The immensity of the Arctic has provided fodder for artist Janet Read, who will bring more than 40 paintings to the Agnes Jamieson Gallery for an exhibition that will be on display from March 26 to May 23.

Read travelled to the high Arctic in 2018, 2023, and 2025. Those trips have helped form a body of work.

She told The Highlander she did the journeys by ship with Zodiac trips ashore.

“You have those wonderful expanses of ocean, and places such as Devlin Island come to mind. It’s like a layer cake with sedimentary rock dusted with snow. And it is almost a desert environment. It can be ocean to a mile-high sky if it’s clear.”

The Innisfil-based artist has named her exhibit ‘mute eloquence of light.’ She got the name from Christine Ritter’s memoir A Woman in the Polar Night. A painter, Ritter spent a year in 1934 living in a remote hut in the Arctic with her trapper husband. She coined the phrase.

“It’s a really apt description for the kind of work I do,” Read said of the abstracts she has created from the immensity of the space, and elemental forms of land and water, since there is no real vegetation, save Arctic flora.

Asked about climate change, Read said she is no scientist and three short trips to the Arctic are not evidence-based. However, “the Indigenous people who live there on the front lines are seeing the differences.”

As for the process of her art, Read’s exhibit consists of abstract paintings on linen, panels in oil and acrylic, and hybrid drawings/paintings on Duralar.

“I’m dropping graphite powder and wiping with paper towel. I’m using my fingers. I’m using solvent and sometimes I stab the brush to get a drip,” she said of some of her techniques – aimed at achieving a translucency.

She added she hopes the work inspires emotion; “people who have been to the Arctic really react to it as being true to the experience.”

For those who have not ventured to the Far North, she hopes to inspire curiosity about the region and maybe they will visit it themselves one day. She aims to raise awareness about geopolitical ramifications, in places such as Greenland.

But really, her work is about “the beauty of the place, the awe and the wonder,” and she hopes gallery visitors feel that. She said she was delighted the gallery accepted her submission.

Shannon Kelly, manager of cultural services with Minden Hills, said the official opening reception with the artist talk will take place April 11 from 1-3 p.m.

“Improvisation and spontaneous abstract mark-making visualize the processes of wind and water relating her experiences of the high Arctic in Canada and the Greenlandic west coast. These works extend earlier themes initiated by residencies in Newfoundland and western Ireland,” Kelly said.

She added, “abstraction conveys an emotional and poetic response to the environment. It is mediated imaginative experience, recreated as visual works. What do you see? What do you feel? Are you moved to action?”

Learn more: www.janet-read.com

The Agnes Jamieson Gallery is at 176 Bobcaygeon Rd., Minden and is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission by donation.

U-Links’ annual celebration of research returns to Haliburton March 28 and the non-profit’s program co-ordinator, Frank Figuli, said there will be updates on almost 50 student-led projects conducted in the Highlands over the past year.

Whether you’re interested in learning about soil quality at Abbey Gardens, the feasibility of bringing a municipal biodigester for organics to Haliburton County, or the benefits of artificial loon nesting platforms, Figuli said there’s a wide range of environmental, ecological and social issues on the agenda.

“We’re going to have eight in-person oral presentations and research posters encapsulating 38 projects – those are record high numbers for U-Links,” Figuli said.

He noted that, since September, U-Links has worked with 239 students from Trent and Guelph universities cultivating local studies.

Since 1999, the non-profit has partnered with more than 3,000 students on over 600 projects. It takes ideas submitted by community groups and residents and matches them with student researchers, who work in the field analyzing trends and compiling data.

“The students get a great dose of experiential education while conducting their research and U-Links community partners get their questions answered or problem solved,” Figuli said.

One of the key initiatives addresses the viability of artificial loon nesting platforms, with students Cate Crawford-Thompson and Ellise Morgan working on Halls and Hawk lakes to assess how they can operate on waterbodies with fluctuating water levels within the Trent Severn system.

