Photos C/O Benton Lowe

By Adrian Salopek, Staff Writer 

As kids, watching puppets on TV was a surreal experience. Wonderfully wacky creatures helping you learn your ABCs, your 123s and ultimately becoming a friend in the process. Local puppeteer Benton Lowe has made a name for himself in Hamilton and has allowed puppeteering to flourish as an art form in the city. 

By putting on shows at the Hamilton Public Library and appearing on local channels such as CHCH, Lowe is working to ensure that puppeteering is brought to the mainstream.

Originally from Carleton Place, a town outside of Ottawa, Lowe was inspired to practice puppeteering from a young age. Being exposed to shows like Sesame Street and growing up a short drive away from renowned Canadian producer and puppeteer Noreen Young, Lowe was very interested in what it takes to craft these characters from an early age.

“Noreen Young was my puppet grandma,” said Lowe. “She is an amazing puppeteer who did a lot of TV stuff. I really appreciated what she did.” 

Although he loved puppets, it wasn’t until December of 2016 that Lowe began pursuing his current career. It was then that Jordan Lockhart, a friend and fellow puppeteer, helped Lowe realize what he wanted to do in life. As Lowe spoke with him, learning more about Lockhart's puppetry, he discovered a special interest in television puppetry. This prompted Lowe to buy a camera and a monitor to kickstart his own career as a puppeteer. 

In order to make puppet shows believable, television monitors are used to allow each puppeteer to view what the audience would be seeing from home. This in turn allows them to get each shot right in order to make a more immersive connection between the viewer and the character.

“That’s how [puppets are] able to look into the camera and look at you, kind of like they’re looking at you through the screen. That’s the way we connect with people,” explained Lowe.

Lowe then moved to Nunavut in 2017 for a job where he was able to isolate qualities that he wanted to mimic in his own characters and practice puppeteering. He then participated in workshops in Texas with puppeteers like Noel MacNeal, who appeared on Sesame Street and was one of the people who originally inspired Lowe to pursue puppeteering. 

“It was really cool kind of going full circle to be trained by them, because now I want to do what they inspired me to do,” said Lowe.

Puppetry is much more difficult than many might think, but Lowe has worked tirelessly to master the art form. A lot of energy has gone into making his puppetry style so seamless and his characters so relatable. 

“I’ve definitely tried to master the art of bringing characters to life and studying human behaviour, an example of that is breathing,” said Lowe, “This can really make a character stand out and come to life.” 

 Lowe then moved to Hamilton and found there to be little puppeteering around upon arriving. He has since worked hard to change this. He turned the Hamilton Public Library’s mascot, Scout the Fox, into a recognizable puppet. He has also appeared in TV commercials on CHCH for the city as part of its “Spend it Here” holiday shopping campaign and has been featured on the channel’s morning segment. The city has embraced what Lowe is doing and his puppets are recognized by many, particularly children. During the Santa Claus parade of 2019, onlookers recognized his puppets when he was featured on the BookMobile. 

“I could see the excitement of the kids . . . That’s when it really hit me — the impact of the character. I didn’t fully know, like now, that I had brought this character to life,” said Lowe.

Lowe has big plans for the future of Hamilton. He wants the city’s puppeteers to become a source of pride for Hamiltonians. He is now thinking of collaborating with different people within the community to explore possibilities of shooting a local show using puppetry right here in the city, reminiscent of the Hamilton-shot puppet show “Hilarious House of Frightenstein”, which aired in the 70s. He hopes to put Hamilton on the map for its talented puppeteers and artists. 

“Hamilton really has the potential to create shows and entertainment locally in the city,” said Lowe. “[S]o I’m really collaborating with different people for a television series done locally in Hamilton and also not just shot locally and created locally, but done by local producers and even picked up by local broadcasters.” 

You can see more of Lowe’s puppets and video content via his Facebook and Instagram.

 

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Photo C/O Kristin Archer  

Note: This article has been edited to clarify that Marc Lemire has been working for the city of Hamilton since 2005.

cw: homophobia, physical violence, white supremacy, religious extremism

The annual Hamilton Pride event held on June 24, 2006 was interrupted midway by a group of homophobic soccer fans. The soccer fans allegedly swore and spat on those marching in the parade, but the Hamilton police were quick to respond, forming a barrier between the fans and the parade participants. 

At the time, Lyla Miklos, a Hamilton-based activist, creative and journalist, was a board member of the Hamilton Pride committee. She was also one of many who marched in the pride parade—an experience she detailed thirteen years later in a deputation to the Hamilton police services board on July 18, 2019. 

The deputation came a month after a hate group violently interrupted the 2019 Hamilton Pride event. A video from the scene shows a snippet of the commotion, which occurred in the middle of Gage Park and away from Pride festivities. 

Anti-pride demonstrators gathered at the event, shouting homophobic and white nationalist rhetoric. The video appears to show a religious group holding signs with phrases from the Bible and accusing Pride participants of perpetuating “sin”. 

