The Thursday Afternoon Art Collective brings ‘Between Heaven and Earth’ to the Old Schoolhouse Art Gallery

The Thursday Afternoon Art Collective will be coming to the walls of the Old Schoolhouse Art Gallery at 6 PM on Friday June 9. The talents of Lisa Gibbons, Madhurima Braaten, Dayna Davis, Caz Ratcliffe, Denise Drury, Jane Newman, Karen McDairmid and Darshan Stevens are on display in ‘Between Heaven and Earth.’ The exhibition closes on Sunday June 18. 

“I’ve been doing art classes in the studio for the last maybe 10 years,  mixed media art classes for different members of the community, children and adults,” explained Lisa Gibbons.

“A core group of really dedicated people just kept coming and emerged as this vital core group that we have right now. We were meeting just before the pandemic, but it was still in the form of a class. Then we had to take this break and, for me personally, I also had to take a break for health reasons. The studio was dormant. We were all  in our own creative spaces at home.  Gratefully, I was able to come back to the studio late last fall,  maybe November, and this core group of women really wanted to continue coming back as well.  We just naturally morphed into a collaborative group because everybody’s got so much experience now. So we left behind that old model that we were doing before, it’s just really beautiful how it’s blossomed, and we’re doing things together.” 

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For some Ukrainian refugees, Canada is not the answer

By Yuriy Umansky, New Canadian Media, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

For more than 10 years, Alina dreamed of moving to Canada. After the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022, she finally left Ukraine and arrived in Kitchener under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) program. She hoped to begin a new life here and restart her career, but Alina faces numerous difficulties in adapting to life in Canada and is thinking about returning to Europe. 

Alina is not alone. There are many similar accounts among the 220,000 Ukrainians who immigrated here over the last year and could not find themselves. Some have already left Canada. Here are their stories: 

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First 2 months of ICAN’s food recovery program: almost 1,300 people benefit

In the two months that ICAN’s food recovery program has been in operation, close to 1,300 people have received benefits.  

“Since the beginning of March we’ve distributed 10,408.4 kilos of food, and that has been  distributed to 338 individuals, who were feeding 671 people.  In addition to that, we have been supplying various agencies like Quadra Circle, the Read Island Aging In Place program, the Read Island Community Kitchen. These agencies have been feeding an additional 600 people. In  total, we estimate that this food has provided meals for 1,271 people,” said Ramona Boyle, Coordinator of Quadra ICAN.

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Local Death Caring Collective expands services, helps community navigate health care options

By Greg Osoba, CKTZ News, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca

Cortes Island Death Caring Collective is looking to expand its services and hire a staff member as the local island’s population ages.

Collective Co-founder Margaret Verschuur says that more community members are needing help to navigate the myriad of health care options available for addressing physical or mental health needs, or both. She adds that those needs can be due to physical limitations, loss of a loved one, or ageing in place.

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Mining and conservation can go hand in hand, environment ministers say

By Matteo Cimellaro, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Mining projects and protected land can co-exist, two provincial environment ministers said at a press conference on Friday after two days of meetings with their counterparts from across the country.

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As Broadcast over CKTZ, Whats Current on Cortes and Beyond