Steve Paikin, Bruce Dowbiggin to trade stories at Aurora Town Square

Journalists Steve Paikin and Bruce Dowbiggin are set to share stories at Aurora Town Square next Sunday as podcaster Andrew Applebaum interviews them on more than 35 years of friendship and being in the field.

An Afternoon with Steve Paikin & Bruce Dowbiggin, hosted by Applebaum, will take place September 7 from 2 – 4 p.m., and is a joint presentation of Aurora Town Square and the Aurora Public Library.

The afternoon will feature an on-stage interview in the Aurora Town Square Performance Hall where the two journalists will share stories of their interactions with well-known athletes, politicians, and newsmakers – as well as a chance to meet the guests and participate in book signings.

Paikin, the author of nine books, is an award-winning journalist who recently ended his 19-year run on TVO's “The Agenda with Steve Paikin.” Dowbiggin, a two-time Gemini-award winner for his contributions to sports broadcasting, is the author of eleven books and is the website editor for Not the Public Broadcaster.

They will reflect on their long-standing friendship, which included co-hosting the Double Play radio show on The Fan 590, all guided by Applebaum, host of the Toronto Legends podcast.

Both Paikin and Dowbiggin have been guests on the podcast and Applebaum says there are stories still left to mine.

“People love to go behind the scenes and know the stories behind the stories,” says Applebaum. “Steve and Bruce have been friends and colleagues going back to their CBC days and between broadcasting and journalism, they have covered many interesting people. People want to know what it was like. In Steve Paikin's case, he interviewed Mikhail Gorbachev. In Bruce Dowbiggin's case, he kind of broke the Alan Eagleson story.  These stories come together and they've got such great background.

“This afternoon is really meant to be [a chance] to get some of Steve's best stories, some of Bruce's best stories, how they combine in their relationship and then, to me, the best part of the whole afternoon is when you open it up to the audience – because you may not like my questions, you should have a chance to ask your own. The best part is when people get to ask questions, they want to know something, and something really interesting comes up – and the personalities like it as well because it tackles into their memories of something long ago.”

Applebaum says he, like the audience, is especially interested in hearing the stories of their interactions with other personalities.

“Steve's famous line is he's had no opinion since 1976 because he's a journalist and can't take sides, but I will tell you something – The Agenda ended after 19 years and Steve launched The Paikin Podcast. His very first guest was Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta. I mean, you can't pick a more contentious first guest to have! He's had personal relationships, I think, with every Premier of Ontario and every Prime Minister. Famously, he's had Doug Ford on his show, but not since he's been Premier, and that has been kind of a bugaboo for Steve. I'm going to ask him about that!”

Following the interview and the audience Q&A, there will be a meet and greet in the Aurora Town Square atrium before guests are invited to cross the bridge to the Aurora Public Library for a book signing hosted by the Library, supported by Uxbridge's Blue Heron Books.

“We wanted to be very sure that part of this was accessible to everyone, whether you could buy a ticket or not as it is our mission that everything should be free to the public,” says APL's Polly Ross-Tyrrell. “We wanted to have this little bit extra and Andrew was wonderful in helping to arrange that and we really appreciate that.”

As the event is co-hosted by both APL and Aurora Town Square, it's the latest example of a successful partnership that has been part and parcel of this renewed connection between the Town and its cultural partners.

“We all live together at Aurora Town Square, so any time they come to us with an idea, we're always excited to hear it and see how we can make it work, and it's always been so successful,” says Aurora Town Square's Nichole Campsall. “It's such a unique idea and it's a little bit different to a lot of what we've typically been doing at Town Square. We're about two-thirds sold [for the event] which tells us what the community wants to see, so we're beyond pleased with it so far.”

Adds Ross-Tyrell: “We're just so, so looking forward to this and Nichole and her team have been absolutely fabulous in putting it together. We could not be more thankful at how hard and well they have worked, and Andrew is just everything you could possibly want in a partner.”

For more information on An Afternoon with Steve Paikin and Bruce Dowbiggin, including how to secure your ticket, visit aurora.ca/whatson.

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter