Headlines

August 25, 2023

‘CONFLUENCE OF CULTURES’ EXHIBIT BRIDGING INDIGENOUS GAP AT MUSKOKA DISCOVERY CENTRE IN GRAVENHURST

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — Ontario’s lieutenant governor hopes a new interpretive centre bringing local and Indigenous communities together in a “Confluence of Cultures” will help the country on its path to “truth and reconciliation.” “I certainly hope so,” Elizabeth Dowdeswell said after cutting a ribbon on the multi-level, multi-million waterfront museum yesterday afternoon […]

August 24, 2023

BROWN BAG LUNCH REUNION WEDNESDAY REUNITED OLD GIRLFRIENDS, CHUMS WHO GREW UP IN GRAVENHURST

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — Reunions are popular this summer — especially among elder baby boomers. Those who haven’t seen each other since pre-pandemic — or who fear opportunities won’t arise often enough before death notices. But spirits were up at the Muskoka Wharf yesterday afternoon as a few dozen old friends from town […]

August 21, 2023

TORONTO MOTORCYCLIST DIES SUNDAY MORNING IN COLLISION WITH SUV IN BRACEBRIDGE

BRACEBRIDGE — A 58-year-old Toronto motorcyclist has died after a collision on Hwy. 118 west in Bracebridge close to the downtown late Sunday morning. Police (OPP) are investigating the fatal accident Aug. 20, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. Emergency services responded to after the motorcycle and a white SUV passenger van collided just west of the […]

August 18, 2023

TATLEY’S A.P. COCKBURN BIOGRAPHY REVEALING LOOK AT ‘FATHER OF MUSKOKA’

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHRST — At Canada Day celebrations the MP and MPP praised A.P. Cockburn at Muskoka Heritage Village in Huntsville. Scott Aitchison and Graydon Smith are far-off successors of the man who was both a Muskoka member of Parliament and member of Provincial Parliament more than a century ago. And his legacy […]

August 18, 2023

LATEST GARY DENNISS HISTORY BOOK COVERS MUSKOKA’S RUGGED, RICH PAST

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com BRACEBRIDGE — Gary Denniss describes himself as a: “Wedding officer, funeral celebrant, giver of historical talks, minister and piano teacher.” He’s really more of an author. Born in 1944 he’s now written 44 books on Muskoka history. His latest is “Muskoka Memories 104.” If you loved his first 43 you’ll love […]

August 18, 2023

BRACEBRIDGE BEARS JR. C HOCKEY TEAM COMING BACK TO NEW ARENA

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com BRACEBRIDGE — The Bears are coming back. Jr. C hockey is on schedule for soon after the new Bracebridge arena/library complex opens in fall 2024. Dave Veitch would like to see camp open up a year next month. But his older brother Ken Jr. thinks that’s a tad optimistic. Nonetheless the […]

August 18, 2023

GROCERY THEFTS, RISING PRICES FRUSTRATE YIG STORE OWNER

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — No wonder Terry Candow is thinking of retiring. The owner of Terry’s Your Independent Grocer, too, doesn’t like the rising price of groceries, which he says he has nothing to do with. Prices are set by Westons, the company owner, and its suppliers, he says. But what’s really got […]

August 18, 2023

‘OLD FOGEYS’ TO REUNITE AUG. 23 FOR RETURN OF ‘BROWN BAG LUNCH’ IN GRAVENHURST

GRAVENHURST — COVID may have meant out of sight — but not out of mind friends. So next Wednesday’s “reunion” of old school mates is looked forward to by many here from GHS. An annual tradition before the pandemic, the “Brown Bag Lunch” was always a chance to catch up with those they grew up […]

August 12, 2023

‘ONE MORE TIME’ WITH JACK HUTTON AND FRIENDS — YOU BET

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — At 90 Jack Hutton is no spring chicken. No Taylor Swift either. More to his point, he says he’s like Willie Nelson — who too became an octogenarian 10 days after “Jack” hit the esteemed age April 19. Last night at a still “advancing” age, Hutton proved he can […]

August 7, 2023

BARD BACK IN BRACEBRIDGE TUESDAY FOR 10-DAY RUN OF HIS MAGICAL COMEDY MIDSUMMER’S NIGHT DREAM

BRACEBRIDGE — Outdoor theatre returns to Annie Williams Park tomorrow evening with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare’s classic comedy of love triangles, misunderstandings, and fairy mischief. Prism Theatre In The Park is back for performances on stage Aug. 8-12 and Aug. 15-19, beginning at 7 pm. The local company last performed the Dream in 2008 […]