“Some of the challenges with loons is they don’t have walking legs, so when the water levels go down too far it becomes quite difficult for them to reach their nests… then if the water levels go up too high, it can actually drown out the eggs they lay,” Figuli said, noting they’re presenting a model he feels could be fit for any lake in the County.

Trent’s Laura Scrivener will discuss underground greenhouses, looking at models for implementing geothermal technology to extend the growing season for select crops; Sam Winterbottom is presenting results on an assessment of carbon stocks for the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust; Tristan Tschinkel analyzes the impact of recreational trails on soils and vegetation in deciduous forests in the County; while Florence Bergeron and Lenore Reid unpack municipal digesters.

Figuli said they’re engineered systems that use bacteria to break down food waste and other organic materials.

“They investigated how biodigestion could divert waste from landfills, lower greenhouse gas emissions, generate renewable energy and, where possible, produce nutrientrich byproducts,” Figuli said, noting they’re used in many Ontario municipalities – including the City of Kawartha Lakes.

The event’s keynote speaker, Dr. Karen Thompson, will be talking about green care farms. Pioneered in Europe, the program offers hands-on respite care to people living with dementia. There will also be a panel discussion with Sue Tiffin, Godfrey Tyler and Jennifer Semach on programming offered by the County and at Waverly Brook farm and Walkabout Farm Therapeutic Riding Association.

Asked why people should attend, Figuli said the event is all about improving attendees’ information capital.

“I think all these projects put new perspectives on problems that people may not be thinking about,” he said.

The celebration is free to attend, with lunch provided. Register online at ulinks.ca.

The Minden & District Horticultural Society will host its first ever ‘seedy Saturday’ on March 28.

The free event is designed to inspire Haliburton County gardeners, with a seed exchange, demonstrations of seed starting techniques, and speakers and vendors covering everything from pollinators, to seed saving, to skin care.

FEEL (Friends of Ecological and Environmental Learning) will be onsite with interactive kids’ activities. The Haliburton County Master Gardeners will provide advice for gardening questions. And, vendors will have wares on hand for purchase.

Event organizer, Diana Westland, said Seeds of Diversity started the initiative to save locally-grown heritage seeds. She said it is important to save food seed used to our environmental conditions.

“This is safer, as reliance on only a few species grown as a monoculture for grocery stores leaves us vulnerable if that species is attacked by a disease. This also applied to exchange of native plant seeds for the same reason. The more diverse, the more resilient an ecosystem is and the more insects it can support.”

She said sometimes organizations only do seed exchange, but this event is different.

“We have tried to bring together food security organizations and ecological organizations with similar goals to educate the public on what services are available. It also hopefully encourages more people to try their hand at growing.”

Westland said “community support for the first-ever ‘seedy Saturday’ has been overwhelmingly positive. They have two speakers and a demonstration to help beginners to grow their own plants indoors.

At 10:30 a.m., Cheryl Fraser will present ‘the bee project: discovering the bees around you.’ At 11:30 a.m., Pauline Plooard will demonstrate indoors sowing for beginners. And, at 12:30 p.m., Basil Conlin of Haliburton Micromeadows will discuss ‘seed orchards – preserving genetic diversity.’

Westland added, “there are a variety of local seed and garden vendors and a few interactive games and activities for the kids.

“We’re encouraging people to bring along small packages of locallycollected garden seeds to exchange at the event on Saturday. If they don’t have seeds to bring, that’s okay, too. There will be a variety of vegetable and flower seeds donated by locals and donor companies.”

A donation of 25 cents per package is suggested to help offset the costs of hosting the event.

Vendors and community groups at ‘seedy Saturday’ include Abbey Gardens, B’s Creations, Gaia Organic Seeds, Haliburton Micromeadows, Organic Me Honey Bees Natural Skin Care, SIRCH Community/ Nathan’s Farm, Swallowtail Native Plants, and Tamarack Lodge.

‘Seedy Saturday’ will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Minden Community Centre, upper level (55 Parkside St., Minden).

Westland said there may still be snow on the ground and it doesn’t feel like spring but, “I’ve been planning since January as I grow my own seedlings. Planning and dreaming are a great way to pass the winter.

