Category: Public Events

Family Fun in Fergus

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The Elora Gorge makes Fergus, ON a sweet place to visit any time of year but come October, when you toss in some early fall colour, the town’s many charms really start to shine.

Combine that natural magic with some theatrical magic and you’ve got a very nice way to spend a fall day.

This October consider a family road trip to Fergus for an afternoon of fun at the Magic Festival family matinee show held in the town’s charming theatre, The Fergus Grand.

It’s a sweet little room with no bad seats or sight lines.

I’m not a part of this year’s edition but the talent lineup is always good and it’s curated by a pro, Fergus native Ryan Joyce.

Colourful screen grab of Magic Show info graphic showing basic show info.

Ticket info here.

Worthy of your consideration. Individual tickets and family ticket packages are available.

Fergus Grand Theatre interior as seen from stage.
Yours truly at The Fergus Grand a while back.

Magical Offerings at the BPAC #3

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Screen grab of Lucy Darling with listing details from Burlington Peforming Arts Centre website.

Lucy Darling!

My third and final post regarding unique spring 2025 magical offerings at The Burlington Performing Arts Centre. It’s great to see so much variety art scheduled so I’ve done my wee part with a post for each over the last few weeks.

Carissa Hendrix had been paying her dues for years as a variety performer out west but really came into her own with the character Lucy Darling. Lucy looks and talks like a glamorous old school Hollywood movie star but brings the quick wit, improvisational and magical skills plus comedy chops of a seasoned performer along for the ride.

I don’t know Carissa personally but worked a festival with her back in 2019 and her Lucy character, then already well established, has grown ever more fully formed and nuanced.

Her current show, Lucy Darling, comes to the BPAC on Wednesday April 23rd 2025 at 7:30 pm It’s worthy of your consideration. Visit BPAC for full info.

Magical Offerings at the BPAC #2

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Screen grab of Tomas Kubinek listing details from Burlington Performing Arts Centre website.

Tomáš Kubínek

This is the second of 3 unique magical offerings during spring 2025 at The Burlington Performing Arts Centre. It’s great to see so much variety art scheduled so I’m doing my part with a wee blog post for each over the next few weeks.

Tomáš Kubínek is veteran performer with a local connection. He grew up in Hamilton and was, in his younger years, an active part of the local performing scene. We met through the local junior magician club way back when. Since those halcyon days his talents have grown and he’s travelled far and wide. The Golden Horseshoe may no longer be home but it’s nice to see him working in the old neighbourhood.

It’s a bit hard to describe his act so just watch the video in the BPAC show listing. Better yet just go. You could use a night out…!

His current show, Miracle Man, is coming to the BPAC on, fittingly, Tuesday April 1st 2025 at 7:00 pm. Visit BPAC for full info.

Tom & I hanging out at the 100th birthday celebration of our mutual friend and mentor Gordon Precious.
–May 2024

Tom & I at a reception for a mutal friend's 100th birthday.

Eclipse 2024 follow up…

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Solar eclipse during totality. Black ball with cloudy white corona around it in an otherwise darkened cloudy sky.
My best shot during totality.

Well that was cool! I mean actually cool too; you could feel the temperature dip moments before the main event. Happily, not long before our 1 minute & 50 second window of totality, the cloudy skies cleared just enough. The shifting cloud patterns, I imagine, made everyone’s photos more unique. We’d all have the exact same photo had it been a clear blue sky.

Wondering what to do with your eclipse glasses now? Here are some recycling & reuse options. Apparently astronomical organizations like Astronomers Without Borders collect them for reuse in underserved regions.

Locally, you can take them to any branch of Hamilton Public Library.
You can also drop them off on McMaster University campus.
Additionally, this piece on CBC website has some info.

Most of these collection options have time limits. End of April 2024. So, if you’re reading my blog in the 23rd century, don’t bother…!

My left hand holding up a toy version of man eating "Audrey 2" plant during totality. Funny joke if you've seen the movie.
Funny, if you’ve seen the movie Little Shop of Horrors…!
Me with a friend and her elderly father all wearing our eclipse glasses.
It’s a challenge to position the selfie stick when you can’t see through your eclipse glasses. Snort!

Solar Eclipse April 8, 2024

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Like a gazillion other folks I’m looking forward to the upcoming solar eclipse. First in Hamilton since 1925. We won’t be in the path of another full solar eclipse locally until October 26, 2144!

Plenty of community outreach thanks in large measure to McMaster University and its Department of Physics & Astronomy. They are distributing proper viewing glasses throughout the region. While you can take them off for the 1 minute 50 seconds of totality we will experience locally you’ll need to wear them before & after that brief period of total darkness.

Here are a few links that should cover most everything eclipse for you:

McMaster University public eclipse lectures here.

(Last week I attended one of these public lectures offered by McMaster. The talk was about 45 minutes with Q & A afterwards.)

McMaster Planetarium eclipse info here.

Hamilton Public Library eclipse info here.

Canada Space Agency eclipse info here.

Examples of cardboard eclipse viewing glasses that McMaster University is giving away.
Complimentary viewing glasses are being widely distributed via libraries.
Shadow of vegetable steamer with about 200 tiny partial eclipses visible. One in every hole of the steamer.
From 2017’s partial eclipse. Fun shot using my vegetable steamer.