Citizens on Patrol
After a long, hard day on Wednesday, I turned on CKWS to catch the evening news. Usually I pass out and leave the television on, only to wake up hours later to some infomercial or rerun of Roseanne. But Wednesday was different, as my attention was fixed on the anchorwoman who spoke of a new group of concerned citizens that are taking aim at rowdy Queen’s students with the aid of the Internet. By posting pictures of drunken street parties, purple jacket slamming and neighborhood destruction, the Save Our Neighborhood Action Group (SONAG) is hoping to raise awareness about the problem of living near the Student Ghetto Village. Will this finally bring about change at Queen’s? Read more
The Fair is Here!
The 178th Annual Kingston Fall Fair kicked off today at the Kingston Memorial Centre. This is a great opportunity to check out some neat things that us city folk don’t see all that often.
In addition to food, craft vendors and a midway, there is a competition out there for everyone. The fair features competitions in the culinary arts, dairy cattle, flowers, fruits and vegetables, crafts such as woodworking and about a billion other things. There is live entertainment every day from bands such as Picket Fences and the Seeley’s Bay Olde Tyme Fiddlers and the finals for the Country Singing Showdown will be held on Friday and Saturday. If you’re not so much interested in the tunes, you can check out the horse show, the tractor pull or the demolition derby.
We have to accept the fact that fall is here and I think the fair is a great way to welcome it. Grab a warm sweater and go check it out. It goes ’til Sunday and is $7 for adults and $5 for students under 18 or you can get a pass for the whole weekend. So go hear some fiddles, eat some corn on the cob and embrace fall.
A Little Homesick
Every summer I move away from Kingston to live on a farm in Caledonia , ON (home of the infamous Native dispute). I’ve been coming here for nine summers now. I play violin on a boat that travels up and down the Grand River and I love it. It’s a great job and I play a really fun show everyday with my group The Blazing Fiddles . I’ve never stayed after August though because I was either in school or teaching. This year I am taking some time off from teaching to get married (!) so I’ve decided to stay at "The Boat Farm" right to the end of the season. Like I said, I love it here. I’ve always seen it as my refuge, my home away from home, my hideaway. I have quiet nights to myself, I have loud and rowdy campfires, I canoe, I swim and I sleep like a baby. But this late into the season all I can think is I miss Kingston! Read more
Who Needs the Kwik-E Mart?
To answer the question of today’s post as eloquently as our favorite cartoon, convenience store attendant, “I do.” If you’re already lost, I’m referring to an episode from the 5th season of The Simpsons, where Apu gets fired from his trusty post, and goes on to sing a heart wrenching tune about his beloved home away from home. What does any of this have to do with Kingston you ask? Clearly the Kwik-E Mart shares certain commonalities with all convenience stores, from month-old hot dogs spinning on the roller grill, to microwave burritos that leave your mouth scorched for days. But only one real world convenience store chain has a beverage that truly lives up to the lore of the Kwik-E Mart’s Squishee. 7-Eleven has been serving Slurpees to patrons for as long as I can remember from their downtown location at Princess and Alfred, however they recently closed up shop once and for all.
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Untitled
If you came here looking for this weekend’s events, scroll down a bit and have a look at our new events calendar on the right. (Then come back and read.)
Today I’m going to finish up the Queen’s portion of my exploration of large scale art in Kingston. The final work is one that I didn’t know existed and I bet you didn’t either. You know when you look at Agnes Etherington and there are all those squiggles (A Minute of My Time by Micah Lexier)? Well, on the right hand side of the door is a steel rectangular box. This is Untitled by Andre Fauteux.
Fauteux was born in Dunnville, ON in 1946 and now resides in Toronto. He is especially known for his abstract welded sculptures. Untitled is an excellent example of the tension usually found in Fauteux’s works. Long, slender beams of steel (his usual material of choice) are placed to present what appears to be a perfectly symmetrical rectangle. Look carefully next time you pass. There is a slight curvature along the width of the rectangle and a beam that protrudes beyond the length of the box.
Untitled is subtle in its imperfections. It’s strange but has an elegance and loveliness to it that makes it one of my favourites.
Free Corn Roast!
Have you ever heard of “Fare on the Square“? Me neither, but to be honest any event that promises free roasted corn instantly has my attention. This Saturday, from 11am to 3pm, a dozen local restaurants will set up shop behind Kingston City Hall on Springer Market Square to tempt you with a variety of delicious dishes. Each plate will feature locally grown fruits, vegetables and meats from our famous Farmers Market. Tickets for the latter are $2, and can be purchased in advance from Tara Natural Foods or the Tourist Information Office. And in case you’ve forgot, the roasted corn is free! Read more
Return of the Academi
‘Tis the season where little Jimmy and Susie have strapped on their Batman backpacks, filled their Barbie lunch pails, and ventured back to the realm of classrooms and textbooks. Today is the first day back for public and high school students across the country, while Kingston’s institutions for higher learning have also open their doors to this year’s crop of bright, young minds. And of course, this orientation week is bound to be filled with all the glorious shenanigans we’ve come to expect from the collective brain trusts. Thus far, the Frosh are keeping city officials busy! Read more
The Green Monster
Kingston’s waterfront is a tourist magnet. Whether it’s City Hall, the Pumphouse Museum, or Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, there are a lot of unique sights for people to enjoy throughout the seasons. My constant examination of what works and what needs improvement in Kingston consistently focuses on the attractions situated along the shoreline. Why we don’t have a proper bike and pedestrian trail stretching from Lake Ontario Park to both Belle Park, and Arrowhead Beach on the east side is beyond me. But somewhere in between, the east meets the west thanks to a unique thoroughfare that connects Kingston. The “Green Monster”, otherwise known as the LaSalle Causeway Bridge, is one the big reasons Kingston enjoys a vibrant, and well used waterfront. Read more
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