Kawartha Lakes
Connect to Arts, Culture and Heritage
Welcome!
Heritage Permit Applications are now ONLINE
Welcome to the winter edition of our Arts, Culture and Heritage Newsletter. We’re so glad to have you checking in on us during these cold, snowy months. Don’t fear, we’ve been keeping busy at the City of Kawartha Lakes since there’s lots of events, programs, and workshops planned for 2026.
Heritage Permit Applications for DESIGNATED heritage properties are now available online at City Works Public Access Portal.
Whether you prefer staying indoors or going outside, the City of Kawartha Lakes has plenty to offer! If you prefer staying inside this winter, grab a book from the library and a cozy blanket from one of our local businesses. If braving the cold is more your thing, maybe you’ll be inspired by the outdoor activities of our residents from the past. No matter your fancy, there’s always a way to ward off cabin fever.
Upcoming: “County to Kawartha Lakes”
For further information on heritage permitting at the City, accessing CityWorks Portal, and submitting an application, please visit the Kawartha Lakes Website or contact Heritage staff.
Journey through the regions’ story of growth as told through its municipal history!
Vol. 3 December 2025
Connect to Arts, Culture and Heritage
2026 Art in the Halls Commemorates the 25th Anniversary of the City of Kawartha Lakes Art in the Halls is an exhibition program that celebrates local artistic and creative talents! Exhibits will rotate each year to showcase works from local craft guilds and clubs at City Hall. The City of Kawartha Lakes is excited to offer a space for display and sale of artwork in an accessible, public, and encouraging space. This year, city staff invited local arts groups and crafts guilds to submit an application for a 2-month long temporary exhibit at City Hall. The theme for 2026 is “25 Years in the Making”, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the City of Kawartha Lakes. Each exhibit demonstrates a deep sense of place and truly represents the creativity, innovation, and originality of our local artists!
Schedule of Events January/February - Municipal Art Collection
Ever noticed that municipal buildings have artwork that represents local landmarks and landscapes? Come find out why municipalities do this and learn more about art in the municipal world.
March/April - Kawartha Camera Club
The Kawartha Camera Club brings together photographers of all experience and skill levels to learn more about their cameras, socialize, and take photographs!
May/June - Bobcaygeon Brushstrokes Brushstrokes is a vibrant collective of local artists that capture the beauty of Kawartha Lakes one brushstroke at a time. 2
July/August - Lindsay District Rug Hookers Guild The Lindsay District Rug Hookers Guild is a group of fiber artists that create artwork using traditional and punch needle rug hooking skills.
September/October - Kawartha Art Network KAN is a not-for-profit artists’ group that provides members and the community with workshops, networking, and publicity of the arts.
November/December - Kawartha Weavers and Spinners Guild The Kawartha Weavers and Spinners Guild members practice the artistry of weaving, spinning, and other fiber arts. Vol. 3 December 2025
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Lots of Work and Lots of Play was the Settler Way You either love winter, or you hate it, it really all depends on what kind of hobbies and activities you like to do. Those that enjoy spending time outside in frigid temperatures and sparkling snow might enjoy ice fishing, tobogganing, or a variety of other types of outdoors winter activities that Canadians are stereotyped to love. Those who don’t mind the beautiful snowfall but would prefer to stay warm and toasty can also brave the cold by layering up to enjoy markets, fairs, or Christmas Concerts. Either way, whether you hate winter or love it, there’s always something for you to do – and, really, the things we enjoy today, aren’t much different than what the people of the past liked to do for fun. For them, most activities in December and January were centered on the holidays. Holiday themed events, like local Santa Clause parades (which began in the late 1800s), got people excited for the upcoming Christmas season. Other events, like the annual School Christmas Concert,
was not only a form of entertainment on cold, dreary winter nights, but also an excuse to get together with neighbours and family to enjoy a good chat or listen to the children sing. The music and singing weren’t half bad either, since teachers prided themselves on their work and practiced with and trained their students all year in order to nail the end-of-year performance. Other, more unique events, like Tea Meetings, were a community focused 3
event and held at the local church, where community members would drink tea and spend time together. Less formal, more recognizable, activities were also very popular, including ice fishing, tobogganing, and hockey! Other, less familiar games were played as well including ice barrel ball, a game where players would skate around on an outdoor rink or frozen lake and try to dunk their ball into a barrel at either end of the rink. If a player had a ball and they got tagged by another player then the person who got tagged had to throw the ball to another player – and don’t even think about tackling the player holding the ball since tackling and shoving were strictly against the rules. So, don’t worry if you were somehow transported back in time there would be plenty of fun wintertime activities to do besides chores. Or, maybe do worry since time travel movies make it look pretty tricky to get back home to electricity and modern snow gear.
