Kingston & Area Local News

🏗️ Clock is Ticking: Help Shape the Future of Portsmouth Harbour, Memorial Centre, and Centre 70!🏛️ Kingston’s "Spire" Wins $10K in National Contest
🏊 No Pool Again: Culligan Water Park Delayed to Late 2027
🌳 Kingston’s Temporary Clear-Cutting Bylaw Is Now in Effect
🚍 Kingston Transit Spring Service Changes | Starts May 4, 2026

Community Champions

🎸 The Tragically Hip Are Going into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame
🤝 Community Rallies for Five-Year-Old Battling Rare Cancer
🏅 Kingston Reporter Maegen Kulchar Wins National Newspaper Award

New Events In and Around Kingston

🏺 Kingston Potters' Guild Spring Sale | Tett Centre | April 30–May 3
🚢 Unearthing Lake Ontario's Untouched Shipwreck | Great Lakes Museum | May 1 🚶 Jane's Walks | Kingston, Various Locations | May 1–3
🖼️ The BIG Art Show | Tett Centre Gallery | May 2–4
🛍️ Annual Spring Outdoor Market | Fairfield Elementary School | May 2
🌿 Ayurvedic Series | Studio330 | Starting May 2

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.

👉 Please Share Your Feedback

The City wants to know how you envision the future of Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, the Memorial Centre, and Centre 70. They have launched a big visioning project to figure out how these spots should look and function for the next 20 years. Whether it’s more green space, better boat slips, or new community hubs, now is the time to put your two cents in through their online survey before it closes on May 13.

Source: Get Involved Kingston - Community Visioning

After a huge push for community votes, The Spire (inside the historic Sydenham Street United Church) took second place in the national "Next Great Save" competition! They are walking away with $10,000 that will go toward a new, energy-efficient heating system. It is a big win for one of our favorite local arts and community spaces.

Source: Kingstonist - The Spire places second in Next Great Save, wins $10K

The big project to put a roof over the Culligan Water Park is hitting some speed bumps and won't be ready until the end of 2027. This means we are looking at another summer without our favorite outdoor pool and splash pad, but the City is teaming up with places like the YMCA of Eastern Ontario and Queen's to make sure there are still spots for everyone to swim.

Source: Get Involved Kingston - Culligan Water Park Project Update

The City has moved quickly to pass a new temporary rule that stops people from cutting down too many trees at once while they work on a bigger plan to protect our local forests. This was sparked by concerns over keeping our "urban canopy" healthy, especially around big new building projects.

Source: City of Kingston - Interim Woodland Preservation Bylaw

Kingston Transit is launching its annual spring adjustments starting May 4. They are adding more trips to popular routes and making sure weekend service stays reliable, especially with the ongoing work around the LaSalle Causeway.

Source: City of Kingston - Transit News

Our local legends are being inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame this September! The band shared a sweet but "bittersweet" message saying how much they wish Gord Downie could be there with them for the big night at Massey Hall.

Source: Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Official Announcement

Neighbors are showing up in a big way to support a local family whose young son is fighting a tough health battle. It is a powerful reminder of how Kingstonians look out for each other when things get difficult.

Source: The Kingston Whig Standard - Community Support Story

Maegen Kulchar of the Kingston Whig-Standard took home the Medium Market Investigations award at the National Newspaper Awards gala in Toronto on April 24. Her winning work covered the suicide of a corrections officer and the toxic workplace culture of bullying that surrounded it. The judges said her reporting "shone a light on the human cost of a dark workplace culture." It's the kind of story that takes guts to pursue and real skill to tell well, and Kingston should be proud she's telling it. I sure am!

Source: National Newspaper Awards | Kingston Whig-Standard

Free admission and one-of-a-kind handcrafted ceramics by local artists. Running Thursday April 30 through Sunday May 3, with a Mother's Day tile decorating session on Sunday May 3. A great early gift run if you're in the market for something made with care.

Source: Kingston Potters' Guild

Nautical Nights at the Great Lakes Museum wraps its winter speaker series with a bang. Heison Chak tells the story of discovering an untouched wooden vessel just off Toronto's shore, a find that made headlines across Canada. Experts believe it's an early 1800s two-masted ship, but its identity and fate remain a mystery. Tickets are $15 and include light refreshments.

Source: Great Lakes Museum | Kingstonist

Jane's Walk is a global celebration of community through free neighbourhood walks, and Kingston's edition is a good one. Over the long weekend, 19 free walks fan out across the city (10 of them brand new this year), each led by locals who know their corners of Kingston well. No registration required for most walks.

Source: Jane's Walk Kingston

Kingston Artist Events brings 40 large-scale original works by local artists to the Tett Centre Gallery for the weekend. Free admission, with originals for sale and prints available by order. Opening reception is Saturday May 2.

Source: Tett Centre | Kingston Artist Events

The annual spring vendor market is back at Fairfield Elementary School. Local vendors, community energy, and a great excuse to get outside for the day.

Source: Facebook Event

Studio330 is running a five-part series on Ayurvedic medicine, led by clinical practitioner Jacquie Howorth. It starts with the foundations of Ayurveda, the doshas, the history, the philosophy, and builds through food, spices, and how to restore balance in daily life. The series runs $160 and registration is open now.

Source: Studio330

🏺 Kingston Potters' Guild Spring Sale | Tett Centre, 370 King St W | April 30–May 3

🚢 Unearthing Lake Ontario's Untouched Shipwreck | Great Lakes Museum, 55 Ontario St | May 1

🚶 Jane's Walks | Various Kingston Locations | May 1–3

🖼️ The BIG Art Show | Tett Centre Gallery | May 2–4

🌿 Ayurvedic Series | Studio330, 339 Barrie St | Starting May 2

🛍️ Annual Spring Outdoor Market | Fairfield Elementary School | May 2

🍪 Smile Cookie Campaign | All Kingston Tim Hortons | Until May 3

🎭 The Comedy of Errors | Domino Theatre | Until May 9

🥑 Guac for Griff | Lone Star Kingston | Until May 10

🏛️ History Exposed: Enslavement of Black People in Canada | Kingston City Hall | Until May 22

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