Trent Valley Archives Theatre Returning in 2026
June 4, 5, 6 and 7 — A Fundraiser for The Trent Valley Archives at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre, Peterborough. Click here for more information.
The Kid from Simcoe Street
In our adaptation of this moving World War II era memoir, James Clarke recalls growing up in the poor and alcohol-ridden neighbourhood of downtown Peterborough.
As a boy, his father had been a foot soldier, but after coming home from the battlefields he turned to manic drinking and belligerence, shattering his wife’s dreams, and casting a dark shadow over James’ boyhood.
This story, told with emotion that is unflinching in its honesty, lets us see just how remarkable it is that James Clarke became not only a man esteemed and honoured as a judge of the Superior Court of Ontario, but as a respected poet, too.
Purchase your copy from Exile Editions
Have you seen the updated Heritage Gazette?
We are pleased to continue and expand on the pioneering work of archivist Elwood Jones and Steve Gavard as we explore the near and distant past in this full colour publication.
View the current and past issues
The Nine Ships 1825 Bicentennial Reflections book launch has been postponed! See their post below for more information:Just like our intrepid Irish ancestors in July of 1825, who had to wait patiently for Peter Robinson to arrive at Kingston to guide them on the final stretch of their journey, we have to wait patiently for our "Bicentennial Reflections" book to make its final journey from the printer! For that reason, we are postponing the date of our book launch to ensure we'll have the books in hand before the launch. ![]()
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Fittingly, we have chosen Monday, August 10 for the new launch date, which will mark a full year since the end of our Official Bicentennial Commemoration Week in 2025. The launch will still be taking place at the Trent Valley Archives (567 Carnegie Avenue in Peterborough) at 10am and all the information we shared about the launch in our previous post will still apply to the new date. ![]()
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Although we wish we could have shared "Bicentennial Reflections" with you earlier, we think the book, like our ancestors' final destination, is worth the wait!
The "Kid from Simcoe Street" by the numbers! Now that the train has pulled away from the station carrying a young James Clarke off to university and his future, we wanted to reflect on all the hard work that went into this production and the successful show week we had earlier this month!![]()
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1. Our cast and behind the scenes team contributed over 1,220 volunteer hours to this year's production. 14 volunteer actors donated 80 hours of their time rehearsing and performing, our behind the scenes team of 16 volunteers (including our 3 playwrights) donated 840 hours, and our Trent Valley Archives Theatre Committee donated 300 hours. We would like to thank our cast and behind the scenes team for all the hard work they put into this production. It really shone through in the final performances. ![]()
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2. Over the course of five performances, we welcomed over 750 people from the community to the Market Hall to see The Kid from Simcoe Street. This varied group of people included guest of honour James Clarke and dozens of his family members and friends who attended the Saturday matinee, as well as members of Entente Education Canada District 36, The Peterborough Canadian Irish Club and Activity Haven. Our board and volunteers also came out in full force to support our fundraising project, which we greatly appreciate.![]()
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3. We worked with two sponsors (The Gardens Retirement Living and Templeton Law), three in-kind sponsors (kawarthaNOW, Jordan Lyall Photography and Oldies 96.7), one major donor (Harry Huffman), and nine community partners and we received one grant from Selwyn Township. ![]()
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4. Although we don't have a final tally of how much revenue The Kid from Simcoe Street was able to generate to support the valuable archival preservation and community outreach work we do at TVA yet, we can say it was another successful year for Trent Valley Archives Theatre! ![]()
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We would like to extend a final thank-you to our sponsors, our donors, and every single one of you who bought a ticket to our production for helping us make this such a successful fundraising project for the third year in a row.
Thank you to everyone who came out to Living Hope Church yesterday evening to attend the launch of Harmen Boersma's 2025 book "Spirituality and Culture in Local Community"! The evening featured an engaging presentation from the author, who spoke about the progression of spirituality and its influence on culture in Peterborough County over the past 250 years, and read passages from the book that illustrated his points. ![]()
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If you missed yesterday's launch, copies of the book are still available for sale at the Trent Valley Archives for $35 each. They can be purchased in-person at 567 Carnegie Avenue (we're open Tuesday-Saturday from 10am-4pm) or online, here: trentvalleyarchives.com/shop/spirituality-and-culture-in-local-community/![]()
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[Image Caption: Trent Valley Archives Archivist Elwood Jones (left) who wrote the forward for "Spirituality and Culture in Local Community" with Author Harmen Boersma (right) holding a copy of the book.]