“The actual outdoor planting will be the end of May so there is still lots of time.”

Minden & District Horticultural Society will be celebrating its 50th year in 2027 and is a part of the Ontario Horticultural Society. Their mission is “learning, planting, sharing with a community” and they host activities and events, along with maintaining the public gardens in Minden.

Find out more at mindenhorticulturalsociety.ca

Trickery and diversion are at the heart of a new whodunnit penned by Wilberforce’s Mary Barker, with the Loop Troupe returning to a new venue next month.

The local performative group is partnering with the Wilberforce Legion for The Art of Deception, with a 12-person cast appearing in two shows April 11 and 12. Barker dubbed the production “a masterpiece of bad decisions” that centres on a missing painting produced by County-based artist Luann Coghlan.

The feature also includes dinner, put together by the legion – cordon bleu is on the menu the first night, with lasagna served during the encore.

“The legion approached us last fall about doing something unique to celebrate the 100th anniversary of legions in Canada – I did some brainstorming and the story will definitely tie into that centennial,” Barker said.

Most of the roles are small, she said, with the lead detective portrayed by Gary Mount – a veteran of several Loop Troupe productions. Coghlan will also play a minor role.

“She’s our artist who has produced a masterpiece. In the story, the masterpiece goes missing and it’s the detective’s job to figure out what happened,” Barker added.

Legion president, Rick Cleveland, will also be appearing – portraying himself as head of the Wilberforce establishment.

“It’s not going to take a lot of acting,” he said. “We’ve been rehearsing for a few weeks now and it’s been a lot of fun. I’m not sure if it’s been more laughing or acting.”

Cleveland said the dinner theatre is serving as a fundraiser for the legion, with all proceeds going towards “long overdue” kitchen upgrades. He didn’t have an estimated cost or timeline as of press time but said the renovation will include the installation of a new dishwasher, fridge, freezer and self-contained deep fryers. The space itself will also be reconfigured, adding new countertops and a secondary access.

The legion has become a popular dining destination for locals in recent years, Cleveland said, with Wednesday night quick dinners and fish and chips and wings on alternate Fridays drawing dozens of people every week. The space is also used by the legion’s womens’ auxiliary for breakfast on the second Sunday of the month.

“In the summer we do well to get around 100 people out for the dinners… it’s lower during the winter, but we still have a good group of people who turn up every week,” Cleveland said.

He doesn’t remember the last time the kitchen was upgraded, noting it had been many years, so the planned renovations are “a major, major positive.”

Barker said 2026 will likely be a quieter year for the Loop Troupe.

“We were going to try and do another feature this spring, but this partnership with the legion mushroomed into something much larger than we originally thought. We won’t have anything original that we’ve written ourselves ready for the fall, but we are trying to find a suitable play we can bring in,” Barker said. “We are planning for another locally-produced major play in spring 2027.”

The April 11 show is sold out, with tickets for April 12 available at Agnew’s General Store. Barker said there will be 60 people at each sitting.

Also this weekend:

• Sleeping in Cars returns to Head Lake Park the evening of March 27, with people raising money for Places for People.

• The annual spring splash pond jump at Sir Sam’s Ski/Ride is March 28 at 1 p.m. Spectators are welcome to watch the contest as jumpers try their luck making it across their 80-foot pond. Registration is

• Spring Hop, March 28, noon to 3 p.m. in Head Lake Park, Haliburton. Join the RE/MAX Professionals North team for a day of free Easter fun for all ages. Easter egg hunt; face painting; Easter crafts and colouring station; and photos with the Easter Bunny. They are collecting monetary and non-perishable donations for the Haliburton 4 C’s Food Bank.

• The Easter Egg Hunt returns to Sir Sam’s, on the bunny hill, from 11 a.m. March 29. The unique egg hunt features a skiing egg hunt (conditions permitting) and a walkable egg hunt. Accompaniment by a parent is recommended. Appropriate for children ages three -10 years old. First 150 children will receive a chocolate bunny.

• Calendar Girls continues…March 27 at 7 p.m. and March 28 at 2 p.m. at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Centre.