Another group is shown attempting to protect Pride-goers from the anti-pride demonstrators, trying to erect a black curtain to cover the anti-pride group and their signs. 

Eventually, the confrontations escalated to punching, grabbing and choking, with one of the disruptors hitting pride-goers in the face with a motorcycle helmet. 

In the aftermath, the Pride Hamilton board of directors published a statement saying that the situation would not have escalated to such a violent degree had the police responded sooner. 

The statement also discusses Pride Hamilton’s multiple attempts to explain to the police that a similar protest happened during Pride 2018 and that they expected the number of protestors to escalate for 2019. 

Nevertheless, Miklos’ deputation from July 18, 2019 points out the differences in police responsiveness between the 2006 and 2019 Pride events. 

“. . . I am puzzled as to why the [Hamilton] police were unable to mobilize themselves in the same way [they did in the 2006 Pride parade] at Gage Park for Hamilton Pride in 2019, especially since they knew in advance that there was a threat,” she said.  

Pride Hamilton’s statement also touches upon the relationship between the Hamilton Police Services and the local queer community. 

“There have been long-standing issues between the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and Hamilton Police Services that remain unresolved. We feel that this was an opportunity for police to demonstrate that they were there to protect and act in solidarity with the community,” said Pride Hamilton’s statement. 

However, not all members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community believe that increasing police responsiveness is the answer. A June 2019 study from McMaster’s department of labour studies surveyed 900 members of Hamilton’s queer community. Approximately one third of respondents stated that they had been treated unjustly by police, and transgender respondents were more likely to report unfair treatment.

Some recount the events of Hamilton Pride as an example of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community coming together to defend themselves.

Indeed, the protest at the Pride event is only one part of the fraught history between the city of Hamilton and the members of its local queer community. 

Since 2005, Marc Lemire has been working as IT network analyst for the city of Hamilton. From 1995 to 2005, Lemire ran Heritage Front, a now defunct neo-Nazi white supremacist organization. He was also the webmaster of the Freedom Site, which hosted the websites of several Canadian anti-Semitic organizations. 

In an email to CBC News, however, Lemire denied being either a white supremacist or a neo-Nazi. Despite Lemire’s claims, when Lemire’s appointment and history became public knowledge in May 2019, the Hamilton LGBTQ advisory group responded by stating in a motion that with the city allowing Lemire to work for and with them, it had failed to show solidarity with the marginalized communities in Hamilton. According to the LGBTQ advisory group, Lemire’s employment threatens the safety of city staff and volunteers that belong to these communities.

The advisory group is also protesting a police services board appointment from April 2019, which it believes was a missed opportunity to appoint someone who was part of a marginalized community instead of another of the white, straight men that comprise a majority of the current board. 

Another criticism from the advisory group is that the city didn’t implement a transgender and gender non-conforming protocol as quickly as they should have. The protocol was established three years after an incident in 2014 that sparked an Ontario Human Rights tribunal settlement. The advisory group also alleged that the committee behind the protocol was chosen by the city arbitrarily, without careful regard of who would best serve the intentions of the protocol. 

In consideration of all this, the advisory group declared that since the city has failed to demonstrate solidarity with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Hamilton, it didn’t want the city to fly flags in honour of Hamilton Pride 2019. However, on May 30, 2019, rather than adhering to the advisory group’s request, city officials still chose to fly flags symbolic of Pride and the transgender community — only without hosting a flag-raising ceremony, in an attempt to reach a compromise between the city’s plans and the advisory group’s request. 

In a CBC article from the time, Mayor Fred Eisenberger insisted on flying the flag, citing that one advisory group does not represent the entirety of the LGBTQ community. 

“There’s a much broader audience out there, including our own staff,” he said. 

Cameron Kroetsch, chair of the LGBTQ advisory committee, acknowledges that some 2SLGBTQIA+ residents might have wanted a ceremony and that people would have felt differently about the flag-raising. 

“It’s a powerful symbol, and you can’t perfectly represent everybody,” he said. 

Less than a month after this, on June 15, 2019, the 2019 Hamilton Pride event was interrupted by a hateful protest, and tensions between the city of Hamilton and the local queer community came to a boil.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger tweeted his reaction to the Pride incident, “I am disappointed with the events that transpired at yesterday’s Hamilton’s PRIDE celebration at Gage Park. Hate speech and acts of violence have no place in the City of Hamilton. We are committed to being a Hamilton For All where everyone feels safe and welcome.” 

However, the mayor’s intentions did not bring any positive impact for the remainder of the year.

On June 18, 2019, a community conversation regarding Hamilton’s 2SLGBTQIA+ residents ended in a heated discussion about the lack of effort from Hamilton police in keeping Pride participants safe. 

