$4.8M FOR UNITED WAY
PAGE
4
WARRIORS ADVANCE
STRATFORD VOLUME 5 • ISSUE 34
PAGE
12 FREE
APRIL 10, 2026
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS! ANNIVERSARY
A Passion for People SHERRIE ROULSTON
Real Estate Broker email: sherrieroulston@royallepage.ca Direct: 519-272-3578
1020 Ontario St., Stratford 519-275-3413 www.eyestobuyoptical.ca
SALE See store for details
EYE EXAMS ON SITE
FRAMES START AT $60
PIF invites city to reimagine its river
CONNOR LUCZKA
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Provocation Ideas Festival (PIF) is asking what Stratford’s Avon River could become in the years ahead with its newest initiative. Flowing Futures: Avon River Design Challenge is a partnership between PIF, BMI Group, the Stratford Public Library, Our Stōr(y), Pathways to Poetry Festival and the Boathouse Stratford, with support from the Destination Development Fund. It invites artists, students, designers, environmental thinkers and community members to propose bold new ideas for the iconic river. Mark Rosenfeld, PIF founding director, and other partners gathered on the banks of the river on April 2 to announce the project. As he said, the Avon River is not just scenery to Stratford. “It is part of Stratford’s identity,” Rosenfeld said. “It is part of our memory. It is part of how people experience this city – whether they live here, visit here, walk here, paddle here, gather here, or simply pause here. And today, we are asking a simple but powerful question: What could this river become in the years ahead? “… It is about imagining new possibilities for the Avon River – but doing so with care, creativity and a deeper sense of connection to place,” Rosenfeld went on to say. “This initiative invites people from Stratford and the surrounding region to imagine how the Avon River could evolve as a place of ecological stewardship, climate resilience, creativity and culture, community connection and public life. And one of the things that CONTINUED TO PAGE 3
(GARY WEST PHOTO)
Sales crew and staff join Darryl and Sarah Markus and family at Wednesday’s CDX Calves for a Cause. Some of the money raised from the sale supports the London-based Children’s Health Foundation.
Calves for a Cause grosses over $484,000 – $72,000 for Children’s Health Foundation AMANDA NELSON
Times Reporter
The Canadian Dairy XPO (CDX)’s annual Calves for a Cause auction raised more than $484,000 during this year’s live sale April 1 in the Cow Coliseum at the Stratford Agriplex. Thousands attended to show their support and submit bids on this year’s lineup. Calves for a Cause is a live auction featuring elite dairy calves, embryos and genetics from breeders across Canada. Proceeds from the sale support programs and care for children at London Children’s Hospital.
The initiative was started by dairy producers Darryl and Sarah Markus to give back after their son, Brooks Markus, received care at the hospital. The average sale price was $6,942 across 47 live lots, with a total gross of $484,248, including frozen genetics. Jordon Underhill, CDX director, said more than $72,000 will be directly sent to Children’s Health Foundation. “The cool part about it is that this donation helps people outside of the agricultural industry,” said Underhill. “It’s a bigger picture. Everybody knows somebody who’s had a child who’s been in a children’s hospital, and it’s such an CONTINUED TO PAGE 2