About The Shadfly

Alright, I know what you're thinking: Why "The Shadfly"? Shadflies are gross!"

Let me explain.

Life in the North Bay area is centred around the lake. It's where we go to watch sunsets, cruise around in boats, spend a lazy summer afternoon fishing, and eat ice cream while walking along the shoreline. The lake is everything here, it's why North Bay is called North Bay, after all.

When I was first thinking of building this site, I started doing some research. One of the interesting things I found is that the term "shadfly" is kind of a North Bay shibboleth. Some places call them mayflies, folks on the Great Lakes call them fishflies, but North Bay is one of the few places where shadfly is the common name, and if you search for 'shadfly' on the internet, you come across all sorts of references to our city.

Shadflies are the best indicator that the lake we all love is doing fine. They only live in clean, unpolluted, well-oxygenated water. They also play a really important role in that lake: in their nymph stage they eat organic detritus from the lake bottom and help clean things up, and then of course when they emerge into their adult form they end up as food themselves, supporting countless fish, birds, and bats. They're the foundation of a healthy ecosystem.

And just like shadflies in our natural ecosystem, my dream for this newsletter is that it can be the foundation of a healthy social ecosystem. A way to know what's going on around town, so that you can find out about events before they happen, not after they're already over.

Shadflies are everywhere, and The Shadfly is everywhere too.

About the Author

Hey, I'm Kevin, and I live in North Bay. 👋

I moved here in 2022, and one of the first things I discovered is that it's really hard to find out what's going on here if you're not already in the know. I tried following a whole bunch of local businesses and organizations on Facebook, and what I learned is that Facebook is really great at telling you about events... after they've already happened. I can't count the number of really cool things I missed out on simply because I didn't know about them.

That's why I created The Shadfly. I want to give folks an alternative to the big social media apps, a reliable way to find out what's happening around town without leaving it to chance.

My promise to you is that The Shadfly will never waste your time: when it shows up in your inbox every week, it's going to be something you want to read. Likewise, we'll never sell your information or send you spam; you'll get one e-mail a week from us—no more, no less.