It’s the most wonderful time of the year—Santa Claus is coming to town and the Thunder Bay 50/50 grand prize is expected to surpass last year’s total and change lives.

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.

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. 

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.

With the busy holiday season about to clobber us, it’s the perfect time to treat yourself to some new appie recipes, whether you’re toting them to a friend’s or staying in for a cosy night. These two are easy, tasty, and tick all the aforementioned boxes.

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.

In winter I get up at night, 

to look upon the weary sky 

to stare out at that single, lidless eye

as it gazes through the flakes of white 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

Tossed with chicken and potatoes on a sheet pan, this za'atar-y dinner is absolutely one to try this week. I’m not even a potato person, but this dish is the George Costanza of dinners, telling a zinger and leaving, but without the awkward pause.

She died. And each day we discovered disconnected items in large quantity. Boxes in a variety of sizes filled closets from floor to ceiling.

Christopher Waite is an Ojibwe scholar of history and lover of stories and this, his first book in print, is a unique and highly enjoyable blend of fiction, traditional knowledge, fantasy, history, and a journey of self-discovery.

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.

“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 menu is a treasure trove of delights. Originally from Gujarat, Prajapati brings unexpected gems to the table.