LOCAL HEADLINES

The Stratford Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is set to perform its ambitious program with a dynamic evening of Mozart, Barber, Borodin and Hindemith, featuring violinist Stephen Sitarski. The concert is to be held Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m. at Avondale United Church.

The national office of the Royal Canadian Legion has introduced several changes to its operations, and so far, the new initiatives are showing positive results.

The Salvation Army is looking for volunteers to help with this year’s Christmas Kettle Campaign. The Salvation Army Stratford-St. Marys Regional Community Ministries is seeking volunteers to fill positions within its community coverage, which spans Stratford, Mitchell and St. Marys, to help raise its $385,000 goal.

At 100 years old, Clarence McCallum still remembers the sound of waves pounding the hull of his ship and the steady hum of the electrical systems he once maintained aboard the HMCS Inch Arran, a ship ordered in 1943, where McCallum worked for the entirety of his service in the Canadian Navy.

Had enough of the serious side of Shakespeare? Come experience Macbeth with puppets and magic in a tragedy interwoven with comedy as only creator Eric Woolfe can. In Macbeth: A Tale Told by an Idiot, Woolfe uses many forms of puppetry to unravel the story as told by Shakespeare.

Adopt-a-Family Stratford is officially back in its sixth year, offering locals a chance to give back to families in need during the holiday season.

While the Perth Regiment continues to exist administratively, since 1965 it has been placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle and reduced to nil strength, dormant until Canada needs it again. Despite not being active for 60 years, the famed regiment still holds a special place in the hearts of Stratford and area residents and veterans. One such veteran is Tom Soper.

Bruce Whitaker has resigned from the Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB), leaving the seat after being elected to represent Stratford in the 2022 municipal elections.

As designs for a three-story, 33,000 square-foot film and television studio in the heart of downtown Stratford inch closer to being finalized, the people behind the ambitious project aimed at placing the Festival City at the centre of Canada’s content-production industry are hopeful shovels could hit the dirt as early as next year.

The Stratford Hunter Steel Warriors travelled to the Vollmer Recreation Complex to take on the Vipers in the second head-to-head matchup in under two weeks.

Local advocates are calling on residents, businesses and the City of Stratford to rally community support for the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 8, which funds the annual Remembrance Day commemoration at Stratford’s cenotaph on Nov. 11.

When construction of any kind takes place in Stratford and Perth County, and even beyond, one name comes to mind of a company that has built its reputation on perfection, hard work and dedication to the job.

Former St. Marys Lincoln and Stratford Warrior Carter Schoonerwoerd was honoured on Nov. 1 with the unveiling of the CS8 Memorial Rink in Mitchell.

There are historical moments that happen in a lifetime and class reunions are always a highlight. Eleven graduates of the 1968 Stratford General Hospital Nursing program recently met at the end of October at the Arden Park Hotel in Stratford. The graduates were celebrating 60 years since they stepped off “that old rickety elevator” and first met on the third floor of Avon Crest (across from the hospital), in September 1965.

Across the nation on Nov. 11, Canadians will honour its veterans for Remembrance Day. Here is what’s planned in Stratford that day.

The popular Skeletons of Vivian Line display was back for its 12th season, and this year’s theme was The Skeletons Fall Fair – complete with a Ferris wheel installation.

The Alzheimer Society Huron Perth is inviting the community to gather online for its annual Fall Dementia Education Night on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.

Not even an hour into the early trick-or-treating and around 150 kids collected candy and other goodies during the Downtown Stratford Business Improvement Area (BIA)’s Halloween celebration.

When Margaret Smart’s daughter was 14 years old, she would go to youth-led events and initiatives where adults would tell her and her peers, “You are the future.”

Nearly 100 local firefighters, police officers, paramedics, other emergency workers, city officials and volunteers participated in a live emergency training exercise in Stratford on Oct. 23, aimed at providing hands-on experience with a collaborative disaster-response effort.