Greg Thorbourne is the chairman of the Liverpool Championship Host Society, which is organizing the 2025 Mixed Doubles Curling Trials in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

Some of Canada’s top curlers will be ringing in the new year in Liverpool as they compete to represent Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

Local organizers are putting the final touches on the 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials. It will be held at Queens Place Emera Centre from Dec. 30 to Jan. 4.

It’s the first of three major qualifying events in Nova Scotia for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Wolfville is hosting the full-team Canadian pre-trials in October 2025, and Halifax will host the Canadian curling trials in November 2025.

Canada won the first-ever mixed doubles curling Olympic gold medal in the sport’s debut at the 2018 games in South Korea.

Greg Thorbourne is the chairman of the Liverpool Championship Host Society. He says the 16 teams all have their plane tickets and hotel rooms booked, and they start arriving just after Christmas.

“There’s Olympic champions and there’s world champions coming,” Thorbourne told QCCR.

“The who’s who in curling will be here. Jennifer Jones, (Brent) Laing, Lisa Weagle, (Rachel) Homan. It boggles my mind to see this caliber coming to small-town Nova Scotia.”

In addition to Olympic gold medallist Jones, some of the other big-name Canadian curlers coming to Liverpool are reigning world curling champion Rachel Homan, former Canadian champ Brendan Bottcher, and a host of other Canadian, world and Olympic medallists.

“All the names that are on these big teams that play in the events, they’re all gonna be here. It’s super to see. Mixed doubles is probably the fastest curling game on ice.” 

Thorbourne said he expects the event to be a big boon to the local economy.

“This is worth probably over $1 million to the economy of Liverpool and area. You have 16 teams staying plus their coaches, every staff member from Curling Canada will be here and high-performance coaches and everybody else that I’ve talked to through Curling Canada in the last couple of weeks is going to be here in Liverpool. So the place will be humping with outside people between Christmas and New Year’s, a big boost to the economy.”

Four sheets of curling ice will be installed at Queens Place, with professional ice makers arriving on Dec. 22 and working through till the 27th. 

Practices begin on Dec. 28, with the opening ceremonies scheduled for Dec. 29 at 7 p.m.

Thorbourne says the practices and opening ceremony are all free. And that will be the best time to meet the players.

“Watch the teams practice, meet the teams, they’ll be floating around the facility those two days.

“And afterwards, the players will be hanging out, so if you want autographs or pictures with these players, most of them are very accommodating. They love to talk to people.”

Mixed doubles curling is a quicker game than traditional curling, usually taking less than an hour. Each team throws five stones per end. The scoring is the same as in traditional curling, but there are a few other differences which add to its appeal.

“(Fans) can’t see better curling anywhere, and it’s going to be live and you’re gonna be able to meet the players. Queens Place has good seating and there’s not a bad seat in the place.”

About 14 government and private sponsors are helping cover the costs of the $255,000 event, including Mersey Seafoods, ACOA, Province of Nova Scotia, Region of Queens, Best Western Plus, Source Atlantic/Len’s Plumbing & Heating, Belliveau/Veinotte, Liverpool Lions Club, Tim Hortons Liverpool, Sobeys, Culligan, Dixie Lee, Arby’s, and Home Hardware.

Organizers have also recruited more than 100 volunteers from the community.

Thorbourne says the host society is also selling tickets on a heat pump with installation. People can contact the organizers through the Liverpool Championship Host Society Facebook page to buy tickets.

Tickets for the event are available at Queens Place Emera Centre or through Ticketpro. The action will be livestreamed on the Curling Canada website. 

