Like a lot of events this summer, the Labour Day Picnic in Riverside Park is making a comeback. The event held by the Guelph & District Labour Council has cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 and replaced with a Labour Day parade, but this Monday it’s hot dogs and samosas and solidarity in-person just like old times, and probably with a lot of political talk as well. Continue reading “Labour Day Picnic Back, In-Person, This Coming Weekend”
We’ve talked about a lot of heavy stuff on the podcast this year – the pandemic, sexual violence, trans healthcare, mental health and reconciliation all to name a few. So before we take a summer break* it felt like we needed a safe space, somewhere serene where we can get back to nature and just talk like two people. In other words, we just need someone to tell us a story. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #336 – Story Time”
Hundreds of people made their way to the bandshell area at Riverside Park to enjoy the first in-person celebration of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples in Guelph in two years. Demonstrations of Indigenous dance and drumming were presented, craft-makers and artisans showed off their wares, and the settler community got a taste of a culture struggling to be embraced and preserved by the next generation. Continue reading “In-Person National Indigenous Peoples Day is a Big Success at Riverside Park”
The Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) spent the day in Guelph on Friday with nearly $13 million to burn in her pocket. Two stops on her public schedule delivered money for a new green technology innovation fund, and money to help improve area tourist attractions including Guelph’s biggest and most famous park. Continue reading “FedDev Minister Brings Millions of New Investment to Guelph and Wellington”
On Sunday in Riverside Park there were the usual activities of people running, kids playing, families spending time together – there was even a little sword-fighting practice – but one corner of the park played host to a microcosm of one of the essential debates of our time: the effect of disinformation on conspiracy theories on the population. Two small groups stood separate but equal in their passions as internet debates were made manifest by the band shell. Continue reading “A Day in the Park for Some, an Emerging Threat to Others”
The anti-mask movement will hit Guelph on Sunday with a planned gathering at Riverside Park from 1 pm to 4 pm. Seemingly organized by four area residents, a Facebook event page was posted on Monday followed swiftly by an event page for a counter-protest. The moves make Guelph the latest battleground in the intersection between public health orders, conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic, and yes, QAnon. Continue reading “Anti-Mask and Anti-Anti-Mask Protests Happening in Guelph Sunday”
It’s Labour Day, which means for most a chance to rest and recreate, but in Riverside Park every year, it’s a chance for organized labour to stand in solidarity with their fellow union employees. This year, with a Federal election on the horizon, and the spectre of Provincial cutbacks, things were slightly more political than usual. Continue reading “Solidarity Forever, But Surrounded By Politics at the Labour Day Picnic”
Do you like parks? Do you like playgrounds? Who doesn’t? And I know you kids who read this blog do. So the City of Guelph is looking for feedback concerning a new playground equipment being installed in four local parks. I don’t have any kids, so I really have no skin in the game, but what I will say is that if it were me offering my input, I would lean more towards the sandlots and metal bars of my own playground days. Hey, it may not have been as safe, and I knocked out my two front teeth on a see-saw when I was five, but I survived. (Maybe that’s why I shouldn’t have a say…) Continue reading “PRESS RELEASE – City Wants Feedback for New Equipment in 4 Parks”
Guelph Politico 