Greater Peterborough Area -- Second to None

The Greater Peterborough Area (GPA) is a thriving community known for its unparalleled quality of life and picturesque setting in the heart of the Kawartha region.

Peterborough City, and County have it all - exceptional recreational and retail opportunities, a diverse industrial and agricultural base, quality health care and excellent schools, including two outstanding post-secondary institutions. With a vast array of service options, Peterborough is just an hour's drive from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), yet retains its small-town charm. Housing is affordable, the air is clean and green space is carefully preserved amidst healthy urban growth. Peterborough is also a safe place to live.

While the City of Peterborough remains a popular retirement destination, more and more young people are choosing to raise their families here. Visitors rave about the area's natural and cultural amenities while employers - especially the hi-tech sector - are discovering a qualified and available work force.

With a population exceeding 130,000 (this number increases substantially in the summer season) the GPA is the regional centre for East Central Ontario, with reach extending to a broader market of 300,000. Peterborough's proximity to major markets in Canada and the north eastern United States, combined with an effective transportation infrastructure that includes the largest commercial airport between Toronto and Ottawa and four-lane access to the GTA, affords the city a reputation as the perfect business location and tourism destination.

All-season tourism is an important component of the local economy. Visitors from around the globe come to absorb the natural beauty of the region's lakes, rivers and rolling countryside, and to enjoy a vibrant and diverse potpourri of arts, culture, and heritage found here.

A low crime rate, a clean environment, affordable housing, shorter commutes and reduced traffic congestion contribute to high employee satisfaction and productivity for business. Among the many successful Peterborough-based enterprises serving local, national and international markets are Quaker Tropicana Gatorade Canada (QTG), General Electric, Fisher Gauge Ltd., Siemens Milltronics, Quickmill Inc., Lab Interlink, Lakefield Research, Sysco Food Service, and Americredit Corporation. What's more, the city's close proximity to Toronto makes it the preferred site for a number of head offices. Shimano Canada is here, as is the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

Peterborough is a community that offers balance. City planners have included ample foresight in their forecasts, allowing for and accommodating the inevitability of change, without going so far as to throw the baby out with the bath water. New residential and commercial development is designed to complement existing infrastructure. A still-healthy industrial/manufacturing presence is situated mostly on the outskirts of town, in an expanding industrial park.

Peterborough's most treasured assets are its water, green space, and natural beauty. The waterfront includes the Otonabee River, Trent-Severn Waterway and the endearing Little Lake, the city's shimmering centrepiece located in the middle of town. With additional park and trail development, Little Lake is easily a jewel of the downtown.

A jewel, with such character and charm. In 1967 a fountain was installed in the middle of the lake as the city's centennial gift to its citizenry (appropriately dubbed the Centennial Fountain). Comprised of a series of jets and coloured lights for night-time illumination, the powerful central jet propels a magnificent stream of water over 250 feet into the air.

Del Crary Park, on the shores of Little Lake and named in memory of a prominent local band leader and media personality, is home to dozens of organized events and performances each summer. The biggest of these, and the signature event for Peterborough each summer, is the annual Festival of Lights.

The 'lights' refer to a fireworks display synchronized to music. It makes for a nice finale to an evening outdoor concert that attracts upwards of 10,000 people to hear top-drawer performers under the stars. Every genre of entertainment is represented, from Rock to Country, R&B to Big Band, Reggae to Jazz - even outdoor theatre. Names such as Blue Rodeo, Gordon Lightfoot, Big Sugar, Farmer's Daughter, John Arpin and Bruce Cockburn have been featured.

And here's the best part - the concerts are free, funded with grants from the city together with the support of Peterborough's business community. Just take your lawn chair, pick your spot in the spacious park, and enjoy the show. The festival runs every Wednesday and Saturday (weather permitting) from late June to late August.

We are proud of our cultural heritage and it shows. Peterborough boasts a pleasant mix of heritage buildings (mostly in the city centre) and new, modern development. The Galaxy Cinema complex, located at Peterborough Square, and the adjacent Market Hall are two examples of the old and the new coming together to attract people downtown. The century-old Market Hall is a cherished venue for performing arts groups who thrive in a no-frills environment.

Peterborough is truly a cultural mecca. Close to a dozen different theatre companies of varying stripes mount productions throughout the year at venues that run the gamut from Showplace, a professional theatre featuring performances of high calibre, to the Gordon Best Theatre, a downtown coffee house and bar regularly featuring live theatre.

