Cover

🎨 From Lucy DeSousa’s “Lilacs in Fairfield Park”

Local Spotlight

🌸 💜 Why So Many Lilacs in the Kingston Area? (And the Best Spots)

Kingston & Area Local News

🤖 Canada's First Robotic-Built Neighbourhood Just Had Its Grand Opening in Gananoque
🏛️ Kingston Moves to Protect the Historic Deputy Warden's House Near the Pen

Community Champions

👂 City Hall, INVISTA Centre, and Artillery Park Are Now Hearing-Accessible
🧵 Five Years of Quietly Showing Up: Threads of Hope Kingston
🙌 Ryandale's “Hands to Hustle” Wins Awesome Kingston's May Microgrant

New Events In and Around Kingston

🏕️ Win a Waterfront Weekend Getaway Along the St. Lawrence | Enter by June 3
🎭 Domino Theatre Closes Its Season with Very Heaven | Davies Foundation Auditorium | June 4
🦋 Butterfly Release: Honour Someone You've Lost | Glenhaven Memorial Gardens | June 6
🚗 Get Your Car Washed for a Good Cause | BMW Kingston | June 6
📚 Kingston's Busiest Library Branch Reopens After 18 Months | Isabel Turner Branch | June 6
🎶 Cantabile Closes 30 Years with a Show Worth Celebrating | Isabel Bader Centre | June 6-7

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

Are you a local artist or photographer? We'd love to feature your work! 🎨📸

If you've captured Kingston and the surrounding area through your lens or your brushstrokes, we want to hear from you. We're especially looking for seasonal work that shows off the beauty and scenes of our corner of Ontario.

Drop a line at [email protected] with a sample of what you think would be a great fit and a bit about yourself (note: the crops will somehow need to work well at both 1200×630 and 9:16)

If you've ever been stopped in your tracks by that unmistakable sweetness while walking or driving around Kingston in May, you're not alone. Those massive lilac groves along our back roads and old fence lines (and even in town) have a story behind them, and it's a good one. Hint: it involves ghost homesteads, a plant that basically refuses to die, and soil+climate that might as well have been designed for this exact purpose.

We also get into a bit of surprisingly good culinary uses (lilac simple syrup in a cocktail, anyone?), a bit of frontier medicine history, and a map of some favourite local spots. Plus we want to hear from you.

Read the full story at Kingston Spotlight

If you missed the ribbon-cutting in Gananoque on May 29, here's what you missed: the grand opening of Canada's first neighbourhood built using on-site robotics. Horizon Legacy celebrated the milestone at 425 Fourth St with guided site tours, a BBQ, and live music. The development features 26 stacked townhouse rental units built under $300K each using their VAL 2.0 construction robot, with 8 of the 26 units designated as affordable rentals. It's a real proof-of-concept moment for what robotic construction could mean for Canada's housing crunch.

Read the full story at: Kingston Daily

The City of Kingston has published its intention to designate the Isabel Macneill House (525 King St W) under the Ontario Heritage Act. Built in 1911 as a residence for the Deputy Warden of Kingston Penitentiary, the house was later renamed in honour of Commander Isabel Macneill, a trailblazer for women in military and correctional leadership. The move comes after the federal government listed the property for $1.7 million, sparking community concern about its future. No new use has been announced. For now, the City's goal is simply to make sure this one doesn't disappear quietly.

Read the full story at: Kingston Daily

During National AccessAbility Week, the City of Kingston quietly did something worth noticing: it installed assistive listening systems at three of its busiest public facilities. City Hall, INVISTA Centre, and Artillery Park Aquatic Centre now offer support for hearing aids and cochlear implants with a T-coil, Auracast Bluetooth devices, and handheld listeners for those without a hearing device. The total cost was $5,756 from the Accessibility Office budget. Small dollar amount, big difference for the people who need it.

Read the full story at: Kingstonist

You may not have heard of Threads of Hope Kingston, and that's kind of the point. For five years, this all-volunteer group has been showing up at 629 Division St and heading out to places like Belle Park, delivering tents, sleeping bags, survival gear, and clothing to Kingston's most vulnerable residents (elderly, disabled, homeless, recently incarcerated, and people living with addiction). They serve roughly 1,000 people in need, with 572 on the by-names list. They're not a registered charity (yet), and they run purely on community support. If you want to help, contact Pam Gray at 613-384-5101.

Listen to the full story at: CBC Ontario Morning

Ryandale Transitional Housing has won Awesome Kingston's May $1,000 microgrant, and they're putting it to work in a pretty creative way. The grant funds "Hands to Hustle," a resident-led micro-loan program that gives people small, flexible loans (typically $50 to $100) to launch side hustles and small businesses. Think 3D printing, handcrafted wooden pens, crocheting, beadwork. Real skills, real people, real businesses. Loans are designed to replenish so future residents benefit too. It's Ryandale's third pitch at Awesome Kingston, and it landed.