Cows Pulling Sleigh - c.1930s
Vol. 3 December 2025
Connect to Arts, Culture and Heritage
A Historic Holiday Feast
This Day in History
The December 1905 Millbrook and Omemee Mirror newspaper stated that the holiday table should have, Oyster soup Roast turkey with chestnut stuffing Whipped potatoes Baked squash Scalloped onions Apple and walnut salad Pumpkin pie Cranberry and mincemeat tarts Iced plum pudding Cake Date creams
January 13, 1906
While this would have been considered an extravagant meal for the average family, it contained the basics of what most families would have eaten over the holidays; which was meat, potatoes, vegetables, and pie! Some early settlers even ate beaver tails (and, no, not the pastry kind).
A meeting was held at Bobcaygeon Town Hall to discuss the formation of a local Branch of the Ontario Fish and Game Association.
December 16, 1908 The ladies group at the Manila Methodist Church held their first ever bazaar (also known as a ‘Fancy Sale’) and tea meeting. They made $110!
February 14, 15, 16, 1912 Lindsay held its first Winter Carnival. A three-day long event that brought people into Lindsay from the surrounding area. There were games, contests, exhibits, and performances!
March 25, 1917 The Great Flood of Little Britain was in full swing! To help water flow and break up ice jams, men used sticks of dynamite to break up ice flows during the flood.
February 22, 1937 Fenelon Fall’s first Ice Carnival - a four-day long event sponsored by the Fenelon Falls Hockey Association and the Fenelon Falls Businessmen’s Association. It featured all sorts of winter activities like skating, skiing, skijoring, ice baseball, ice golf, and tobogganing. Dr. George C.R. Hall’s Car - c.1940s
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Vol. 3 December 2025
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Lindsay’s Winter Carnival
Cutter and Team, Dr. George Wesley Hall, c.1900s
Lindsay was once home to the area’s largest Winter Carnival. Organized by a group of young businessmen called the Lindsay Advancement Club, the group set about to organize a three-day long winter fair that would bring people into Lindsay from all over Kawartha Lakes (known as Victoria County at this time). Not only was this a good way to bring in visitors, it was also a fun event that brought a jolly and boisterous winter spirit to town with prizes, activities, exhibits, and some friendly competition between locals. All sorts of competitions were held over the three-day long event, all promising cash prizes of $1 to the winners - except for the tug of war competition. There was a competition event for everyone, from cutter races (as pictured below) to heavy horse competitions to costume contests and dog shows, there was something for everyone. If competitions weren’t your thing, don’t worry, there was plenty else to see rather than do. Music filled the streets, everything from 5
Holiday Cards Ever since the first Christmas card was sent in 1843, holiday greeting cards have become a cultural mainstay. While most holiday cards today have images that relate to the holidays or wintertime, holiday cards weren’t always toting a jolly St. Nick or a wintry landscape. Holiday cards in the 1800s often had whimsical, strange, and even sometimes morbid imagery! By the 1870s, sending holiday cards became the norm, and the cards quickly became collectible pieces of art!
