AGAINST THE LIGHT: pictures by Julie Jocsak

Elton John played a sold-out show at the Meridian Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

(left) Jacob Snider and Jake Hall-Langille of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish tackle #1 of the Lakeshore Gators in high school football action at Notre Dame in Welland.

The Snowbirds — officially known as the Canadian Forces 431 Air Demonstration Squadron — perform above Niagara District Airport in Niagara-on-the-Lake Wednesday afternoon for an airshow that coincided with Canada 150 celebrations on Wednesday, September 20, 2017.

Mark and Jacob Bromhall lose their balance while performing the Holzhacker dance during the German open house of the Niagara Folk Arts Festival at Social Club Heidleberg in St. Catharines.

Kevin Bahl of the Ottawa 67s crashes into, and almost over, the boards during their game against the Niagara IceDogs in OHL action at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines.

Bailey St. Michel, a grade 12 student at Holy Cross Secondary School paint the front doors of St. Catharines City Hall. Holy Cross students gave the doors at St. Catharines City Hall some festive paint.

Lorae Ceurstemont hangs a red scarf on a tree on James Street. Red Scarves hang from street poles and trees in downtown St. Catharines Friday for Blanket the Street in Red. The event raises awareness of HIV by Positive Living Niagara and is in conjunction with AIDS Awareness Week. The scarves are knit or crocheted by volunteers and provide a visual reminder of AIDS. People are encouraged to take a scarf and a minute to learn more about HIV and share a selfie on social media using the hashtag #redscarfniagara. Positive Living is a local organization that provides advocacy, support and education to those affected by HIV and works to eliminate the stigma of having HIV.

Brandon Graziani of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish dodges Jorge Rodriguez of the A.N. Myer Marauders to bring in the winning touch down, beating the Marauders 20-13 at the Kiwanis Field at the Seymour-Hannah Sport and Entertainment Centre in St. Catharines.

Charlotte Admans-Kilbey gets some encouragement to walk by a scary display at a house on the corner of Maple Avenue and Geneva Street in St. Catharines on Halloween night.

Rovenston Baptiste of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and #88 of the Lakeshore Gators collide while trying to catch the pass in high school football action at Notre Dame in Welland.

(left) Jennifer Johnston and Sandi Walker Tantardini are mothers who lost kids to drug ODs. They speak at the Region’s health committee meeting demanding action be taken on the opioid crisis. In front of them are photos of the five children that the women lost.

The Snowbirds — officially known as the Canadian Forces 431 Air Demonstration Squadron — perform above Niagara District Airport in Niagara-on-the-Lake Wednesday afternoon for an airshow that coincided with Canada 150 celebrations.

A young boy speaks with Mayor Walter Sendzik as he catches his breath after winning top honours for the third straight year during the 44th Annual Mayor's Grape Stomp.

Buffy Sainte-Marie entertains the crowd at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

People caught a view of the partial solar eclipse from the Niagara Glen in Niagara Falls on Monday, August 21, 2017.

The St. Catharines under-17 mens eight of Christian McAlpine, Lucas Celia, Andrew Barry, Evan MacRae, David Picard, Jack Pratt and Ryan Holland toss their coxie Nicholas Murray-Coplen after winning their race during the fourth day of racing at the 135th Royal Canadian Henley Regatta.

(left) David Epp, Harley Crowther, 13, and Charlie Crowther sit in the trunk of Charlie's 1947 Ford at General Motor's annual Show N' Shine car show. Crowther has owned the car for 40 years. Prior to him owning it, his friend in high school owned the car. He often travels around to different car shows and has racked up over 90,000 miles on the antique car. The Show N Shine took over the front lawn of the Glendale Avenue GM plant. The show which was begun by GM employees almost 20 years ago with 16 corvettes has grown to average 500 vehicles. All vehicles in the show have GM engines with awards being given out in 27 categories.

A bolt of lightning streaks through the sky behind cars parked at Sunset Beach.

A man stops to watch the rain clouds make their way over Lake Ontario into Port Dalhousie. St. Catharines was hit with a severe but short storm that pelted hail down in some areas.

A kite surfer sails on Lake Ontario with Toronto visible across the lake on a cool and windy day.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shows off the personalized socks that were a gift from Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest during his appearance on their show, Live with Kelly and Ryan. Trudeau was a guest on the Live with Kelly and Ryan that taped live from Oakes Garden Theatre in Niagara Falls .

