Bobcaygeon, October 26 - Globus Theatre is delighted to be able to present the smash-hit show Boy Falls from the Sky featuring Broadway and Degrassi star, Jake Epstein, from November 5th-7th at the Lakeview Arts Barn.

Since beginning his musical theatre career as the Artful Dodger in Oliver! for Mirvish in Toronto Jake has starred in productions all over North America including the 'boyhood dream' role of Spiderman in Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway! He also played Carole King's husband Gerry Goffin on Broadway in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and toured the US in Green Day's Tony Award-winning musical American Idiot. He has starred in TV shows such as Suits and spent six years playing the role of Craig Manning on Degrassi: The Next Generation.

Boy Falls from the Sky sold out its run at the Toronto Fringe before it even opened; won the 'pick of the fringe' award; and enjoyed an extended run at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. It is scheduled as part of Mirvish's 2021 Season but Globus Theatre audiences will get the unique opportunity to see it here first...with an exclusive audience of just 50!!

Artistic Director, Sarah Quick, says, "We are so excited to have Jake and his whole team here at Globus. To be able to bring a show of this calibre with such a great performer to Bobcaygeon and the Kawartha Lakes is just the sort of thing we strive for - making sure lovers of world-class theatre can indeed shop locally "

Join us at this no-holds-barred cabaret, full of stories, anecdotes, and show-stopping musical numbers, as one of Canada’s very best musical performers regales us with the highs and lows of show business (including falling each night from very high to very low in his role as the webbed wonder!)

CABARET OF THE HIGHEST CALIBRE! NNNNN Now Magazing Toronto

November 5th - 7th @ 6:00pm

Dinner & Theatre tickets can now be booked by calling the box office!

705-738-2037

Theatre & Dinner Tickets $75.00 (plus HST + $2.00 per ticket fee)

Groups of up to 6 can book together.

Boy Falls From the Sky

Written and Performed by Jake Epstein

Developed with and Directed by Robert McQueen

Music Direction by Daniel Abrahamson

Produced by Derrick Chua

On Friday, October 9th, the Canadian Federal Government announced more supports to help businesses that have been affected by the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. While some areas of the economy have been recovering, many are still struggling with reduced revenues, increased costs, and the on-going uncertainty this pandemic presents. To aid struggling businesses at this time, the Federal Government is putting forth legislation that will expand current emergency responses to the pandemic. 

This will include expansions on the Canadian Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS), Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), and the Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA). 

These expansions will aid both for profit and non-profit businesses that have been affected by the pandemic, and will help to keep businesses afloat and employees employed throughout this time. 

To read more about the announced legislation and if your business may be eligible, head here . 

The new Canadian Recovery Benefit (CRB) has been put in place to replace the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).  The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was an important and necessary temporary response to support Canadians who stopped working because of COVID-19. As we safely restart Canada’s economy, the Government is transitioning most Canadians who still cannot work to a simplified Employment Insurance program, effective September 27, 2020. 

For those who are not eligible to receive EI regular benefits, such as the self-employed, or those experiencing a reduction in income of at least 50% due to COVID-19, the Government is introducing the Canada Recovery Benefit. This temporary benefit will provide $500 per week (taxable) for up to 26 weeks between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021.  To be eligible for the Benefit, you must be available and looking for work and must accept work, when it is reasonable to do so.

The Government is also introducing the temporary Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit.

One main change for the CRB over CERB is that this payment is retroactive, and does not project into the future. This means that you can only apply for the two weeks that have just passed, not for time periods that are in the future.

To Learn more about the new Canada Recovery Benefit and if you will be eligible to apply, head here: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/cerb-application/transition/questions.html

Time-of-Use or Tiered Electricity Prices?  You Now Have a Choice

If you’re a residential or small business customer that pays Time-of-Use (TOU) electricity prices, you now have a choice. You can contact your electricity utility and opt-out of TOU and pay Tiered prices instead, choosing the price plan that’s right for how you consume electricity.

With TOU, the price you pay depends on when you use electricity whereas with tiered prices, you use a certain amount of electricity each month at a fixed price anytime of the day. Once you exceed that limit, a higher price applies. If you want to continue paying TOU prices, no action is required. If you’re considering a switch to Tiered prices, get a price comparison using the OEB’s online bill calculator at www.oeb.ca/calculator.

Temporary Bridge Closure: Bobcaygeon Swing Bridge 

Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site

Peterborough, Ontario, October 13, 2020 – Parks Canada would like to inform the public that the Bobcaygeon Swing Bridge on Main St. (at Canal St.) will be temporarily closed to vehicular traffic over the winter months. The bridge will be closed on or after October 26, 2020, pending the approval of Contractor submissions, and will open in the spring of 2021, prior to the opening of navigation on the Trent-Severn Waterway.

A temporary, accessible pedestrian bridge will be installed across the canal near the downstream lock gates. The area around the cenotaph will remain outside of the construction site.

Public safety is a priority for Parks Canada. Residents and visitors are advised to follow detour signage and to exercise caution.

Engineering inspections in recent years have indicated that this bridge requires intervention. Parks Canada is leading this important infrastructure work along the Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site to ensure safe, high-quality experiences for visitors by improving heritage, visitor, waterway, and highway assets located within national historic sites, national parks, and national marine conservation areas.

To ask questions or register to receive updates about any Trent-Severn Waterway construction project, please contact us at Ont.TrentSevern@pc.gc.ca and include the project name in the subject heading. More details about this work, or other construction work in your region, can be found at www.pc.gc.ca/tswKawarthaLakes

TORONTO — The Ontario government is continuing to help businesses rebuild, reinvest and create good jobs across the province. Today, Prabmeet Sarkaria, Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction, announced Ontario’s Main Street Recovery Plan and later today will introduce the Main Street Recovery Act, 2020, proposed legislation that would support small businesses and modernize rules to allow them to innovate and meet the challenges of today. If passed, the act will remove hurdles faced by small businesses and allow them to pursue new opportunities—while maintaining or enhancing protections for public health, safety and the environment.

The plan includes:

·         A one-time grant of up to $1,000 for main street small businesses—in retail, food and accommodations, and other service sectors—with fewer than 10 employees to help offset the unexpected costs of personal protective equipment (PPE);

·         Ontario’s Small Business COVID-19 Recovery Network, which links 47 Small Business Enterprise Centres across the province as places where small businesses can access tailored advice and information on local, provincial, and federal programs;

·         Digital Main Street Squads to help small businesses grow online;

·         Mental health supports for families, frontline workers, young people, children, and Indigenous communities;

·         Ontario’s Small Business Recovery Webpage to provide single window access to small business supports.

“Small businesses are the backbone of Ontario’s economy, and our government will always be in their corner. Through more than 100 virtual roundtables and discussions with small business owners, their employees, local leaders, and economists from all over Ontario, I’ve heard directly about the extraordinary sacrifices small businesses have made to keep their employees safe, their customers confident, and their communities strong,” said Minister Sarkaria. “Our government is standing with main street businesses, and we remain committed to their recovery and renewed success. We are determined to support them through this pandemic and beyond.”

The plan’s regulatory and legislative changes, if passed, will:

·         Commit to exploring options to permanently allow licensed restaurants and bars to include alcohol with food as part of a takeout or delivery order before the existing regulation expires;

·         Permanently allow 24/7 deliveries to businesses that include retail stores, restaurants, and distribution facilities;

·         Support the distribution of local food and food products by increasing the range of products sold at the Ontario Food Terminal;

·         Enable Community Net Metering demonstration projects to help support local communities to develop innovative community projects like net-zero or community micro-grids;

·         Modernize the Assistive Devices Program;

·         Support Ontario’s Taxi and Limousine Industry by increasing fines for illegal operators.

“Small businesses owners and entrepreneurs have overcome significant challenges and made extraordinary sacrifices to continue contributing to our communities through these unprecedented times,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, President of the Treasury Board and Minister Responsible for Digital and Data Transformation. “Providing new, easy-to-use and innovative tools, like our Small Business Recovery Webpage, will give them the information they need to reopen safely and rebuild better in one central location. It’s another way we’re building a smarter government that’s working for you.”

“Ontario’s small businesses were hit hard by COVID-19, but they were the among the first to step up and demonstrate the best of the Ontario Spirit by bringing forward their innovative ideas and solutions in our time of need,” said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “Building on the steps we took at the outset of the pandemic to provide urgent economic relief to struggling small businesses, Ontario’s Main Street Recovery Plan will help get more and more small businesses back on their feet as we continue down the path to economic recovery together.”

QUICK FACTS

• The Workplace PPE Supplier Directory provides businesses with information on personal protective equipment (PPE) suppliers.

• Ontario is helping businesses overcome the unique challenges created by this pandemic with 50 temporary regulatory changes made to help them adapt and about 400 more roadblocks being explored.

• The $50-million Ontario Together Fund is helping businesses retool their operations to produce PPE and develop technology-driven solutions and services for businesses to reopen safely.

• The Ontario government reduced the small business Corporate Income Tax rate by 8.7%, starting on January 1, 2020. This will deliver up to $1,500 in annual savings to more than 275,000 businesses.

• Ontario’s new COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act is laying the foundation to restart jobs and development, strengthen communities, and create opportunity for people in every region of the province.

This new release was originally published by the Ontario Government, and the release can be read in its entirety at www.ontario.ca/news 

LEAMINGTON - The Ontario government is committing nearly $1 million in cost-share funding to help rural communities diversify their economies, retain skilled workers and create jobs.

Today, details about the funding were released by Ernie Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, which is being provided through a new targeted intake of the Rural Economic Development program (RED).

"This funding will focus on diversifying regional economies and improving the competitiveness of rural businesses across the province," said Minister Hardeman. "Due to the COVID-19 crisis many people are struggling, and this funding will support job creation and investment to help lift up individuals, families and businesses."

The intake is directed at not-for-profit organizations with a mandate towards regional economic development and eligible projects would be eligible for up to 70 per cent of total costs to a maximum of $75,000 in provincial funding. Minister Hardeman also announced more than $3 million in funding cost-shared with applicants to be invested in 65 projects through a previous RED intake.

This funding will support economic development efforts such as:

·         Capital improvements to enhance an uptown arts and cultural hub to increase tourism;

·         Implementing new and accessible streetscaping to develop a more inviting downtown;

·         Waterfront development to expand and revitalize local trails.

"I am very pleased to see our government stepping up to the plate, now more than ever, to help rural Ontario," said Rick Nicholls, MPP for Chatham-Kent-Leamington. "Assisting in the revitalization of downtown Leamington and supporting not-for-profit organizations are key to helping the region on its road to economic recovery."

"The John Street Centennial Park and Shotton Parkette upgrades are just two projects in a series of initiatives we are undertaking to reinvent public spaces and attract renewed interest and investment into Leamington's uptown core," said Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald. "We are very thankful to the Province of Ontario for support through the Rural Economic Development program to help complete these key infrastructure projects."

Quick Facts

• Applications will be accepted from September 21 – October 9, 2020.
• All costs must be incurred on or before March 31, 2021. Projects will not be extended beyond that date.

Projects need to meet the following criteria:

• benefit rural Ontario
•  have tangible outcomes
•  reach beyond one county, region, or district
• The next regular intake of the RED program is scheduled to open in December 2020.

