Sayyidah Fatemah Islamic Centre of Milton hosted an Inter-Faith Iftar where community members of all faiths and backgrounds were invited to celebrate Peace & Harmony.

There was delicious food served as well as several key-note inspirational speeches given by multiple attendees. The speaking was started by Saeed Zafar, President of Sayyidah Fatemah Islamic Centre, talking about the significance of Ramadan and how it encourages Muslims to strengthen their relationship with God and their community. He also highlighted the importance of reaching out to people of all faiths and building bridges of understanding and cooperation.

On Thursday the 30th of March the Milton Muslim Moms organized their Annual Interfaith Iftar Dinner held at Milton Fairgrounds.

The holy month of Ramadan is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. Iftar is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. The interfaith iftar dinner has been part of the “Milton Muslim Moms” annual tradition where interfaith leaders, public officials and friends and neighbours open fast and share meal together. People from various faiths and cultures gather to share Iftar meal and reflect on the importance of unity, tolerance, and understanding, which are essential for building strong and peaceful communities.

On April 8th a Ramadan Cram-A-Cruiser food drive was hosted by Halton Regional Police Service Halton South Asian Internal Support Network at Pak Foods in Milton.

All donations received will be distributed to local food banks to help those in need.

International women day is celebrated every year on March 8^th to recognize the achievement of women’s in social, cultural and political fields.

This year, Famous event organizer and decorator Kanwal Waseem (Admin Fun and Masti Mom) organized an International Women’s day event in Milton

Mayor Gordon Krantz , Regional Councilor Sami Ijaz and Sameera Ali, Councilor Adil Khalqi, community activists Rick Di Lorenzo and Dr.Rabia Azim attended the event.

For those who are fascinated by soaring, inspirational music, combined with visions of magical moments and imaginary people, then the First Ontario Art Centre of Milton was the place to be on February 16th 2023, enjoying the mesmerizing music of the Milton Philharmonic Orchestra.

Music Director and Conductor Luca Peveroni said that he was “really excited for this concert; the repertoire is challenging, diverse but all absolutely brilliant. The thread linking all the pieces on the program is ‘Fairy Tales’ and the power that music and art has to transport us to different times and places.”

The first piece was the “Overture to Oberon” by Carl Maria von Weber. Fairies, along with the mischievous sprite, Puck, gather around their magnificent King as he sleeps in a shady place beneath the trees.

Vistaara Kreations Canada organised Darbar- An evening of Hindustani Classical Music on the 8^th of April. The program showcased the rich heritage of Indian Classical Music. This was the first event in the series of events, which are being planned to provide a platform to the artists to promote Music/ dance/ Art and culture.  The events have a sole vision to promote various elements of art and culture, through various performing arts- music/ dance/ theatre etc. and putting up exhibitions and multimedia shows.

The evening saw a mesmerizing performance by Akhil Jobanputra- Hindistani Vocal and he was accompanied on stage by Pankaj Mishra on Sarangi, Rigved Deshpande on Tabla, Sushant Anantharam on Harmonium and Purvi Suresh on Tanpura.

Annual event goes hybrid, with screenings in the theatre and online

The 10th Annual Milton Film Festival is celebrating this special year with a return to inperson screenings at the FirstOntario Arts Centre Milton, and a big VIP after-party at the prestigious Marquee Steakhouse.

The Festival was conceived in 2013 by Jennifer Smith and Katie Pearce, co-workers at the now-defunct Super ‘A’ Video store, who wanted to bring festival-quality independent and Canadian films to Milton in a theatre setting.

With the Town’s brand new arts centre available as a venue, and in partnership with the TIFF Film Circuit program, the first Milton Film Festival opened on January 11th, 2014 with the beautiful Spanish silent feature film BLANCANIEVES – still one of the best loved films in the festival’s history.

The 2023 Festival begins with five virtual screenings, available online January 25th through the 31st. Theatrical screenings open Friday January 27th with eight feature films being screened over course of the weekend. The film selections include some of the most highly acclaimed films of the year, with more than half by Canadian filmmakers and almost as many by women directors. Most films will feature interviews and Q&A sessions with special guests. The Opening Night Feature is, appropriately, I LIKE MOVIES – a funny and endearing portrait of a movie-obsessed teenager trying to pay his way into film school by working at a video store. Set in Burlington in the early 2000s, the film is the feature debut of film critic and former
Burlington video store clerk Chandler Levack, and has been chosen as one of Canada’s Top Ten 2022 films by TIFF.

As a fitting end, the closing film of the festival is the British documentary A BUNCH OF AMATEURS, about members of Britain’s oldest amateur filmmaking club as they struggle with a declining and aging membership, dwindling funds, a crumbling club house, and of course the pandemic.

Other theatrical feature films include:
• AFTERSUN – Saturday Night Gala – One of the most celebrated films of the year, about a young girl’s pivotal vacation with her father.
• THE SWEARING JAR – Acclaimed, heartwarming romantic drama by Lindsay MacKay (Wet Bum), with a remarkable supporting performance by Kathleen Turner
• THE LONG RIDER – Documentary about one man’s journey from Calgary to Brazil on a horse, with special guest filmmaker Sean Cisterna
• EO – Polish masterpiece about the journeys and tribulations of a donkey, shortlisted for the 2023 Oscars
• RICEBOY SLEEPS – One of Canada’s Top Ten Films, about a mother and son coping with their new home in Canada, starring Ethan Hwang (The Umbrella Academy)
• DRINKWATER – The ultimate Canadian comedy, starring Daniel
Doheny (Adventures in Public School) and Eric McCormack (Will and Grace) And the virtual screenings:
• THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER – A chilling ghost story starring Tilda Swinton in a dual role as mother and daughter
• LOVE IN THE TIME OF FENTANYL – Compassionate documentary about workers at a Vancouver safe injection site, produced by Robinder Uppal and Marc Serpa Francoeur (No Visible Trauma)
• REVIVAL69 – The forgotten story of Toronto’s 1969 Rock ‘n Roll Revival concert, dubbed ‘the second most important event in rock & roll history’
• GOLDEN ARM – A hilarious comedy about women arm wrestlers, with a 100% rating from Rotten Tomatoes As always, the festival will be showcasing a wide selection of short films by local and regional filmmakers, with a special focus on returning MFF ‘Alumni’ from past Festivals, including Roozbeh ‘Ray’ Noori (Fall), Antoine Rail (Currents), David Cartwright (The Perfect Game), Peter Riddihough (Sarah), Darcy Waite (You Did What?), and Milton’s own Steve Belford (Becoming Tom Thomson) who was another regular at Super ‘A’ Video. Most of the 19 short films will be included with a feature film screening, and all are available online as part of the Festival’s SHORT FILM EXTRAVAGANZA compilation. Tickets and passes are available at the FirstOntario Arts Centre Milton box office, or at miltonfilmfest10.eventive. org.

Allendale is a Long Term Care facility in Milton that recently in 2020 has been ”Lighting Up Allendale” each Christmas due to a dedicate group of volunteers wanting to bring Christmas Cheer to the residents.

The Townsend Smith Foundation is a charitable organization working to build a hospice for North Halton. The foundation is currently raising funds through events and generous donors, and bringing awareness to the need for a hospice in our community.

Earlier this year, the Government of Ontario passed Bill 45, “An Act to Proclaim Ontario Cadets Week” into law on April 11, 2022. To be celebrated on the first week of October of every year, Ontario cadets Week is an opportunity for the people of Ontario to “honour the outstanding young Canadians whose unique personal and collective development through cadet programs will help them be successful in Canadian society, as well as recognizing those who support the programs directly and indirectly.”