It is, in fact the arts culture that serves as one of this city's hallmarks. Peterborough's cultural roots run deep, with live theatre, a symphony, music and song. The Peterborough Art Gallery, nestled on the shores of Little Lake, affords the visitor a wealth of artistic expression. Amateur theatre companies such as the Peterborough Theatre Guild and the St. James Players have a long tradition of excellence, producing shows that rival anything offered professionally. Just down the road in Millbrook, 4th Line Theatre has earned a growing reputation worldwide for unique plays based on the history and folklore of the area, and performed in the unique outdoor stage that is the field of Winslow Farm.

In Peterborough, venues include the Theatre Guild's own performance space on Rogers Street, the aforementioned Market Hall, and Showplace - a 647 seat performance centre located in one of the city's original theatres. The result of a community-wide initiative Showplace is, as its name implies, a focal point for both amateur and professional performance. Showplace is both a top-end venue for performers, and a comfortable and licensed gathering place for patrons. Most touring shows, including the New Stages theatre series, are based here.

Little wonder that Robertson Davies thrived in such an environment. The renowned Canadian author wrote, and staged many original productions during his tenure as editor, and then publisher of The Peterborough Examiner from 1942 to 1965, as well as penning 18 books. Perhaps the most humorous of these works is the Samuel Marchbanks trilogy, a series of three books based on a collection of columns he wrote under the Marchbanks pseudonym for the Examiner - the city's only daily newspaper, published continuously since 1847.

While the Peterborough Examiner publishes daily except Sunday, Peterborough This Week has two editions, distributed each Wednesday and Friday. CHEX Television, based on Monaghan Road just below the buzzing Lansdowne Street, is joined in the local media community by two AM stations; 980 KRUZ (Oldies/Sports/Community) and 1420 Memories CKPT (Nostalgia), and two on the FM band; 101.5 THE WOLF (Rock) and Country 105.1. While all local media remain extremely community-minded, Trent Radio (affiliated with the university), and the COGECO community cable channel operate on a grassroots basis and allow unparalleled community access.

Akin to the summer when the Festival of Lights takes centre stage, our Festival of Trees celebration every fall is the unofficial start to our yuletide season. For a week in late November, the Peterborough Memorial Centre is transformed into a shimmering winter wonderland that attracts visitors from near and far. Now in its 14th year and one of the most successful events of its kind in the country, this community-driven initiative raises hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for health care in the region.

For the sports enthusiast, there's plenty here. The city's summer slo-pitch league is one of the largest around - plus there's recreational soccer, baseball and lacrosse.

Peterborough's natural amenities, which contribute so much to summer recreation, are equally beneficial when it comes to winter fun. A host of downhill and cross country ski trails and facilities, a thriving recreational snowmobiling community, and the annual Snofest winter carnival combine to guarantee a winter filled with outdoor fun amidst breathtaking scenery.

And let's not forget about hockey. In the winter, Thursday is arena night for this self-described 'hockey town'. The storied Junior "A" Peterborough Petes hockey club is one of the most successful franchises in Canadian Junior Hockey, and a training ground for many future NHL stars such as Steve Yzerman, Tie Domi and Bob Gainey, who is a Peterborough native and member of the Peterborough and District Sports Hall of Fame, located at the newly-renovated Peterborough Memorial Centre. A just-completed $11 million dollar retrofit has given the fifty-year-old building a new lease on life, with luxury boxes and club seating, not to mention air-conditioning for the summer months.

Legendary coaches Scotty Bowman and the late Roger Neilson both guided the Petes early in their careers, and fans of Hockey Night in Canada will know the voice and face of hockey analyst Greg Millen. Also a former Pete and star goalie in the NHL, Greg racks up frequent flier miles commuting all over the continent from his home in the village of Bridgenorth, just north of the city.

And the Petes are just the tip of the hockey iceberg in Peterborough - home to a thriving recreational league from tot to old-timer. The city hosts two important tournaments over the winter, including the Liftlock Atom Hockey tournament - one of the largest of its kind in Canada.

Outdoor enthusiasts who can't get going in the morning without putting a few kilometres under their belts walking or jogging can take their pick from several fine parks and green space, among which Beavermead Park - centrally located between Ashburnham Drive to the east (your access by car) and Little Lake to the west, includes a children's playground and camping facilities. Mark S. Burnham Park is located on the city's southeast outskirts on Highway 7 (the Lansdowne Street extension). Jackson Park, in the north end at Monaghan and Parkhill roads, features the beautifully restored Pagoda Bridge.

