And it couldn’t be a more appropriate time to reflect. On October 16, 1985—40 years ago—the TBCA opened its doors, unlocking a world of potential for the region. To commemorate this milestone anniversary, the TBCA hosted a special event to launch their 40th season that paid homage to its roots.

Hear ye, hear ye! This October 11 and 12, all fair ladies and lords are called to wander through the gates of Thunder Bay’s first ever Renaissance faire at the Murillo Fairgrounds from 10 am to 7 pm each day. The event is hosted by the Oliver Agricultural Society and a team of volunteers, and fairgoers are encouraged to don their best medieval capes, crowns, and chainmail for the most mystical of weekends. 

It’s official, the fall season is here in all of its pumpkin-spiced, red-leaved, and crisp-aired glory. Whether you’re ready for all things autumn or need a little help letting go of summer, we’ve compiled nine ways to help you celebrate the season. 

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.

Before a single frame of The Moth was shot, co-directors Michelle Derosier and Zoe Gordon were years deep in discussions about the impacts of regional development and ecological change on the land. 

‘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.

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.

I was ready for the unexpected on my first day as an outreach worker at Elevate NWO. Elevate is a harm reduction organization responding to treatment and prevention of HIV and Hepatitis C in Thunder Bay and the wider region, but also finds itself responding to other emerging issues. In Thunder Bay, that often means advocating for our unhoused neighbours in the fight for housing, not tents.  

All this said, I was nevertheless surprised when all the talk of my first day was about birds!

Summer is here and it’s time to live, laugh, and litter outside.