit Kingston's needs.

Read the full story from Kingstonist

How should Kingston move in the future? The City is developing a long-term transportation plan through to 2051, covering transit, cycling, walking and streets, and tonight is your chance to weigh in. Drop by the open house to explore the draft networks, chat with the project team, and share what getting around Kingston looks like for you.

More info and ways to get involved at Get Involved Kingston. Full details from the City of Kingston.

The Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board marked Catholic Education Week by honouring students, staff and volunteers who quietly make schools better every day. Among the Kingston-area recipients:

Ron Wynn — A 36-year Canadian Armed Forces veteran, Ron has spent over a decade volunteering in classrooms from kindergarten to Grade 8 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School. He also helps feed hundreds through the Salvation Army's Bread of Life program. He received the Katharine Award for volunteerism.

Izabela Machan — The office administrator at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School, Izabela is the warm, welcoming face students, parents and staff count on every day. She received the Excellence in Supporting Catholic Education Award.

Geoff Mackler — A teacher at Regiopolis-Notre Dame Catholic High School recognized for his leadership and commitment to students, Geoff received the Contribution to Catholic Education Award.

Chloe Graham — A Grade 8 student at Holy Name Catholic School honoured for her volunteer contributions, Chloe said it best: "Winning the award feels nice, but helping people feels even better."

Read the full story from The Kingston Whig-Standard (may require subscription).

Before the Fort Henry you know, there was another one — and for more than 20 years, a detailed 3D reconstruction of it has been sitting unseen on one man's hard drive. Paul Amirault, a retired 3D visualization specialist who spent his career at Canada's National Research Council, built a digital rendering of Kingston's original Fort Henry using British engineering plans from 1824. When leadership shifted at Parks Canada, the project was shelved. Amirault quietly kept it alive, updating the files through decades of changing software so it wouldn't be lost.

Now he's ready to share it with Kingston, and there's even a video on YouTube. Read the full story from The Kingston Whig-Standard (may require subscription).

Fionia Stringband — three award-winning musicians from the Danish island of Funen — bring their toe-tapping blend of polkas, waltzes and folk tunes to one of Kingston's beloved home concert series on Tuesday, May 12. Expect warmth, humour, and the kind of music that makes you want to dance in someone's living room. Tickets are $25/person, BYOB. Contact [email protected] for details and to reserve your spot.

The HIEC Career Lab is looking for local professionals to spend a morning chatting with Grade 9 and 10 students at Holy Cross Secondary School on May 13. No presentations, no prep — just small-group conversations about your career path and day-to-day work. If you have a story worth sharing (and you do), these students would love to hear it.

The City is throwing a free Victoria Day evening at Confederation Park on Monday, May 18, with live music from the Kingston Youth Open Mic Showcase, a drone show presented by Slush Puppie, and fireworks to cap the night. Parks, splash pads, patios and the waterfront will all be open for the long weekend too.

And if that gets you excited, the City has also released its full 2026 Special Events lineup — from National Indigenous Peoples Day and Canada Day to the FIFA World Cup celebration, Emancipation Day, the Sheep Dog Trials, Rockin' the Square, and New Year's Eve. Mark your calendars.

Since 1978, the Kiwanis Club of Kingston has been shining a light on the local athletes and builders (coaches, managers, organizers) who inspire youth in sports across the area. This year's ceremony honours those who made their mark in 2025, taking place May 28 at Memorial Hall in Kingston City Hall. Sponsored by Brookland Homes and free to attend.

Open Voices brings their May concert to life with a joyful trip around the world through music. Calypso, samba, Afro-pop, island ballads and timeless classics all share the stage in a concert built around the spirit of carnival — music and community dissolving boundaries. No passport needed, just bring your love of a good time. Tickets are $20 general admission, with reduced pricing available, at Open Voices.

🎵 Fionia Stringband at John Valberg's Home Concert | Kingston | May 12

💼 Career Conversations: Be a Mentor | Holy Cross Secondary School | May 13

☀️ Victoria Day: Live Music, Drones & Fireworks | Confederation Park | May 18

🏆 Kiwanis Amateur Sports Awards | Memorial Hall, Kingston City Hall | May 28

🎤 Open Voices Carnival of Song | TBD | May 30

🐾 Puppies + Jazz | The Caesar Company | June 28

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