Then there's the ever-popular Rotary Greenway Trail, a paved walkway built on the former CPR line that extends from Hunter Street East (close to the Lift lock), and continues through the city past Trent University to the Village of Lakefield. Popular for jogging, cycling, rollerblading or just for a walk with the family dog.

Speaking of exercise and keeping healthy, health care in Peterborough will soon become one of the finest in the province with the building of a brand new state of the art facility. Our current 360-bed Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) operates on two sites and services a population of more than 300,000 in four counties. Our hospital truly is a patient-focused centre of care offering high level tertiary care services such as dialysis, vascular surgery, MRI and a range of specialty services including a Cath lab. PRHC is the region's second-largest employer with a very dedicated staff of approximately 1,850 (including 200 physicians) and hundreds of volunteers.

The hospital is part of a broad community network that relates to health. The PRHC works very closely with partner agencies within the community. From a patient's perspective that makes the care they get at the hospital and the care they get at home truly seamless. The hospital also has a close working relationship with Trent University and Sir Sandford Fleming College. Having students at the hospital gives patients real access to what's cutting edge in health care.

The Health Centre will consolidate once the construction of a new facility is complete in 2007. The whole planning process has been a real community effort. Ideas have been shared about the new design and how it can be improved to better integrate into the community. The 750,000 square-foot structure, to be built on the former PRHC's Hospital Drive site parking lot, will be a 529 bed facility.

Anyone familiar with Maclean's annual ranking of Canadian universities will recognize Trent, a respected university founded in 1964 and originally housed in a collection of turn-of-the-century buildings downtown prior to the opening of its' breathtaking main Nassau campus, located just north of the city limits on the shores of the Otonabee River.

Trent University consistently ranks in the top ten of Canada's top primarily undergraduate universities. Long-recognized for its attention to the individual learning experience, Trent University serves the community as a social and cultural leader, and remains one of Peterborough's most significant employers. This translates to an annual contribution of nearly $190 million to the regional economy.

Trent celebrated their 40th Anniversary in October 2004 and serves 7000 full and part time students. A doctoral program in Native Studies was introduced in the fall of 1999, and a new School of Education and Professional Learning was announced in the fall of 2002. In the autumn of 2004, Trent will offer a degree in Forensic Sciences.

Trent's small class sizes, research grants in medical and the sciences, and exceptional student retention rates distinguish the university, as does the presence of Dr. Roberta Bondar, Canada's first female astronaut and the current Chancellor of Trent, succeeding the late writer and broadcaster Peter Gzowski.

The primary Trent campus is located on 580 hectares of rolling hills and woodlands situated on either side of the Otonabee River in north Peterborough. Conferences can be arranged utilizing the University's architecturally diverse buildings.

The city's other post-secondary institution, Fleming College, opened its Peterborough campus in 1967 and is named after Sir Sandford Fleming, a distinguished engineer, cartographer and inventor who lived in Peterborough as a young man and is best known as the father of Standard Time.

The college has four campus locations - Peterborough, Lindsay, Cobourg and Haliburton, with the largest campuses in Peterborough and Lindsay.

Multi-million dollar expansion at three of its campuses will increase classroom and lab space at the college by 50 per cent, attracting more students to the region. In Peterborough, the new $14-million technology wing adds 50,000 square feet of learning space to the Sutherland Campus with labs for automation, robotics, telecommunications, home and building automation, and computing. Supported by national and local corporate partners, the new wing opened for classes in January 2003. Housed within is the college's unique Sixth Semester Project where students work on actual industrial and technology projects, giving local business and industry access to applied research. The projects expose students to a variety of complex problems, contributing valuable experience further enhancing employability.

In the same wing, and funded by a federal research grant, Fleming's Institute for Healthy Aging is conducting applied research into technologies that will improve the lives of our aging population.

To that end, the Sutherland Campus in Peterborough is also home to an innovative partnership between the college and the non-profit St. Joseph's Care Group. The latter is building a long-term care facility on-site, a first in Canada. For its part, St. Joseph's will provide space for Fleming College's Institute for Healthy Aging, a research and academic facility offering students a unique, cross-disciplinary teaching environment. The Institute will also explore the needs of seniors in our region as well as nationally, promote healthy aging within the community, and will offer professional development in this important field.

In yet another initiative, the college is an active participant in the Peterborough DNA Cluster.

At Fleming, students can pursue a host of new and innovative learning options through an expanded articulation agreement with universities throughout Ontario and Canada as well as internationally. Through a dynamic partnership with neighbouring Trent University, students at Fleming can pursue joint degree programs, varied degree completion options and applied learning experience.