Our "Spirituality and Culture in Local Community" book launch with Author Harmen Boersma is tonight! Check out our post below for more info:Join us for the launch of Harmen Boersma's 2025 book "Spirituality & Culture in Local Community: 1775-2025" at Living Hope Church (1 Consumers Place in Peterborough) next Thursday, June 25th from 7-9pm! ![]()
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Featuring a forward by Elwood H. Jones, Historian and Archivist at the Trent Valley Archives, this commentary on the over 250-year history of Peterborough County explores various kinds of spirituality and how they can affect the daily life of a community, using the County as a case study.![]()
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Following the two communities that established the area many of us call home - the Anishinaabe people who originally inhabited the land and the European immigrants who came to settle on it - the book tells the story of their meeting in the Peterborough area and the evolution of the relationship between them. ![]()
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It also features biographies of five community leaders, each representing a 50-year period in the history of the community. From Chief George Paudash to Mayor Sylvia Sutherland, the role of each one as a spiritual and cultural leader is highlighted and discussed.![]()
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The author, Harmen Boersma, is originally from the Netherlands but came to Canada with his wife after the Second World War. He graduated with a B.Ed and has studied for his master’s degree in history. He has taught in four independent Christian Schools in Ontario, Canada, operated a public relations company with his spouse and in retirement writes about topics that are current and close to his heart.![]()
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Come out to Living Hope Church to hear Harmen speak about the book, the critical themes it addresses, and the process of researching and writing this unique contribution to local history. Copies of the book will also be for sale at the event for $35 each (Please note that we can only accept cash and cheques at this event, so please bring some cash with you if you would like to purchase a copy of the book.)![]()
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Although the event is free to attend, donations are appreciated to support the work we do to preserve the history of Peterborough County and the surrounding areas. To RSVP, make a donation, or pre-purchase a copy of the book that can be picked up at the event, please visit our Eventbrite listing, here: www.eventbrite.ca/e/spirituality-culture-in-local-community-book-launch-tickets-1991870556454?aff...
We're just two days away from the book launch of "Spirituality & Culture In Local Community" on Thursday, June 25th at 7pm at Living Hope Church (1 Consumers Place in Peterborough)! If you missed out on this 2025 release, now is your opportunity to learn more about this unique contribution to Peterborough history and pick up a copy of the book.![]()
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Using Peterborough County as a case study, the book explores how spirituality has changed over the past 250 years and the effect it has had on both the development of local culture and the relationship between the Anishinaabe people who originally inhabited the land and the European immigrants who came to settle on it. ![]()
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Using biographies of five community leaders (a chief, a missionary, an engineer, a literary playwright and a mayor) each representing a 50-year period in the history of Peterborough County, the book traces spirituality and culture from before the arrival of the areas' earliest emigrants to the present day. ![]()
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The author, Harmen Boersma, is originally from the Netherlands but came to Canada with his wife after the Second World War. He graduated with a B.Ed and has studied for his master’s degree in history. He has taught in four independent Christian Schools in Ontario, Canada, operated a public relations company with his spouse and in retirement writes about topics that are current and close to his heart.![]()
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At the launch, Harmen will give a presentation about the book and the critical themes it addresses. Following the presentation, he will also sign copies of the book, which will be available for sale for $35 each. (Please note that we can only accept cash and cheques at this event.)![]()
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Although the event is free to attend, donations are appreciated to support the work we do to preserve the history of Peterborough County and the surrounding areas. To RSVP, make a donation, or pre-purchase a copy of the book that can be picked up at the event, please visit our Eventbrite listing, here: www.eventbrite.ca/e/spirituality-culture-in-local-community-book-launch-tickets-1991870556454?aff...