Walking through the doors of the market, there’s a homey, eclectic vibe that pulls you in to explore—the warm glow of string lights, patterned rugs, and each corner taking you to different moments in time with their curated inventory. Co-owners Allison Modin and Marley Guinta say their intention with the business is to create a Thunder Bay spin on Kensington Market in Toronto.
“I was looking at one of the first illustrations I ever did for The Walleye and I noticed the date on it: 2015. I realized, ‘Oh man, it’s going to be 10 years!’ That felt huge,” says Hotson. Wanting to commemorate this milestone, he first thought of an exhibition showcasing illustrations from throughout the years and then, discussing with the magazine’s staff, the idea for Field Notes for Translating Ghosts: A Decade of Quiet Conversations—a collection of illustrations he’s done for The Beat—was born.
The City of Thunder Bay Arts & Heritage Awards made their return last night onstage at Magnus Theatre, where nominees and the public were invited to honour the artistic talent, dedication, and achievements across artistic disciplines.
Once a roadside gem on Highway 61, Eatery 61 has traded the highway hustle for downtown charm, and Thunder Bay’s food scene is better for it.
The aroma of freshly baked pizza and simmering tomato sauce now fills a familiar Westfort corner, one that has found new life through the love and determination of Brandy Pulice and her partner, Tom Woycheshin.
The menu is a treasure trove of delights. Originally from Gujarat, Prajapati brings unexpected gems to the table.
Although Chef Fred Sorrell initially needed a larger prep kitchen for his business, Bread & Butter, he simply couldn’t resist the call of the walk-up window. Thus, Red River Dogs was born, and it’s already been a hit with young and old alike!
Definitely Superior Art Gallery’s annual Halloween extravaganza The Hunger returned this past weekend for a party unlike any other, where the audience was as much a part of the art as the artists were.
Liminal is on display at Definitely Superior Art Gallery’s 37th Annual Regional Juried Exhibition, featuring the work of 75 multidisciplinary contemporary artists from across Northwestern Ontario.
Definitely Superior Art Gallery’s annual Halloween extravaganza is back, taking over downtown Port Arthur on October 31. Last year, this event drew over 3,000 people to the Port Arthur downtown core to experience this one-of-a-kind event. It’s a party unlike any other, where the audience is as much a part of the art as the artists are.
Fifty years ago, in late 1975, what we now know as the Thunder Bay Art Gallery opened its doors, welcoming the community to see exhibits that included works by Picasso, Norval Morrisseau, the Group of Seven, Ray Thomas, William Kurelek, Daphne Odjig, Benjamin Chee Chee, and Jackson Beardy. Visitors and residents alike now had a chance to be inspired by art, take classes, and to be part of nurturing and showcasing local, regional, and Canadian artists.
High school friends Jarret Schilke, Derek DeSa, and Bryan Johnston share a powerful bond and love of hip hop. With Johnston’s beats and Schilke and DeSa’s MC skills, the trio decided to put on a show at the Apollo in December of 2000. The rest, as they say, is history.
Today marks a grand slam for Thunder Bay blues lovers; the blues will be coming back to the city on a major scale next summer. After a seven year hiatus, the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium (TBCA) announced that a summer blues festival will return in 2026 as they unveiled the lineup for the newly rebranded festival, now known as Blues in the Ballpark, which will now take place at Port Arthur Stadium next August 21 and 22, featuring a lineup of acclaimed international blues talent.
“It’s crazy. It’s like a small arena show,” says local musical artist EZRA, whose debut single “Slip Away” has amassed over 15,000 plays between streaming services since it was released last November.
For a musician, creating an alter-ego can allow for a creativity and freedom that their public persona doesn’t allow.
Here are three artists who took the alter ego path, with varying degrees of success.
Just before a group of actors are set to perform A Christmas Carol for the umpteenth time, one actor just cannot do that story any more. So then the troupe comes up with the idea to just tell, well, every Christmas story ever told. From The Gift of the Magi and A Charlie Brown Christmas to The Grinch and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the stories overlap into a play-within-a-play.
The past four years of Ooky Spooky have left behind a trail of blood, slime, and a white substance not suitable to be named in this publication—all of it unhinged and unforgettable to those who were there to see it.
This year’s lineup features a variety of genres such as drama, comedy, documentary, horror, and thriller, with an emphasis on filmmakers from the region. “Our goal is to highlight local films and the local film industry, and we’ve been accomplishing that,” says Harpelle.
Described as Fargo meets Trailer Park Boys, this dark comedy follows Jason/Tumbleweed (Ben Albert), who dreams of becoming a famous rapper. But, he needs money to get to Sudbury to record his album. With the help of his girlfriend Tiffany (Shaundra Benincasa), they come up with a scheme to blackmail his estranged dad James (Greg Bishop) into giving them the money.
Director Laura-Lynn Petrick’s Lempo brings a chilling and intimate story to life on familiar northern waters. Childhood friends Shaun and Annie reconnect at neighbouring cabins, only to be forced to confront an ominous figure tied to Annie’s family history.
‘Tis the season for festivals, fun, and folk music, and Mt. Joy’s fourth LP, Hope We Have Fun, boasts 13 tracks that sound as good in headphones as they do on a festival stage.
Many of you may know Lights from her 2000s emo pop era; now, while we all may be ready to leave the extreme side bangs behind (if you know, you know), Lights’s new album A6 shows that she is ready to enter a new musical chapter.
Thunder Bay/Toronto-based artist Nadjiwan has released his latest album, Now Is the Right Time of Year, an eight-track, boundary-pushing collection of Indigenous rock music.
Buying stuff isn’t necessarily a bad thing—it injects money into the economy, keeps stores open, and keeps people employed. If we see it that way, maybe Christmas is all about gifts, including the gift of continued economic growth if we spend our money in the right direction.
Since the return of concert-going, I’ve seen increasing conversation online about poor concert etiquette post-pandemic. I had been to a few smaller shows back home in Thunder Bay since returning after school, and didn’t notice anything much had changed. I thought this might just be the case in major cities where venues have massive capacities, given it had been a while since people had been in crowds and might just need time to acclimate. But then I experienced it for myself.
The issue I’ve been stuck with, though, is wanting to move myself beyond just acceptance and be able to see the beauty in my body. Recently, I have discovered the most incredible, perspective-adjusting form of art that has led me on a path to appreciating myself through music and movement: burlesque.
It's a curtain call for the democracy Canadians built after the world wars. Politics is evolving from an arena where powerbrokers create consensus from disparate viewpoints into a zero-sum game where stakeholders choose loyalties, the victor divides the spoils, and the losers are annihilated. Our partisan choices are either a technocratic centre-right that thinks it knows better or a rules-weary right wing that feigns no moral pretense.
November 19 marked the start of Delta’s Winter Wonderland, a festival running through February 28 that promises to paint the Waterfront in happy colours during the darkest months of the year. At the centre of it all is a 25-foot Christmas tree standing across from the Sleeping Giant.