Downtown Kingston

#DKShopfest Feature: Fancy That/Roundstone Owner Maria Cronk

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If you’ve found yourself at the corner of Princess and King street in the past 20 years or so, you’ve likely stopped in to clothing stores Fancy That or Roundstone. These shops are a staple of Kingston’s downtown and where you’ll find great deals on June 16 as downtown Kingston celebrates DKShopfest. DKShopfest is a day dedicated to celebrating and supporting our locally owned shops while scoring great deals. I wanted to learn a little more about Fancy That owner, Maria Cronk. She was kind enough to answer a few questions via email. Read below to learn how Fancy That started and what Maria loves most about being a Kingston shop owner.

Keep up with Kingston: Please share how Fancy That started? How many years have you been open?

Maria Cronk: Fancy That Group started in 1974 by Inger Sparring (my mother) in Brockville, ON. We started as one small store in Brockville, ON and grew over the years. At one point we had nine stores across Eastern Ontario! Now, we have two stores in downtown Kingston (Fancy That & the Roundstone) and one store in Brockville (Limestone & Ivy). IN 1979, my brother, Dan, joined in the business, he runs our store in Brockville, and I joined in 1985 to run the Kingston stores.

We came to downtown Kingston in May 1985 with Fancy That. Continue reading →

Q&A: Kay Kenney on Movement Market’s Juvenis Festival Show

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The Juvenis Festival has kicked off in Kingston showcasing the work of some of our city’s most talented young artists! Kay Kenney of Movement Market/SERIES took a minute to answer questions via email about her company’s participation in the festival. This Thursday until Saturday, Movement Market/SERIES will be showing in the old American Apparel storefront on Princess. Read about the new dance platform and upcoming performance in the Q&A below.
Keep up with Kingston: Tell me a little about yourself and your dance background? 
Kay Kenney: I grew up in Kingston ontario. I’ve danced since the age of 4 and studied at the Kingston School of Dance in the old tett centre building. I grew up training in the classical Cecchetti ballet method where I received up to my Intermediate certificate. Over the years I was interested in branching out and began studying all types of methods, such as; jazz, hip-hop, latin, ballroom, musical theatre & contemporary dance, to prepare me for post-secondary training.
I am a 2012 graduate from the Professional Contemporary Dance 3 year diploma Programme at The School of Dance in Ottawa. Since graduation, I have been working as a company dancer for Social Growl Dance, under Artistic Direction of Riley Sims (Toronto) & a company dancer as part of Ottawa Dance Directive, under artistic direction of Yvonne Coutts. I have trained and worked with professionals all over Ontario and Quebec and will be headed to Berlin in June to create a new work for Social Growl Dance to premier in March 2019.

Continue reading →

Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal is coming to The Grand!

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balletsjazzdemontrealphoto5Kingston is in for a treat on April 12th! Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal will be performing at the Grand Theatre and you don’t want to miss this performance. The Grand’s Performing Arts Manager in Cultural Services Jayson Duggan shares why Kingston is so lucky to have BJM.

Can you tell me why you’re personally so excited to see their performance this year?
The  appearance of BJM on April 12th will be without a doubt a highlight of the 10th Anniversary Grand OnStage season. We have been fortunate to present many Canadian icons over the last eight months as part of our anniversary celebrations, and BJM is another outstanding example of the creative brilliance and extraordinary talent flourishing across Canada. I have had the opportunity to see this program performed by BJM and I am looking forward to the reaction and response from the Grand OnStage audience. It is definitely a show that should not to be missed! Continue reading →

Pay What You Want at The Grand Theatre

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I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the exciting events happening at The Grand Theatre this season, specifically within the dance program. Kingston is so lucky to have incredible dance companies travel here and share their talent. In order to make sure that Kingstonians take advantage — without the financial strain —  The City of Kingston is introducing Pay What You Want for next week’s 3,2,1 Dance! on February 15, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.  Continue reading →

Q&A: Dancer Valeria Galluccio Discusses Upcoming Kingston Performance with Compagnie Marie Choiunard

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Photo: Sylvie-Ann Paré / Dancer: Lucy M. May

Attention all dancers and dance enthusiasts! Internationally-renowned dance company Marie Chouinard is coming to Kingston on January 30th. Marie Chouinard has created choreography based on Stravinsky’s iconic score, The Rite of Spring. As well as a piece based off the book Mouvements by Henri Michaux. Learn more about the details of the show, here.

It’s wonderful to learn about a show from the perspective of a performer. Dancer Valeria Galluccio has been part of Marie Chouinard since 2011, she took some time to answer a few questions about the upcoming show via email. See below to learn about her experience and why she is looking forward to the Kingston performance.  Continue reading →

Shop Local: Kingston’s Holiday Markets

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Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash

The countdown to Christmas is officially on and this is the perfect time to share all of the goodness that Kingston’s makers have to offer. Thanks to a few very festive markets
— you can easily support local and treat loved ones this season. Scroll down to see where you can find your locally sourced Christmas gifts.

Kingston Holiday Market – 274 Princess Street – Saturday, November 18th (Open for 6 weekends)
From locally made chocolate and jewelry to bath products, furniture and more! Some of my favourite Kingston makers will be here!
Keep up on Instagram: @kingstonholidaymarket
Continue reading →

Q&A With A Passage to Bollywood Director Ashley Lobo

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Stage musical A Passage to Bollywood will be coming to The Grand Theatre on November 25. This vibrant show has traveled all over the world from China and Germany to Turkey, South Africa, US, Bahrain and Israel. Award winning director and choreographer Ashley Lobo took some time to answer some of my questions about show. Read below to learn about A Passage to Bollywood.

Keep up with Kingston: I read that you moved back to India in 1998, what brought you back?
Ashley Lobo: I left India for Australia because I wanted to train in international dance as there was no formal education system for it in India. I went back to India in ’98 because I thought it was important to start up a dance school so others could have the opportunity that I did not have.
Continue reading →

Five Shows I Can’t Wait to See This Season at The Grand

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I am so excited to announce a fun sponsored collaboration with The Grand Theatre. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve grown up attending shows like The Nutcracker at The Grand but they offer so much more than a holiday ballet. Performers travel from around the world to share their talents with us Kingstonians and we are incredibly lucky to have this theatre that can house these performances in such an intimate and beautiful space.

I’ve picked a few of the shows I look forward to and I’ll have an opportunity to interview someone who is a part each of these shows ahead of each performance. Plus, I’ll be pairing each article with a contest! Continue reading →

Five Things I Learned from Four of Kingston’s Female Entrepreneurs

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Last night, The Claire Closet hosted a panel discussion about building a successful brick and mortar business with four of Kingston’s successful female entrepreneurs. It was so great to see a range of professional experience and life experience discuss the rewards and pitfalls of being business owners. The speakers were Cyndy Gibson owner of shops Agent 99 and Blueprint, Maria Cronk owner of Fancy That and Roundstone, Tiffany Brick owner of The Annex Spa and Melissa Eapen owner of Improbable Escapes and The Kingston Collective. Listening to these women speak reaffirmed why I started the Boss Ladies of the Limestone City series. They support each other and encourage healthy competition for the greater good of our beautiful city. I admire how they contribute to the awesome town we live in. They also offered amazing advice. If you’re considering launching a business of your own, below is a list of five things I learned from their talk. Continue reading →