Event Type : Speaker Series

If These Walls Could Talk: Massey Hall and The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern

Who: David McPherson

Tickets: $15/person

Music venues come and go. The ones that survive recessions and cultural shifts in taste are usually led by passionate owners and aided by a little luck. Two of these iconic music institutions—Massey Hall and the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern—are in Toronto. David McPherson has chronicled the fascinating history of these venues in bestselling books; he takes us behind this pair of storied facades, offers a glimpse of the past, present and future of these historic landmarks, and shares why music venues matter.

Bio

David McPherson is the bestselling author of “The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern: A Complete History” and “Massey Hall.” Ever since attending his first rock concert in 1989 (The Who) and buying his first LP (Freeze Frame by The J. Geils Band), music has become “the elixir of his life.” David is a regular contributor to the Globe & Mail, GRAMMY.com, and the Toronto Star. When not contributing feature stories to newspapers and magazines, he helps corporate clients get their words right. David lives in Waterloo, Ont. with his wife and two adult children. Follow @mcphersoncomm

Why do Community Newspapers Matter? A Gatekeeper’s Defense

Who: Martha Perkins

Tickets: $15/person

In April 1999, former Echo editor Martha Perkins somewhat begrudgingly spent her Saturday morning covering the opening of the Kinmount Medical Centre. A fellow attendee gleefully told her that he was looking forward to the day when “legacy” newspapers lost their control over what was deemed important for people to read about. Community residents, he said, would take over and liberate the news.

She’s been thinking of her response ever since.

Today we’re all too familiar with what happens when people choose their own source of “news”, often reinforcing their existing views and knowledge base. Martha will reflect on the importance of community newspapers and an exciting new internet portal that gives us access to decades of newspaper articles that helped provide Haliburton County with a sense of itself.

Martha Perkins began her prolific journalism career in downtown Haliburton in September 1985 as a cub reporter at the Haliburton County Echo. Her leadership, talents and curiosity soon lead to the position of Editor which she held until November 2009. During this time, she also became Editor of the Minden Times, Bancroft This Week and Barry’s Bay This Week.

Since 2009, Martha has lived in Vancouver and has worked as Editor-in-Chief of a number of local newspapers including the Vancouver Courier, one of Vancouver’s longest established weekly newspapers, the Bowen Island Undercurrent, the Burnaby NewsLeader, the New Westminster NewsLeader and the Westender.

https://muckrack.com/marthaperkins/bio

The New World of AI: How to Know What is Really Real

Who: Dr. Nell Thomas

Tickets: $15/person

Thousands of messages are sent to Canadian municipal politicians from constituents telling them to abandon environmental protection legislation. They are bots, not real voters, but they are convincing… and effective.

Canada’s chief public health officer appears in a video (and website) telling people vaccinated against COVID they are at risk of death from blood clots. The video is AI-generated and the website is fake. But people are scammed and buy the clot busting products being peddled.

Hundreds of millions of AI-generated chatbots are used daily by political influencers to interfere in elections. And they are working.

Images of Taylor Swift endorsing Donald Trump. Kamala Harris speaking to a Soviet-style rally. Mark Carney meeting with Chinese businessmen or selling get-rich quick crypto schemes. Fake robocalls impersonating President Biden telling Democrats not to vote in the New Hampshire primary.

Canadians reported over $58 million in romance scam losses to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre in 2024 (only 10% are actually reported), with AI making impersonation of fake lovers easier than ever. It takes minutes and pennies to create deepfakes of yourself or anyone, using only a photo and readily available AI tools.

In this presentation, we will experience AI wizardry, contemplate its radical influence, and discuss the following questions:

• What guardrails should exist for AI?
• How can social media be held accountable?
• How can we protect ourselves?
• What do we need to know, and do, if we suspect fraud?

BIO

Born in 1966, Nell grew up on forty acres half an hour north of Huntsville in a log home built from a dismantled barn. Her father was an environmentalist/politician/farmer/writer/broadcaster and her mother a teacher/gardener/fearless activist who raised their children genuinely “off the land.” In the 1970s her father built a still and made fuel alcohol from artichokes to run his Volvo.

In Ottawa at age 18, Nell was a member of Friends of the Earth. “I have never not known the truth. That greenhouse gases sent by us into the atmosphere would eclipse our world, luxuries taken by my generation would erase future generations.”

A linguistics degree led to a Master of Clinical Science in communication disorders and a 15-year career as a speech-language pathologist in Muskoka. When the government outsourced homecare services, Nell created a locally therapist-led rehab company.

Medical school at age 39 took her to Sudbury for four years, then to McMaster for a rural Family Medicine residency in Mount Forest. Nell has been part of the Haliburton Highlands Family Health Team since 2013.

She is a faculty member at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and a member of NOSM’s Action Committee on Climate Change. She participates in the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education in healthcare curriculum.

“Climate change isn’t just an environmental issue—it’s a health crisis. The air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink—it’s all connected.”

As an advocate for climate and public health, Thomas launched the Heathealth.ca project in 2024—a website and billboard campaign educating Canadians about the health risks of rising temperatures. She conceptualized the FOOD ALLIANCE to support local food systems, built a year round growing dome, is working on sustainable food policy and green waste management with Trent University, and created ROADMAP, a climate fiction series that guides humans to live in balance with the land.

Nell has authored two local newspaper series, “COVID Corner” and “Climate Corner.” She is an invited speaker at events (e.g. 350 Canada, SCAN, Probus, environmental groups).

The Accidental Canadian

Who: Dougie Walker

Tickets: $15/person

Bio

Douglas Walker is thrilled to be taking on an exciting new role at the Highlands Summer Festival this season, having been recently appointed as the festival’s Artistic Producer! This significant new position builds on his history with the Festival, which includes a moving performance in Every Brilliant Thing and his directorial debut with the hilarious 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. As Artistic Producer, Douglas will now be helping shape the entire festival experience.

His creative talents extend beyond directing and producing, though. Douglas has also showcased his writing and performing chops in Candid Cabaret with R.C.S., and his choreography has been featured in The Rink at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum at the Haliburton Summer Festival.

On stage, Douglas has toured extensively across Canada and beyond, appearing in popular productions like Jersey Boys, Mamma Mia, and The Soul Of Motown (Stage West), as well as Avenue Q on its UK National Tour. He’s also performed in The Voice of the Turtle and Affairs of State (Classic Theatre Festival), Miracle on 34th Street (Pitlochry Festival Theatre), and even Scooby Doo Live: The Mystery of the Pyramid (UK National Tour, Warner Bros.). His theatrical journey has taken him across the globe, including performances with The Tenors (Netherlands Tour) and Sesame Street (Universal Studios Japan).

Beyond the stage, Douglas has appeared in several television productions, including Frankie Drake Mysteries (CBC), A Christmas Exchange (Lifetime), In The Dark (The CW), Jazz Ramsay: A K9 Mystery (Hallmark), and Rabbit Hole (Paramount). He’s also lent his voice to Hyperscape (Ubisoft) and the audiobook Unrest by Gwen Tuinman (Penguin Random House).

As he steps into the exciting role of Artistic Producer, Douglas is dedicated to fostering artistic excellence, innovation, and community engagement at the Highlands Summer Festival.