Evan MacRae of A.N. Myer capsizes after winning the junior men single during the Canadian High School Championship at Henley Island.

(left) Madielynn Morrow, Jean Paul St. Arneault, Abby Stewart, Olivia Saffu and Quinn Snoei, grade four students at St. Alfred School react to the smell of asparagus while tring to figure out what vegetable they are smelling. Zehrs is partnering with local schools to teach students about healthy eating. On Friday, the Grade 4 class from St. Alfred's made a visit to the Geneva Street Zehr's in St. Catharines where they learned how to read labels, learned about different foods, met Larry the Lobster and played educational games to teach them about healthy eating. Zehrs will be hosting 151 students over the next couple of weeks for a program called Sea of Orange, aimed at not only teaching kids to eat healthier but getting Zehr's stores more involved in the community.

Todd Menard, animal control officer with the Niagara Regional Animal Services, puts one rescued duckling into a cage. Eight ducklings were rescued from a storm drain at the corner of Linwell and Bunting roads in north St. Catharines on Monday. The ducklings slipped though the grate of the storm drain while crossing Bunting Road toward the canal with their mother. Four ducklings made it across. Workers from the City of St. Catharines and Niagara Regional Animal Services responded. All eight ducklings were safely removed from the drain and the whole family was released at Happy Rolph Bird Sanctuary.

All that is left of Lakeside Park Beach in Port Dalhousie after severe flooding is more like a sand bar.

Noah Dommasch of Sir Winston Churchill competes in the midget boys high jump during the Zone 4 track meet at the Niagara Olympic Club.

Environmentalist Dr. John Bacher approaches a 250 year-old Oak Tree. The wetland forest is under threat from developers.

Jacob Mergl of E.L. Crossely Secondary School competes in the senior boys pole valt during during the Zone 3 Track and Field meet at the Niagara Olympic Club in St. Catharines.

With the constant rain over the past week, the ground underneath the bridge on Martindale Road by the Green Ribbon trail has begun to collapse.

Tanya Tagaq, an Inuit Throat singer from Cambridge Bay in Nunavut and winner of the Polaris prize, performed at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines. Tagaq and her band paired her unique vocal talents with the 1922 silent film Nanook of the North by Robert Flaherty.

The cenotaph is reflected in the sunglasses of a member of the Royal Canadian Legion during the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge that was marked with a parade through downtown ending with a ceremony at the cenotaph on St. Paul Street in St. Catharines.

Two people ski behind a truck in St. Catharines following a good dumping of snow.

Anne House pushes her daughter Mackenzie House, 6, on the swings at Lester B. Pearson Park.

Dr. Mahavir Rekhi, veterinarian at Skyway Animal Hospital, is surrounded by media and protesters as he leaves the hospital at the end of his first day back following a suspension for animal abuse on Wednesday, February 22, 2017.

The Dare to Dream National Audition Tour for Canada’s National Ballet School took place at Ballet Etc. in St. Catharines. Ballet students in grades 6 to 12 took part in the audition for the school’s full-time professional ballet program. The full-time program is small, with only about 150 students in total. Three auditions took place for various age groups with a handful of students chosen for an interview at the end of each audition. Out of approximately 1,000 dancers who audition, about 175 are selected to take part in a second stage of the assessment process, which is a four-week summer school program in July at the National Ballet School training facility in Toronto. Faculty from the school have been touring across Canada since November conducting auditions.

John Simpson is photographed at his Niagara-on-the-Lake home, which he shares with his wife Cindy Simpson. The couple is hoping for the safe return of their daughter Ashley Simpson who has been missing since April of last year.

Tim Benner is reflected in a mirror that hangs in his living which was vandalized during a break-in at his Port Colborne home. The vandals left racist graffiti targeting his daughter and her boyfriend in black spray paint on the inside walls of the house.

Charlotte Vout, 2 of Niagara Falls, plays in the splash pad at Chippawa Lions Park in Chippawa.

Two people look out over Lake Ontario and Fort Niagara from Queen's Royal Park in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

A young boy gets a better view of the annual Candlelight vigil in Niagara-on-the-Lake last December. Hundreds of people packed Queen Street in downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake for the annual Candlelight Stroll, and a guided candlelight stroll through historic Niagara-on-the-Lake that was accompanied with Christmas Carols while people donated food and money to Newark Neighbours which provides Christmas hampers for over 50 families in the community.