With these, and similar partnerships and initiatives Fleming is providing relevant education and hands-on training in programs geared to meet the demands of today's job market. Fleming College has now seen more than 40,000 students graduate from its college, students who are skilled and knowledgeable, and who make a major contribution to our region's economic growth.

As earlier noted Sir Sandford Fleming, the namesake of our community college, travelled in local circles and stayed as a guest of prominent family physician Dr. John Hutchison in the mid-1800's.

The good doctor's house is still there. Today, Hutchison House serves as a cherished mini-museum on Brock Street and remains a fine example of the city's efforts to preserve its structural heritage.

The Morrow building, situated at the northeast corner of George and Brock streets, was built in 1875 in classic Second Empire, and remains today as a proud founding citizen of the downtown, lovingly restored to its original splendour in the late 1990's.

Market Hall, together with the city's signature (and newly-restored) clock tower dates back to 1890 and was saved from demolition when a major downtown development replaced a collection of heritage buildings in Peterborough's original market block in the mid-seventies.

Another proud component of Peterborough's heritage is the canoe. In fact, the city has long been regarded as the birthplace of the modern canoe, stemming from the establishment of the Ontario Canoe Company in 1873. Renamed 'The Peterborough Canoe Company' nineteen years later, the plant continued to manufacture these beautiful wood vessels for decades, exporting them (and the Peterborough name) throughout the world. One such 'export', a Peterborough Cedar Rib canoe, was presented to Princess Elizabeth - the future Queen - as a wedding gift by the citizens of Peterborough in 1948.

Many of these canoes are still in use today - others are in museums such as the Canadian Canoe Museum located, appropriately, in Peterborough. The museum's collection stems primarily from Kirk Whipper, a noted canoe enthusiast and collector who was a founding member of the museum and donated a veritable flotilla numbering in the hundreds. Several other prominent vessels were donated by benefactors around the globe. And the museum has gained a national profile with a visit from Canada's former Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, who 'popped in' with his entourage on a day off.

For those who love to shop Peterborough has much to choose from. An outstanding selection of existing stores and services spread out over three enclosed shopping malls and a thriving downtown is bolstered by such big box stores as Winners, Future Shop, Home Depot, Staples and Chapters. While providing additional competition to existing retailers, these operations add to the city's employment and tax base, and help to keep retail dollars within city borders.

And what you don't find in one of our malls, you'll find downtown. Peterborough enjoys a healthy and increasingly diverse downtown sector, thanks in part to an active marketing association and the unique ambience that attracts both upscale, and eclectic shops and boutiques along the Water Street (north) and George Street (south) corridor, and east across the historic Hunter Street Bridge to an area known as "East City", which borders the Trent Canal and the Peterborough Lift lock. A beautification initiative in East City a few years back included the burial of power and communication lines that lend the area an airy, open feel. Further streetscape improvements, the creation of a "cafe district" in the downtown core currently in the planning and construction stage, together with the aforementioned restoration of old buildings, combine to offer a unique and inviting experience.

Your shopping excursion wouldn't be complete without a visit to one of our two weekly outdoor markets: the Peterborough Farmer's Market, which is held Saturday mornings (year round) in Morrow Park at the foot of George Street beside the Memorial Centre arena, and the Downtown Country Fare market, held Wednesdays each summer on Charlotte Street between the main George/Water Street arterials, and inside on the upper level of Peterborough Square until Christmas. The latter is a throwback to the original farmer's market which used to be held downtown in the original market block.

Peterborough is much more than just another small-town city. It is a special place to live, work, and play. It is a community of people who not only enjoy the region's clean air and natural amenities, but also each other. In many ways, it is the people who live and work in our community that makes it so special. Peterborians are known for their helpfulness - perhaps stemming from pride of a community in which many have spent their entire lives residing. The city has a huge volunteer base that plays a large part in the quality of life enjoyed here. And when disaster strikes at home or abroad, Peterborough is usually one of the first to launch a relief effort. It's a tradition that goes back to 1912, when the city established the Titanic Relief Committee for the families of the victims of that horrendous and fabled tragedy at sea. Mind you, that was never mentioned in the movie. No matter. Peterborough extends her helping hand quietly, with grace and humility. Hallmarks of a community that embraces the visitor.

It is often said, "come for a week, and stay for a lifetime."

It's surprising how many people do just that. But then, we're not surprised in the least.

Written and researched by Gordon Gibb and Sherrie Le Masurier.