You are invited to celebrate Wanda Buote as she retires after more than 39 years of dedicated service at Humber. Wanda’s remarkable leadership and lasting contributions have shaped our community in countless ways, and we’re excited to honor her legacy together.

Please join us on Tuesday, November 4 from 2 to 4 (drop-in) on the 5th floor of the Barrett Centre to wish her well. Formal remarks and tributes will commence at 3 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.

If you wish to share remarks during the program, please contact Ashley Lombardo at ashley.lombardo@humber.ca no later than end of day, Friday, October 31.

We are also preparing a photo slideshow honouring Wanda. If you have photos you would like to contribute, kindly email them to Nelia Louro at nelia.louro@humber.ca by end of day, Friday, October 31.

To share a personal message or well wishes, please sign Wanda’s digital retirement card before Tuesday’s event via this link: Wanda’s Retirement Card.

We hope you’ll join us in celebrating Wanda’s incredible journey and thank you for being part of this special moment.

Humber Music is presenting a new Music and Masterclass Series throughout this Fall 2025 – Winter 2026 year. While geared for Humber music students, all are welcome to join us for these informative musical explorations involving performance, discussion, and question-and-answer dialogue. The series allows audiences to meet a range of professional musicians from Canada to India, from songwriting to immersive sound design. Offering attendees a window into the art of music performance, composition and production, master musicians unpack the complexity of their craft and offer insight into the artistic process.

On Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m., Humber Music presents Songwriting with Tara Kannangara & Chris Pruden. JUNO-nominated singer/songwriter and trumpet-player Tara Kannangara will treat audiences to a preview of her latest, unreleased music currently in development. Along with jazz keyboardist Chris Pruden, the duo will breakdown the songwriting process, and offer their experience of the Canadian music industry. This masterclass will provide an opportunity for attendees to receive behind-the-scenes insight and guidance on navigating both the creative and the business side of a career as a professional musician.

More About the Artists

Tara Kannangara is a second-generation, Sri Lankan-Canadian force of nature, writing music that is deeply personal, genre-bending and culture blending. Her songs, encompassed by wild trumpet melodies, searing guitar lines, lush synths, and piercing lyricism will make you turn your head and listen. She moved to Toronto after studying classical music at the University of Victoria to study jazz at the U of T. After years of conventional music education, Tara broke away from the confines of institutional art to return to songwriting, bringing together her voice and trumpet to forge her own unique sound. 

Tara has been featured on CBC’s The Signal, Sirius XM, The Toronto Star, The Sunday Edition and NPR Tiny Desk with Lido Pimienta. She also performed on Lido’s Grammy nominated record, “Miss Colombia.” She has had the privilege to work with extraordinary homegrown artists such as Jeremy Dutcher, Charlotte Cornfield, and Witch Prophet. Her own work has been presented at major festivals across North America including The Montreal Jazz Festival, The Washington DC Jazz Festival and The Smithsonian. Tara is a member of the music faculty at the Humber Polytechnic.

A frequent musical collaborator of Tara’s, Chris Pruden is a pianist/keyboardist based in Toronto. He earned a Master's Degree in Jazz Performance from the University of Toronto. Heavily influenced by jazz, contemporary classical, folk, rock and electronic music, Chris has performed across North America, China, and Europe. In addition to his work with Tara, Chris is a frequent sideman with Sammy Jackson, Zinnia, Language Arts, Future Machines, and Ronley Teper’s Lipliners. 

You can follow Tara on instagram.com/tara.kannangara.

Admission is free. Seating is limited. No ticket registration required.

Photo Credit: Calm Elliott-Armstrong 

Grant Writing for Writers Online Seminar

Are you a writer interested in applying for grants? Join us for a free online seminar on grant writing for writers (including the recent Canada Council for the Arts funding portal update) with acclaimed author, grant writer, and educator Lindsay Zier-Vogel.

Register now

Lindsay Zier-Vogel is an accomplished author, grant writer, and educator, with over 20 years of experience writing grants for charities, non-profits and artists. Lindsay is one of Canada’s most well-respected grant writers and has raised millions of dollars for her clients, including: Furniture Bank, YMCA Canada, Friday Things, Word on the Street, Art Spin, VIBE Arts, Jayli Wolf, Pulga Muchochoma, Dani Kind, among many others. She also leads grant writing workshops through organizations including The FOLD, Nia Centre for the Arts, Bruce County Public Library, The Writer's Union of Canada, and the City of Barrie.

Beyond grant writing, Lindsay works as an author, educator, and is the founder of the internationally acclaimed Love Lettering Project. She is the author of the acclaimed debut novel Letters to Amelia, and her first picture book, Dear Street was a 2023 Junior Library Guild pick, a Canadian Children’s Book Centre book of the year, and was nominated for a Forest of Reading Blue Spruce Award (Canada) and a Magnolia Award (Mississippi), and a Mountain Laurel Award (Pennsylvania). Her second novel, The Fun Times Brigade came out in 2025, and she is co-editing The Deep End: Reflections on swimming with andrea bennett which will be out in 2027.

Indigenous Knowledges Gathering 2025 
What the Land Remembers: From Memory to Responsibility 
November 12–14, 2025 

Held during Indigenous Education Month, the Indigenous Knowledges Gathering (IKG) brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, educators, Knowledge Keepers, Elders, and community members for three days of learning, reflection, and relationship-building. 

View the full program

Day 1 – Wednesday, Nov 12: Coming to Know (Humber Arboretum) 

• Opening Ceremony & Welcome (Centre for Urban Ecology) – with IE&E, reflecting on memory, relationship, and connection. 
• Arboretum Walk – guided by Lynn Short, exploring what the land remembers through storytelling and reflection. 

Day 2 – Thursday, Nov 13: How We Come to Know (Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation, 5th Floor) 

• Morning Session – Beyond the Myth: Educational Value of Indigenous Oral Histories in the Classroom with Dr. Kiera Kaia’tano:ron Brant-Birioukov. 
• Afternoon Concurrent Workshops: 
• Kanien’kéha (Mohawk Language) Workshop – Andrea Johns 
• Indigenous Research Methodologies: Land-Based Methods and Practices – Shane Forrest 
• Birch Bark Teachings & Workshop – Jim Adams 
• Turtle Pin Beading Workshop – Kaitlynn McLeod (Indigenous Student Centre, North Campus) 

Day 3 – Friday, Nov 14: Connecting Our Knowings (Lakeshore Campus) 

• Closing Lunch – Lakeshore Welcome Centre 
• Film Screening: The Eternal Song – Assembly Hall, presented with the Lakeshore Grounds Interpretive Centre and the Humber & University of Guelph-Humber Library. 

Featured throughout the Gathering: 
StoryWalk – Walking Together (Annick Press, 2023) by Elder Albert D. Marshall (Mi’kma’ki) and Louise Zimanyi (T’karonto), illustrated by Emily Kewageshig (Saugeen First Nation). An immersive outdoor reading experience, offered in collaboration with the Lakeshore Grounds Interpretive Centre and the Humber & University of Guelph-Humber Library. 

Nia:wen kowa (many thanks) to our partners the Centre for Urban Ecology (CUE) and Lakeshore Grounds Interpretive Centre, Humber & University of Guelph-Humber Library. 

IKG is a space to honour Indigenous knowledge systems, strengthen relationships, and learn together through ceremony, storytelling, workshops, and community conversations. 

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