Vol. 3 December 2025
Connect to Arts, Culture and Heritage
Cutter Races, Lindsay Winter Carnival - 1912
the rube band to the Citizen’s Band, to the local pipe band played over the course of the event. Often, the bands dressed up in costume to really add to the spirit of the carnival. There was even a parade that passed through downtown Lindsay on the final day of the event. The Carnival was not only a chance for people from neighbouring communities to fight off cabin fever during the cold winter months by socializing and having some fun, it was also a celebration of Lindsay and its community. To celebrate its past and present, the Academy Theater showed picture reels so carnival-goers could reminisce about the past and enjoy beautiful pictures of the area. Lindsay Town Hall also got in on the fun, and held a “Made in Lindsay Exhibit” that featured local vendors, mechanical innovations, and photographs of the area that people could enjoy and learn more about the community. The Lindsay Advancement Club wanted the Winter Carnival to be the biggest 6
celebration of the year, so they worked out a deal with the local rail company to provide carnival-goers with half fare rates for those within 82 miles of the town - but only if they stayed all three days. The cheaper travel rates made it more affordable for people to travel to Lindsay from around Victoria County, and gave them a reasonable excuse to stay and celebrate for all three days. The Lindsay Advancement Club also published the Carnival program in different newspapers around the County, ensuring as many people as possible would see it and travel to Lindsay for the celebration. The Lindsay Winter Carnival was a great success, and people came from all over Victoria County to enjoy the celebrations! The Carnival ran for three consecutive years from 1912 until 1917, and throughout it’s short-lived existence, people loved coming to the big ol’ town of Lindsay to join in on the winter fun!
Vol. 3 December 2025
Connect to Arts, Culture and Heritage
Recipe Revival Kawartha Lakes has a rich history influenced by the region’s Indigenous heritage, immigration patterns, agricultural and industrial heritage. Around these themes, there are many unique and memorable food stories worth sharing. Using recipes from the City of Kawartha Lakes archives, as well as recipes submitted by the community, this program celebrates the exceptional heritage behind food and offers new tasty treats to try!
Do you have a recipe with a unique story to share? Kawartha Lakes invites all residents to participate in this delicious project! Share your recipe with us to be included in the Recipe Revival collection. We’d love to hear about your cherished recipes and the memories behind them! Submit your recipe, photograph and story connected to the recipe to: history@kawarthalakes.ca
Gingerbread Submitted by Laura Love
Ingredients: ½ cup sugar 1 ½ cup butter or shortening 1 cup molasses 1 egg 2 ½ cups flour 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon ginger ½ teaspoon cloves ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup of hot water Method: Combine ingredients, pouring water in last and mix well. Pour batter into a 9 x 9 greased pan, bake for 40 - 45 minutes. Top with whipped cream.
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“This is my great grandfather, Edward ‘Curtis’ Leslie of Stanley, New Brunswick[’s recipe]. Born in 1899 to John Robert Leslie and Laura Wheaton Jones, Edward spent the majority of his childhood and early adulthood helping his father and brothers on the farm, though the story that has been passed through the family is that he enjoyed baking from an early age. [... His] marriage certificate shares that he turned what he enjoyed into a profession and was a ‘chef’ in Fredericton at this time.” - Laura Love Vol. 3 December 2025
Connect to Arts, Culture and Heritage
www.kawarthalakes.ca
Workshops and Events Archaeological Management Plan Open House Date: February 26, 2026, 4pm - 7pm Location: Victory Park Armoury The City has adopted a new Archaeological Management Plan to help us manage and protect archeological resources in the City. We are hosting this drop in event where you can learn about the new plan, meet with staff and ask questions about what it means for you. Registration is not required for this event. Heritage Designation Strategy The City is developing a new heritage designation strategy and we want your input! The strategy will guide our approach to identifying and prioritizing properties for designation. A new Jump In page will be launched in January 2026. Please stay tuned on our website and social media for updates on how to get involved and provide your input for the future of heritage designation in Kawartha Lakes.
Have an artifact you believe would contribute to our collection? Visit our website to find out more about our donation processes and to fill out the Artifact Information Form
Discover more workshops and events on our website! www.kawarthalakes.ca
Contact Us City of Kawartha Lakes Arts, Culture and Heritage Team history@kawarthalakes.ca 705-324-9411