🍇 Charity and Community in NOTL

🌨️ Wild Weather in Ontario

It’s been a wild stretch of winter weather across NOTL and the wider region. Temperatures remain well below zero today, with snow and blowing flurries possible throughout the day. Roads and sidewalks may be slick in spots, so take it slow if you’re heading out — and maybe give yourself a little extra time.

This follows a week of extreme winter weather across Ontario. Toronto recorded its largest single-day snowfall on record, with up to 56 cm reported in parts of the downtown core — a reminder that winter has fully settled in.

A new local initiative is finding a meaningful way to turn conversation into compassion.

Chat for Charity is a simple but powerful idea: instead of donating money alone, supporters choose a “Time Donor” — a local artist, musician, scientist, or community leader — and exchange a one-on-one conversation for a donation. The result is something rare: a genuine human connection that directly supports humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

Each Time Donor brings their own story, experience, and perspective, offering donors the chance to slow down, listen, and connect — all while contributing to a cause that extends far beyond our town. It’s less about transactions and more about shared time, curiosity, and care.

Still in its early days, Chat for Charity is an invitation as much as it is a platform — an invitation to give differently, to meet someone new, and to be part of something thoughtful from the ground up.

Those interested in learning more or getting involved can visit chatforcharity.ca, or connect directly with the charity’s founder, Jackie Kevill, at [email protected]

Tomorrow, the community is invited to step inside one of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s most beloved cultural landmarks one last time.

The Royal George Theatre will open its doors for a free community drop-in on Saturday, January 31, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., offering a final chance to wander the space before the historic theatre closes for demolition and begins its transformation into a new, modern venue.

Hosted by the Shaw Festival, the open house welcomes patrons, neighbours, artists, staff and friends to explore the lobby, auditorium, bar and box office — and to add their memories to a farewell guest book that will live on in the new theatre.

For more than a century, the Royal George has been a cornerstone of Queen Street and a formative home for countless performers, crew members and audiences. From intimate dramas and classic comedies to musicals performed without microphones, its walls have held generations of stories.

While demolition is expected to begin later this winter, the future is already taking shape. The new Royal George Theatre is planned to open in fall 2028, designed as a fully accessible, modern space inspired by the character and intimacy that made the original so special.

Tomorrow’s open house offers a rare pause — a chance to remember, reflect, and say thank you before the next chapter begins.

These are a few spots currently on our radar — places we’re planning to spend some time at over the coming week.

If there’s somewhere we should be checking out (or revisiting), let us know. We’re always listening and love discovering new local favourites.

You might just spot us tucked into one of these spots soon.

As NOTL News continues to grow, we’re looking to thoughtfully expand our team.

We’re currently exploring the addition of a relationship-focused account manager to help support our local business partners and keep NOTL News growing in a sustainable, community-first way. If you’re interested in connecting and learning more about how you could get involved, we’d love to chat.

👉 Reach us [email protected]

Thanks for reading today’s issue.

If you enjoyed it, pass it along to someone who always asks, “What’s going on in town?”

— Matthew Habinski, Editor @ NOTL News

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