Just like Freddie Mercury once sang, bicycle races are coming your way. The XCM Canadian Championships are back and taking over Kinsmen Park once again.

This past weekend, the vibes were unmatched at the inaugural Afro Vibe Fest, a two-day festival celebrating Afro-centric culture, music, and arts in Thunder Bay with live stage performances, cultural demonstrations, kids’ activities, local food vendors, and more.

For Sean Trevisanutto, co-owner and president of Creekside Nursery & Garden Centre, gardening and landscaping isn’t just a business, it’s a family legacy rooted in generations of green thumbs.

Todd Miller’s connection to Silver Islet runs deep; he is a fifth-generation resident descended from the original settlers, James and Helen Cross, who arrived in 1871. His upbringing was steeped in the rich history of the area, igniting a lifelong passion for shipwrecks and lighthouses. This fascination laid the foundation for his unintentional future as a historian, lecturing to guests aboard the Great Lakes cruises for Viking cruise ships.

Mackenzie Angeconeb of Lac Seul First Nation has fulfilled her childhood dream of being a  published author. The Fragments that Remain is Angeconeb’s first book, a young adult novel following the story of brother and sister Ally and Andy, with one sibling’s death leaving a life-altering impact on the other.

Thunder Bay’s beloved burger-eating fundraiser for the local United Way, Novemburger, will be getting a brand new name ahead of this year’s campaign. On May 30, Brulé, alongside the fundraiser’s chef de mission Erika Mikkola, unveiled that the fundraiser will now be known as the Ultimate Burger Battle. 

Say “hello”—or rather, say “bonjour”—to the new and improved Festival BONJOUR, formally known as Franco Festival. Since its inception almost 20 years ago, the event has evolved greatly, from a one-day gathering every two years to an annual three-day extravaganza. What could top that? This year, from June 5 to 7, Festival BONJOUR is inviting you to experience even more than ever, proving their name change represents more than meets the eye.

This past weekend, the Northwestern Ontario Writers Workshop (NOWW) hosted its 27th annual LitFest at Goods & Co. The two-day event concluded with the NOWW Awards Gala on May 17, where Marianne Jones and Michael Sobota, two influential local writers, were celebrated for their significant contributions and support to literature in the region.

What started as a sidewalk sale in 2013 has grown into a neighbourhood-wide festival attracting thousands of attendees over the years. This summer, the Bay & Algoma Buskers Festival will celebrate a milestone tenth anniversary with more international acts than ever before. 

Even in this day and age, the topic of youth mental health can still be considered taboo, typically discussed through euphemisms, if at all. So what is unveiled when a snapshot of 10 young people’s mental health and their ways of coping with it is not hushed up or downplayed, but instead proudly displayed for all to bear witness to—unadulterated? In Teenage Mechanisms, Kamryn Woloschuk seeks to answer that question.