Latest news with #NiagaraOnTheLake
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Health
- Associated Press
Over 4,400 Riders Embark on Ride to Conquer Cancer, Canada's Largest Athletic Fundraiser, Raising Over $20.61 Million for Life-Saving Research
Riders Begin 2-Day, 200+ KM Journey in Support of The Princess Margaret for a World Free From the Fear of Cancer TORONTO, June 7, 2025 /CNW/ - The 18th annual The Princess Margaret Ride to Conquer Cancer, presented by Johnson & Johnson, commenced this morning with over 4,000 riders departing from Sherway Gardens, Toronto in a group peloton. At the same time, more than 400 riders began their journey from the Niagara-on-the-Lake start line. Both groups will converge at McMaster University in Hamilton for overnight camp later today. This year's Ride sets a record for funds raised with $20.61 million, surpassing the previous record of $20.6 million set in 2024. United in their mission to create a world free from the fear of cancer, all riders are taking on the two-day, 200+ km journey to Niagara-on-the-Lake in support of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, one of the world's leading cancer research and treatment centres. 'Cancer remains one of the greatest global health threats of our time,' said Dr. Miyo Yamashita, President and CEO of The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. 'Yet, through the unwavering dedication of our Ride community— riders, donors, supporters and volunteers, together we are transforming the way cancer is understood, prevented, diagnosed and treated in Canada and around the world.' Among the riders was Dana Fox, who knows firsthand the importance of this cause. Diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive cancer, Dana is currently undergoing treatment at The Princess Margaret but is committed to completing the 200km journey. 'You are fueling hope, you are funding discovery, and you are changing lives,' Dana rallied to the crowd in his opening ceremony's patient remarks. 'This isn't just a fundraiser. This is a movement.' Participants have collectively raised an astounding $20.61 million this year, bringing The Ride's all-time fundraising total to more than $320.61 million since its inception in 2008. These funds directly support life-saving cancer research and patient care at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, one of the world's leading cancer research and treatment centres. As The Ride's 2025 Honourary Chairs, Nicholas and Lia Fidei said, 'After witnessing some of the success stories and meeting cancer patients who have overcome cancer, there is no doubt in our minds how much we need to support The Ride and the advancements in cancer research that The Princess Margaret is renowned for.' Nicholas, President of Treasure Hill and President of the Nicholas Fidei Foundation, and this year's top individual fundraiser also added, 'No other fundraising event that I have participated in has inspired me to greater achievements.' All riders are now making their way to Hamilton, where they'll be welcomed by cheering family and friends, enjoy a hot meal at camp ceremonies and spend the night at McMaster University. On Day 2, they'll continue their journey to the finish line at Peller Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake. For more information, to donate or to register for the 2026 Ride to Conquer Cancer, please visit ABOUT PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER FOUNDATION The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation is Canada's largest cancer charity. We're dedicated to raising funds for Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, one of the world's leading cancer research and treatment centres, known for its breakthrough discoveries that transform patient outcomes. Together, our work benefits cancer patients everywhere in our mission to create a world free from the fear of cancer. Through philanthropy, fundraising events, and our world-leading lottery program, we're changing how the world understands, prevents, diagnoses, and treats cancer, benefitting patients at The Princess Margaret, throughout Canada, and around the world. SOURCE Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation
Globe and Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
An underpowered Anything Goes taps into a bygone era's penchant for tap dancing
Title: Anything Goes Written and choreographed by: Kimberley Rampersad Performed by: Mary Antonini, Celeste Catena, Jeff Irving, Allan Louis, Michael Therriault, Shawn Wright Company: Shaw Festival Venue: Festival Theatre City: Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. Year: Until Oct. 4, 2025 Modern productions of pre-Golden Age musicals can remind you just how young the form is. Born at the crossroads of vaudeville, operetta and minstrelsy, musical theatre as we understand it today – a cousin of opera, a neighbour to non-musical drama – hasn't even cracked 150 years. At the same time, the genre has also evolved quickly since the 1890s. A hit musical now – Maybe Happy Ending, for instance, about two robots in a futuristic Seoul, or Dear Evan Hansen, about an anxious teen in suburban America – tends to bear little resemblance to the early milestone works that paved the way to its existence. Musicals these days are more often sung-through without much spoken dialogue, and, on a good day, the music and story inform each other in a way that feels satisfying and dramaturgically robust. Anything Goes, first produced on Broadway in 1934, somewhat epitomizes musical theatre's relative youth – and the speed at which the form has grown up. The show contains some of Cole Porter's greatest hits, jazz standards including You're the Top, Blow, Gabriel, Blow and, of course, that eponymous toe-tapper laced with clever rhymes. But the book, by P.G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, hasn't aged as gracefully as the songs