Caleb Freeman

In 2015, Eric Fransen, a former math professor turned furniture maker, started making plans with his friends during their weekly game nights. Board game cafés had opened in cities across North America from Toronto to Galveston. In a time when digital communication had become the new norm, these cafés offered patrons a chance to connect in person while discovering new games and rediscovering old favorites. Fransen conspired to bring this experience to Tulsa.

While most people are winding down for the evening, Dorothy Sheppard gets to work. The Harbour Grace native has worked as a newspaper carrier for SaltWire for the last 13 years, delivering the news almost every night to communities along the northern coast of the Avalon Peninsula. More than a decade in, she shows no sign of slowing down. “It is a great job,” she says. “You're on the road, and there's not much traffic.

Sandy MacDonald remembers accompanying his son to the Two Rivers Wildlife Park in 2013. His son, a musician and previous employee of the park, had been invited to discuss staging a music festival there. “He dragged me along with him,” MacDonald says, laughing. Ten years later, the Acoustic Roots Festival has blossomed into a beloved annual event, and MacDonald is still along for the ride, now with a decade of experience under his belt as the festival’s event coordinator. From Sept.