August 6, 2023

CIVIC HOLIDAY FIREWORKS A ‘BLAST’ IN GRAVENHURST LAST NIGHT

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — “What a blast!” Fireworks at the Muskoka Wharf here last night were worth the wait. After a fire ban earlier in the summer that cancelled the colourful — if not particularly environmentally-friendly — display, the night sky lit up over Gravenhurst Bay with the lightening loud sound and fury […]

August 4, 2023

SUMMER’S FIRST WEST NILE VIRUS FOUND IN DEAD BIRD LOCATED IN BRACEBRIDGE

SIMCOE MUSKOKA — Dead birds found in Bracebridge and Oro-Medonte have tested positive for the for the West Nile virus (WNv). They are the first positive tests in Simcoe-Muskoka this year, reports the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU), which received notification from Public Health Ontario. As of today, Friday Aug. 4, no confirmed human […]

August 3, 2023

HUNTSVILLE MAN FACES 6 CHARGES IN CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION INVESTIGATION

HUNTSVILLE — A 51-year-old local man here remains in jail following a bail hearing after being charged with four alleged online sex-related crimes. Two other charges were related to failure to comply with probation orders, provincial police said in a release this afternoon. The OPP say they arrested and charged the Huntsville resident following a […]

August 2, 2023

‘GOOD FRIENDS MEET’ TO HONOUR FORMER BRACEBRIDE BEARS CAPTAIN ‘SCOTTIE’ LEES

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com BRACEBRIDGE — Scott Lees loved the Bracebridge Bears and the Bears loved their former captain. Saturday at the hockey team’s annual alumni golf tournament they dedicated a bench in his memory at South Muskoka Curling and Golf Club. “Where good friends meet,” it read. Organizer Greg Crozier got more than four […]

August 1, 2023

16-YEAR-OLD MOTORCYCLIST DIES ON HWY. 117 IN EAST BRACEBRIDGE MONDAY NIGHT

BRACEBRIDGE — A 16-year-old motorcyclist has died after an accident on Hwy. 117 in east Bracebridge early last night. Police say the motorcycle collision near Springdale Park Road, Monday July 31, happened at 7:15 p.m., near the Bracebridge Golf Club. The teen, from Cloyne — who police have did not identify — was driving the […]

July 31, 2023

GRAVENHURST BIFOCALS CONCERT BAND, 7 P.M., SATURDAY AUG. 5 AT LIONS PAVILION BEFORE FIREWORKS AT MUSKOKA WHARF

GRAVENHURST — Fireworks are back after a fire ban. And the Gravenhurst Bifocals Concert Band will help celebrate Civic Holiday weekend with a rare performance at the Lions Pavilion at Muskoka Wharf this Saturday, Aug. 5, 7 p.m. They will be playing for more than hour before the fireworks. A great opportunity for those who […]

July 28, 2023

POLICE BUSY WITH BREAK-INS AND IMPAIRED DRIVING CHARGES THIS WEEK

MUSKOKA — Summer’s heat hasn’t let up local crime this week. Police report several impaired driving charges and more break-and-enters in Bracebridge. They received another report of a morning break-in Monday, July 24 at 10:20 a.m. The home owner observed two males gain entry by smashing the rear patio door. Two suspects fled on foot […]

July 27, 2023

‘IN CHINA WE VALUE VERY MUCH HUMAN RIGHTS, DEMOCRACY, FREEDOM’: AMBASSADOR CONG

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — Chinese diplomatic relations with Canada didn’t begin with Gravenhurst. But they always include them. And so the birthplace of Dr. Norman Bethune remains for this reporter a standing opportunity to engage in a meaningful conversation this time about the current “difficult” Sino-Canadian relations at the federal if not municipal […]

July 26, 2023

PART 2: MY INTERVIEW WITH CHINA’S AMBASSADOR TO CANADA AS HE TALKS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — “I believe people here should discard this kind of mentality about China is a threat. Actually China is an opportunity, because Canada benefits a lot from its exports to China,” says Chinese ambassador Cong Peiwu. “And for China and Canada, we can work on a lot of issues as […]

July 26, 2023

UTTERSON HOUSE FIRE EARLY TODAY LANDS PERSON IN HOSPITAL WITH SERIOUS INJURIES

UTTERSON — One person was taken to hospital with serious injuries after occupants with a dog fled a house on fire, which caused $700,000 damage early today in south of Huntsville. Huntsville/Lake of Bays Fire Department reports a structure fire on Mainhood Road in reported at 1 a.m. Crews from Station 5 in Port Sydney, […]