Here’s a full list of teams competing in Liverpool:

• Kadriana Lott/Colton Lott (Gimli, Man.) – 2024 Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship gold medallists
• Laura Walker/Kirk Muyres (Edmonton/Humboldt, Sask.) – 2024 Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship silver medallists
• Jocelyn Peterman/Brett Gallant (Chestermere, Alta.) – 2024 Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship bronze medallists
• Nancy Martin/Steve Laycock (Wakaw, Sask./Saskatoon) 
• Jennifer Jones/Brent Laing (Barrie, Ont.) 
• Brittany Tran/Rylan Kleiter (Calgary/Saskatoon) 
• Rachel Homan/Brendan Bottcher (Beaumont, Alta./Spruce Grove, Alta.) 
• Jennifer Armstrong/Tyrel Griffith (Rothesay, N.B./Kelowna, B.C.) 
• Riley Sandham/Brendan Craig (Guelph, Ont.)
• Lisa Weagle/John Epping (Ottawa/Toronto) 
• Taylor Reese-Hansen/Corey Chester (Kitimat, B.C./Victoria) 
• Anne-Sophie Gionest/Robert Desjardins (Alma, Que./Saguenay, Que.) 
• Melissa Adams/Alex Robichaud (Fredericton, N.B.)
• Jessica Zheng/Victor Pietrangelo (Niagara Falls, Ont.) 
• Paige Papley/Evan Van Amsterdam (Edmonton)
• Jaelyn Cotter/Jim Cotter (Vernon, B.C.) 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Shelly Panczyk (centre) with representatives from Liverpool Superstore, food bank staff, Queens Mayor Darlene Norman and MLA Kim Masland. Photo Ed Halverson

A new walk-in freezer is helping the Queens County Food Bank provide better service to more people, more efficiently.

The 12’ x 12’ walk in freezer is the result of a $45,000 donation courtesy of Loblaws Canada.

Chair of the Queens County Food Bank Shelley Panczyk learned they would be receiving the funding in November of 2022.

The walk-in replaces chest freezers the food bank had been using and Panczyk says the ability to open a door and see where food is at a glance has been extremely helpful to volunteers.

“You’ve got your hamburger here and your hot dogs here and things on top of each other and we were always pulling and taking out and rearranging,” said Panczyk.

For two years before the new unit was installed, Panczyk says Mersey Seafood would store overflow frozen food for the bank.

She welcomes the increased capacity the new freezer provides as over the past three years food bank use has increased dramatically.

“And it’s not just single people. I have people in here that are, two people working. With the way the economy is, and the pricing, that have to come here because there’s no way that they could ever live.”

On average, the Queens County Food Bank provides for 160 families every month serving 450-500 people, 33 percent of those are children.

Panczyk says the support from the Superstore and Sobeys stores in Liverpool is invaluable.

She also appreciates all the generous food donations being dropped off at various locations.

While those are good, Panczyk says one of the best ways to support the food bank is through making a cash donation.

“Money donations are better because I’m always, always looking for sales. That’s part of my work,” said Panczyk. “Every Thursday I have to get the flyers from Superstore and Sobeys and I go through and what’s ever on sale that I use as a staple, I have to order. And we’re ordering cases.”

Panczyk says they can accept cash or cheque at the food bank or thrift store locations, by mail or people can e-transfer the funds.

Donors receive a receipt which can come in handy when looking for deductions at tax time.

Now that the walk-in freezer is installed and running, Panczyk says the Food Bank infrastructure is set for years to come and they can confidently focus on serving their clients.

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Community Food Cruise volunteers. Photo courtesy Kim Masland’s office

Once again, Queens County came out in a big way last weekend to support the community food cruise.

The annual event organized by Queens MLA Kim Masland and a small group of volunteers parks an RCMP cruiser at the Liverpool Superstore to accept donations for the Queens County Food bank.

This year residents opened their hearts and wallets to cram 1,512 food items into the cruiser along with $1,361.13 in cash, cheques, and gift cards.

The event pulls many groups in the community together to support the Food Bank.

RCMP Community Policing Officer Cst. Winsor, brought the cruiser, Superstore hosts the event in their parking lot and their employees pre-package donation bags for purchase, Queens County Transit provided a van and driver to collect the donations that wouldn’t fit in the cruiser, and a small but mighty team of volunteers including Annette Burke, Al Steele and Masland’s Constituency Assistant Sam Scobey helped collect donations.

Masland expressed her gratitude for everyone involved in a post on social media saying, “The dedicated volunteers of Queens County Foodbank were full of smiles and tears as we rolled up to their doors with a full van. They very quickly went to work on a Saturday afternoon to fill their shelves.”

Masland summed up the event by saying, “It was a cold day, but our hearts were full of warmth, friendship and giving. This is Christmas to me. “

Donations can made to the Queens County Food Bank anytime by dropping items in bins located at the Liverpool Superstore and Sobeys locations or by contacting them by phone or  through their Facebook page.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Photo Ed Halverson

The Royal Canadian Legion’s annual poppy campaign is back with a decidedly new twist this year.

Donation boxes and volunteers will still be in the same familiar locations, but some will offer a new way to donate.

Electronic tap and pay boards which were rolled out on a trial basis in a few locations last year are now available at the two main grocery stores in Liverpool, Sobeys and Superstore.

The boards allow you to choose a dollar amount and quickly tap your debit or credit card to make your donation.

President of Mersey Branch 38 Louis Landry says the automatic machines not only make it easier for people to donate, they require fewer volunteers.

“The good thing about that is that then the person doesn’t have to man the table. We don’t have to have somebody watching the money box. It’s there on the grace of everybody. I tell everybody that poppies are free, we’re just asking for a donation,” said Landry.

The Legion is also going green this year, introducing biodegradable poppies and wreaths.

Landry says the Legion will be working its way through the stock of poppies and wreaths they have on hand.

He expects many biodegradable wreaths will be on display this season and to see the new, greener poppies next year.

Landry says the Poppy Campaign is crucial to supporting local veterans as every dollar donated goes to support former military and RCMP members living here in Queens.

Landry is also seeing an uptick in the number of volunteers offering to man their donation stations.

He credits people being more comfortable dealing with COVID in the community and the efforts of their Poppy Campaign Chair Janet Will.

“Because she spent quite a number of hours on the phone canvassing people, encouraging them to come out and actually volunteer for this year’s poppy fund,” said Landry.

The Legion will be marking two significant events during Remembrance Day ceremonies this year.

The first is the passing of Queen Elizabeth. The second is the 80^th anniversary of Canadian forces landing in Dieppe.

In August of 1942, 5,000 Canadians joined their allies in storming France, 900 of them didn’t make it home.

The Legion will host a series of events around Queens County on Remembrance Day beginning at 9:30am at the Brooklyn Baptist Church.

Several services will run concurrently at 10:45am at cenotaphs in Liverpool, Milton, Caledonia, Port Mouton and Greenfield.

Services will also be held at noon in Liverpool at the Camp Norway Memorial and at 2:30pm at the newly dedicated 1^st Beech Hill RCAF Memorial on Old Port Mouton Rd.

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Queens County Food Bank shelves have lots of space for more donations. Photo Ed Halverson

Queens County Food Bank Staff are hoping as the leaves fall, donations go up.

Executive Director of the Queens County Food Bank Shelly Panczyk and her staff of 20 volunteers supply 350 people in Queens with food every month.

Panczyk says warmer weather means a significant drop in donations.

“There’s not a lot of groups getting together saying, okay, we’re going to do this for the food bank, we’re going to run this, this week for the food bank or this month for the food bank. We don’t have any of that in June, July, and August,” said Panczyk.

The Queens County Food Bank has been relying on a shipment of food it receives each Monday from Feed Nova Scotia.

But Panczyk says even that source is drying up since pandemic restrictions have lifted and people have started to return to their normal routines.

“People were donating to the food bank like crazy during this all, they were loaded. Feed Nova Scotia was loaded. Now they’re getting down, they have nothing,” said Panczyk. “I probably was getting 1,200 kilograms and we’re down now to eight (800kg). And each week it’s going down and down, what supplies are coming in from them.”

Shelly Panczyk at Queens County Food Bank. Photo Ed Halverson

Donations from Sobeys and Superstore account for the rest of the supplies currently lining the shelves at their Main Street, Liverpool location.

Panczyk says the decline in donations come as the food bank is seeing an increase in the number of people using their services since the pandemic.

She says what’s needed to ensure they can continue to serve the community is a regular stream of donations either through the drop boxes at local grocery stores or by monthly donation to Feed Nova Scotia.

To learn how to donate to the Queens County Food Bank you can head to their Facebook Page.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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