Fri Apr 12: Weekend Reading & Events + Local News Updates

Plus: Updates from Bruce Power, the GSCA, YMCA of Owen Sound Grey Bruce, Georgian Bluffs, and more

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I’ve been reading Cody Caetano’s Half-Bads in White Regalia ahead of his author talk and workshop next weekend. He’s the next author to visit with the Owen Sound Memoir Series, a monthly literary series that brings Canadian authors to town for author talks and writing workshops.

I’ve not finished the book yet and plan to dig in again on our 7-hour drive up north this weekend (on my turn as navigator, obviously). It seems a fitting read for a Central Ontario drive, given that most of Cody’s Half-Bads is set in “Sunshine City,” a nickname for Orillia inspired by Stephen Leacock’s Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town.

The familiarity of it all, as a kid who grew up in small town Ontario, is one of the things I love most about the book so far. Scenes of family life, house parties, sibling rivalries and wandering the neighbourhood are fond memories, and Cody’s Indigenous perspective is a fascinating layer.

Cody Caetano is an off-reserve member of the Pinaymootang First Nation (Manitoba). He has an MA in creative writing from the University of Toronto where he wrote his memoir under the mentorship of influential First Nations writer and critic Lee Maracle. 

It’s amazing to have writers of this caliber come to Owen Sound, and I love that they stay for a workshop the day following the author talk.

The Owen Sound Memoir Series is offering free tickets for Indigenous people to attend Cody Caetano’s memoir reading and writing workshop on April 19 and 20, via arlen.wiebe.writer@gmail.com.

For all others who would like to support this project, keep Canadian writers coming to town, and take in the talk or workshop, tickets are $35 for Friday evening and $40 for Saturday afternoon. You can get them at online or at the Library. Both events will be held at the Harmony Centre, 890 4th Ave E.

Full subscribers, there’s a lot more for you below, including…

• Photos from an Ontario Medical Association visit to the soon-to-be-opened Brightshores Wellness and Recovery Centre

• Details about Bruce Power’s $300,000 donation to local healthcare initiatives

• Grey Sauble Conservation Authority updates and areas of focus from a recent CAO’s report

• What’s going on at the YMCA, with registration dates and deadlines you won’t want to miss

• Events happening in and around Owen Sound this weekend

~ Miranda

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