Read the full story at: Kingstonist

Summer is basically here, and Region 9 Tourism and the St. Lawrence Parks Commission are giving one lucky family an excuse to actually enjoy it. The prize package (worth over $500) includes a two-night glamping stay in a prospector tent at Woodlands Campground on the Long Sault Parkway (July 17-19), family admission to Upper Canada Village with miniature train rides, scenic drive and beach access along the St. Lawrence, and a $50 restaurant gift card. Contest closes Wednesday, June 3 at 1 pm EST. Enter here before it closes.

Domino Theatre closes its 2025-26 season with Very Heaven, a Canadian drama by Ann Lambert directed by Katie Flower-Smith. Three estranged sisters reunite to scatter their mother's ashes and end up unearthing old wounds, buried secrets, and more than a few sharp one-liners along the way. It runs Thursdays through Saturdays, June 4-20, at the Davies Foundation Auditorium (52 Church St), with a closing matinee on June 20. Tickets start at $20 (students $10). Get tickets at kingstongrand.ca or call 613-530-2050.

The Bereaved Families of Ontario, Kingston Region is hosting their annual butterfly release on Saturday, June 6 at Glenhaven Memorial Gardens (2563 Perth Road, Glenburnie). It's a gentle, meaningful gathering, a chance to celebrate the memory of someone who touched your life. Registration for butterflies closed May 20, but the ceremony itself is open to all. Butterfly distribution starts at 12:30 pm, with the group release at 1:00 pm. If you're carrying a loss, this community knows exactly what that feels like.

Martha's Table is hosting a carwash fundraiser on Saturday, June 6 at BMW Kingston. Show up, get your car cleaned, and support a Kingston organization that has been serving community meals since 1997. All proceeds go directly to Martha's Table's food programs. More details at marthastable.ca.

After 18 months of renovations, the Kingston Frontenac Public Library's Isabel Turner Branch (935 Gardiners Rd) is back open on June 6 with a free Grand Re-Opening celebration from 1-4 pm. No registration required. Just show up for face painting, a photo booth, prizes, and a chance to sign up for the Summer Reading Challenge. The renovated branch features a stunning new large-scale mural, "Knowledge Still Growing," by Cree artist Jaylene Cardinal. The Isabel Turner is KFPL's busiest branch, and it's been a long 18 months. Welcome back.

Cantabile Choirs of Kingston closes its landmark 30th anniversary season with Ola Gjeilo's Sunrise Mass, performed alongside the Kingston Symphony. More than 140 voices from Cantabile's adult and youth choirs unite with a full string orchestra for two performances at the Isabel Bader Centre. The program also features a world premiere: a newly commissioned work by Cantabile's founding Artistic Director, Order of Canada recipient Dr. Mark Sirett, with a 60-plus alumni choir joining current singers for the occasion. This is a big milestone for a beloved Kingston institution. Get tickets at cantabilechoirs.ca or call 613-549-0099.

🎭Finnegans Wake: A Dream Play  |  Kingston Grand Baby Grand  |  May 21–June 7

🏕️Region 9 Waterfront Weekend Giveaway  |  Enter online  |  June 3

🎭Very Heaven  |  Davies Foundation Auditorium, 52 Church St  |  June 4–20

🦋Butterfly Release  |  Glenhaven Memorial Gardens, 2563 Perth Rd, Glenburnie  |  June 6

🚗Martha's Table Carwash Fundraiser  |  BMW Kingston, 1412 Bath Rd  |  June 6

📚Isabel Turner Branch Grand Re-Opening  |  Isabel Turner Branch  |  June 6

🎶Cantabile Choirs: Sunrise Mass  |  Isabel Bader Centre, 390 King St W  |  June 6–7

🍝Italia Day  |  Italo-Canadian Club of Kingston  |  June 7

🌻Lviv, Ukraine Folklore Festival  |  Regiopolis Notre Dame High School  |  June 13–14

🏳️‍🌈Kingston Pride Parade  |  Memorial Centre to Confederation Park  |  June 13

🎸Skeleton Park Arts Festival  |  McBurney Park  |  June 19–21

🎬Movies in the Square (Season 19)  |  Springer Market Square  |  June 25–Aug 27

🎸Line Spike Frontenac  |  Natural amphitheatre, Harrowsmith  |  June 27–28

🐾Puppies + Jazz  |  The Caesar Company  |  June 28

🥩Schnitzel Fundraiser Dinner  |  Golden Links Hall, Harrowsmith  |  July 18

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All feedback and suggestions are appreciated!

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