On June 22, 2019, in an outcry against the arrest of Cedar Hopperton, an anarchist activist charged with alleged parole violations following the Pride incident, protesters marched from the Hamilton police headquarters in Barton Jail, where Hopperton was detained. Hopperton, a prominent member of the Hamilton queer community, was the first arrest made following the Pride protest. This drew questions and criticism, as videos of the June 15 incident also showed at least two alt-right protesters committing violence against participants of Hamilton Pride. Hopperton’s supporters also argued that Hopperton was acting in defense of the community while the Hamilton Police failed to arrive at the scene in a timely manner. 

https://www.facebook.com/TrentCWTP/photos/a.1835158899853468/2268043049898382/?type=3&theater

On July 12, 2019, around two dozen members of Hamilton’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community, alongside allies, set up an encampment at Hamilton city hall in protest of the Hamilton police’s alleged failure to stand in support and in assistance to the city’s marginalized communities.

On Aug. 27, 2019, the Hamilton police expressed the desire to improve their relationship with the city’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Jackie Penman, the spokesperson for the Hamilton police, claimed that the police’s goal was to identify what should be done to reestablish communication between the Hamilton queer community and the police. 

Nevertheless, a month after this, on Sept. 10, 2019, Chief Eric Girt of the Hamilton police makes homophobic and transphobic comments on the Bill Kelly show. One month later on Oct. 10, 2019, the police board denied a request from Kroetsch from the city’s LGBTQ advisory committee to provide a deputation to the board, claiming that Kroetsch wanted to speak about city issues and not police ones. 

When asked about where the police should start with repairing its fractured relationship with the Hamilton queer community, Kroetsch points out that the work behind this has already been done by many kinds of groups long before 2019. 

“The chief quite clearly stated that he knew what the issues were. So I think the start has to be … getting a plan from the City of Hamilton, getting a plan from city police to talk about what they’re planning to do now … What can you do, what are you able to do, how are you able to participate in this conversation marginalised communities have been asking you for decades?” said Kroetsch. 

He also spotlights the frustration felt by many members of marginalised communities, who have already done a lot of talking and who have to relive traumatic experiences in sharing their accounts with others. Kroetsch says that he does not see a plan coming forward from any civic leaders that truly take into account what marginalised individuals are telling them. 

In a similar vein, Miklos criticizes the constant defensiveness from the mayor and the chief of police. She calls for more compassion and urges the mayor to do something more helpful than simply showing up at cultural events. 

Regarding the future of the city’s relationship with the local 2SLGBTQIA+ community, Kroestch said that it is up to the city, including the police, to listen and engaged with the right folks. 

“There’s a lot of awkwardness there and uncomfortability, and they have to find a way to work through that for themselves, and work through what it means to engage with marginalised communities …  And that’s really the start of the work and I think it’s a long road for that. But the sooner they get down that road, the better,” said Kroetsch. 

 

This article is part of our Sex and the Steel City, our annual sex-positive issue. Click here to read more content from the special issue.

 

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Photo C/O Canadian Pacific Railway

For the past 20 years, the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train has traveled across Canada and the United States, spreading holiday cheer and making donations to food banks at each of its stops. This year, it will be making its annual Hamilton stop on the evening of Nov. 28, in Gage Park. 

The Holiday Train is always decked in festive lights and decorations. At each of its stops one of the train cars opens up to reveal a stage for a live concert performance. Both the concert and the event itself are free. The featured musicians will include Alan Doyle — formerly of Great Big Sea — and Beautiful Band. While guests are encouraged to donate non-perishable items to Hamilton Food Share, it’s not mandatory.

“Nothing there costs anything, so even families who might not have a lot of extra can come out and enjoy [the event] as a kickoff to the holiday season to get into the festive spirit,” said Celeste Taylor, the Resource Development Manager for Hamilton Food Share.

Every month, over 13,000 people in the city, including almost 5,000 children, need a food bank every month. As rent in the city continues to increase, food is becoming more difficult to access for many. According to the Hamilton Hunger Report 2019, households who access a food bank spend, on average, more than 50 per cent of their income on housing, increasing the risk of displacement or homelessness. Food is an important part of most holiday traditions, and it can be difficult to celebrate when there’s nothing to put on the table.

Food is an important part of most holiday traditions, and it can be difficult to celebrate when there’s nothing to put on the table.

“Everybody wants to celebrate, whether they’re celebrating Christmas or another holiday, they want to be able to be with their family or to be with the people they care about and food is often central to that. It’s a method of social inclusion when people are able to have the food they need to make a meal. The other part is, here in Hamilton we have such a high percentage of people who are struggling so much with paying the rent that sometimes there just isn’t anything left to buy food with . . . It’s not just holiday food, it’s also being able to put a meal on the table,” said Taylor.

Taylor says that there are many other ways that the community can get involved. “The other thing that people can do is to be looking towards social policy change that would be helping people to cover the expenses of daily life and life’s basics . . . The important message is not that it’s Food Banks or policy change, it’s both.”

Since 1999, the Holiday Train has been contributing donations to local food bank organizations. While the concert in Gage Park is only one night, it’s important to keep that same level of donation energy throughout the year as giving shouldn’t end after the holidays.

The CP Holiday Train will be rolling through Gage Park (1000 Main St. E) on Nov. 28 at 7:45 p.m.

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