The Opeongo Line

In the first of a two-part series about John S.J. Watson, the much-fabled founder of Rockingham, Lesley Betts and Mark Woermke of The Opeongo Readers' Theatre reveal new documentary evidence about Watson's exotic life prior to emigrating to Canada where he built one of the most progressive 19th century villages in all of Renfrew County.

During the Second World War, Theresa Prince was born near Barry's Bay on a small, hard-scrabble farm with no electricity, no indoor plumbing and no easy chance to live out her dreams.  Yet her story is more than just about her irrepressible courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. It's really a story about the heart and soul of our local culture and heritage. 

Four short stories taken from James Joyce's The Dubliners: Araby, Eveline, The Boarding House and Counterparts, each one a revelation, if not an epiphany.  Read by Jeff Bowman, Cathy Chapeskie, Lynn Stewart and Mark Woermke of The Opeongo Readers' Theatre.

A special Canada Day celebration with Arthur Milnes, a curious Canadian, who regales us with a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at our Canadian Prime Ministers and other world leaders. 

A special Canada Day celebration with Arthur Milnes, a curious Canadian, who regales us with a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at our Canadian Prime Ministers and other world leaders.  

The Opeongo Readers' Theatre present three oral histories collected in the Upper Madawaska Valley in the early 1990s. They include Rose Burchat Chapeskie (1909-2000), Evelyn Hildebrandt Villeneuve (1919-2002) and Bernice O'Grady Billings (1926-2005).

Jeff Bowman, Kristin Marchand and Mark Woermke perform three classic ghost stories as The Opeongo Readers' Theatre presents Saki's Open Window, Edgar Allan Poe's Tell-tale Heart and W.W. Jacobs' Monkey's Paw.

In this year of Covid-19 when every major social event seems to be cancelled, our intrepid Opeongo Readers' Theatre arrives just in time to help celebrate Victoria Day like only Canadians do, and like only a village with a curious Balmoral connection to Queen Victoria can.  Listen to some unique historical moments in the life of the 19th century England, as well as one very giddy British ghost story by Canada's favourite humorist, Stephen Leacock.

Mark Woermke of The Opeongo Readers' Theatre performs some of Robert Service's best-loved poems -- The Shooting of Dan McGrew, The Cremation of Sam McGee -- along with some other unique works, appropriate for a pandemic. It's a performance bound to lift your spirits.

Join Rural Roots' host Mark Woermke as he rides in an old half-ton truck with two of the locally-famous members of the 1973-74 Women's Hockey Association Champions, Marie Villeneuve and Judy Whelan, as they relive their glory days.