tucked between its scenes. Plots are thin; characters thinner. Shaw Festival raises $110-million for facility renovations, Royal George Theatre revamp Sure, none of that matters when the songs are performed with aplomb – when the dance numbers ooze with precision and razzle-dazzle. Alas, the Shaw Festival's production of Anything Goes only occasionally compensates for the material with its choreography and performances. Kimberley Rampersad's tap numbers are often out of sync, the sounds muddy as the dancers' shoes scrape across the stage; the cast, too, occasionally struggles to sing while dancing, panting as they spit out Porter's lyrics. And while the production uses an updated script – add Timothy Crouse and John Weidman to the show's laundry list of book-writers – Anything Goes neither feels like a hazy time capsule of the 1930s nor a retrospective riff on the era's penchant for sensationalism. In her director's note, Rampersad says she crafted the production as a 'response to and in resistance to the darkness in this world,' and when all the musical's moving pieces come together, indeed, the outside world feels deliciously far away. But those moments are few and fleeting. Shaw Festival reports operating surplus just one year after largest deficit in its history When we meet nightclub singer Reno Sweeney (Mary Antonini), she's aboard a ship heading to London. So is Billy Crocker (Jeff Irving), a Wall Street broker in love with Hope Harcourt (Celeste Catena). Small problem, one reminiscent of another famous story about a boat crossing the Atlantic: Hope is set to marry Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (a standout Allan Louis), a Brit whose inability to recall American slang will be his downfall. Obviously, hijinks ensue – the dastardly Moonface Martin (Michael Therriault) is also on the ship, as is Billy's boss, Elisha Whitney (Shawn Wright). It's a simple story that's mostly well-acted by Rampersad's cast – Irving's Billy is perhaps the strongest of the bunch, adding depth to the character as needed and belting out fabulous high notes as he comes to terms with his feelings for Hope. Antonini's Reno – the brassy, belting diva of the high seas – is a trickier affair. At the matinee I attended, Antonini appeared to struggle with Anything Goes' titular crowd-pleaser, the Act One closer Sutton Foster so memorably nailed at the 2011 Tony Awards. On Wednesday, musical notes got lost in the shuffle of Rampersad's shuffles, time steps and cramp rolls, the slurry of taps overpowering and chaotic. I was underwhelmed – by Antonini's performance and by Rampersad's choreography, which doesn't seem to leave ample space for Antonini to catch her breath. But I sure changed my tune when Blow, Gabriel, Blow rolled around in the second act, a song better suited to Antonini's range, and with soft-shoe choreography that better allowed Antonini to shine as the production number's star. It's not often Anything Goes isn't the highlight of Anything Goes – but Rampersad and Antonini's work on Blow, Gabriel, Blow makes a convincing argument for the latter song's longevity. There are other highlights of the Shaw Festival's centrepiece musical: Cory Sincennes's costumes drip with vintage luxury, with sequins and beads that catch Mikael Kangas's blazing lights. Sincennes's nifty set, too, makes a lovely playground for Rampersad's cast, a spinning hub of maritime machinery and attractive staircases. Of course, your mileage may vary with this Anything Goes – as a former tap dancer myself, I'm perhaps more sensitive to the production's choreography and resulting issues than the average audience member. But at its best, Anything Goes ought to be a dazzling display of musical punch and pizzazz, a relic of an increasingly under-produced era of musical theatre; on Wednesday, it was, all in all, just fine. To make the inevitable comparison to another tap show set in the 1930s now playing just a few hours away: It ain't no Annie.
CTV News
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Shaw Festival has raised 70 per cent of $150M goal to reinvent theatre institution
An artist rendering design of a replacement for the Royal George Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., is shown in this handout image. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Shaw Festival, Unity Design Studio **MANDATORY CREDIT** The Shaw Festival says it's raised 70 per cent of the $150 million it needs to reinvent the theatre institution's role in southern Ontario. Artistic director Tim Carroll says the $110 million the festival has raised so far comes from a combination of the province, the federal government and private donations. He says they're now soliciting donations more broadly because they see the finish line in sight. The Shaw Festival in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ont., plans to expand its footprint with an artists' village beside the current Festival Theatre that will include performance and classroom spaces. The organization also plans to create a new downtown campus, including a new theatre to replace the crumbling Royal George Theatre. The Shaw says it wants to create a community hub that brings people together and encourages deeper engagement with the theatre. Carroll says theatregoers are already inspired by what they see on stage, and the Shaw plans to foster that inspiration. 'In future you will come to 'Anything Goes,' and then you can go and take a tap dance class, or you can come to a comedy show and you can then go and take an improv class or a comedy class,' he said Monday. He said it will go beyond performance — there will also be classes for technical theatre skills such as scene design. 'We want everyone to be able to find where their joy is and to be able to release their own artist,' Carroll said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2025. Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press