A Live, Improvised Comedy Soap Opera Opens at Globus Theatre

Bobcaygeon-ation Street of Our Lives

Bobcaygeon, September 2020 - Three Canadian comedians, Chris Gibbs, Kerry Griffin, and Dave Pearce come together with Globus Theatre to bring a live, improvised soap opera to Bobcaygeon! Bobcaygeon-ation Street of Our Lives will run on September 24th, 25th, and 26th at the Lakeview Arts Barn for an audience of 50 people each night. With the direction of Sarah Quick, the comedic trio will create a world of drama, gossip, intrigue and shenanigans that will also be livestreamed as a nightly episode to homes across the Kawarthas...and beyond!

All three performers are Canadian Comedy Award Winners! Chris Gibbs has performed at Just For Laughs in Montreal and played "Gizzardgulper", one of the evil giants in the Disney feature The BFG, directed by Steven Spielberg. Audiences may recognize Kerry Griffin from numerous tv shows such as Schitt’s Creek (CBC), The Expanse (Prime), Murdoch Mysteries (CBC), Designated Survivor (ABC) and Baroness Von Sketch Show (CBC). Dave Pearce spent two seasons as a senior writer on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, was a regular contributor to CBC Radio’s The Irrelevant Show and now writes for The Beaverton.

Audiences will get to enjoy some cameo performances from some of our awesome youth performers as well!

Artistic Director, Sarah Quick says, “I wanted to create something using the resources that we have - in this case a wonderfully versatile theatre space and a company of some truly awesome performers. I don't think that traditional plays translate to online programming particularly effectively but I thought that creating a soap opera, with an ongoing storyline, that could be broadcast each night while being enjoyed by a 'live studio audience' would be something worth investigating!! The idea is that the two audiences become symbiotic - creating a connection by enjoying an evening of live entertainment in the environment that they feel most comfortable. Lots of our patrons have been enjoying the opportunity to 'get out' and enjoy dinner and a show surrounded by like-minded people. Safety has been a major priority - we want people to feel fully comfortable so that they come back again and again...they are doing just that, so we must be doing it right! Equally this will give a great opportunity for people that want to stay home, to see something happening right now, about our town (albeit a fictitious version!!) and designed to be relevant to them. It can become a wonderful family experience to 'tune in' and see what events are about to unfurl...we guarantee a cliffhanger each night!

As an added bonus and to make it even more hyper-local we encouraged the kids from our summer theatre camps to devise, create and film small 2-minute scenes that will make up part of each episode - and believe me they are super creative! I'm hoping they will enjoy the experience of sitting down to watch the show with their family and encouraging their friends to watch too.

At a time when it is super important for the theatre not to lose money by attempting something on such a grand scale we are truly thankful to our Season Within Reason sponsor Wilcox Architects, and to funding received from Celebrate Ontario and the RTO8 for making this possible. We feel like the Arts will play a huge part in the community's recovery from the pandemic both as a safe way to allow people to interact socially and by offering some mental health positivity in the form of laughter, creativity and hope.”

Please call the box office to book your (in-person) Dinner & Theatre tickets so that we can ensure adequate spacing when selecting your seats.

705-738-2037

Dinner & Theatre Tickets $75.00 (plus HST + $2.00 per ticket fee)

Livestream admission is free and will be available on Facebook before each performance.

COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program for Small Business: Applications Begin August 31

The Government of Ontario is making $8 million available to support small business and registered charities who are struggling to pay their energy bills as a result of COVID-19. The COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program for Small Business (CEAP-SB) provides a one time, on-bill credit to eligible small business and registered charity customers to help them catch up on their energy bills and resume regular payments.

To apply for CEAP funding, customers should contact their energy provider. Electricity and natural gas utilities andunit sub-meter providers (USMPs)will begin accepting applications for CEAP-SBonAugust 31, 2020, delivering the program in accordance with rules laid out by the OEB. CEAP-SB funding is limited, with utilities and USMPs expected to process applications in the order in which they are received. Please note, submitting an application does not guarantee funding.

For more information, including eligibility requirements and on-bill credit amounts, visit oeb.ca/ceap.