LATEST NEWS - Summer 2007
SUMMER 2007
Summer is here. It
definitely is my favourite time of year. The hotter the better I
say. This past winter wasn't that extreme, but for me, 30 degrees
C and hotter is best.
So what's on tap for this summer. Let's see;
National Beach Volleyball Championships? Nope.
Live music. Nope.
Well, maybe a bit at Beachfest I guess. And we do have Jazz in the
Parking Lot returning. Canadian Wakeboard Nationals? Yes!
Corvette Weekend? Yes! Ok. We have a bit to work with.
Certainly not the event
packed schedule we had in the past a few years back. The last two
rounds of Municipal Council has really put a damper on Special
events. For reasons only known to themselves they have decided not
to fund the events that made Wasaga Beach such a great place to
come to in the summer.
Not courting the return of
the National Beach Volleyball Championships has to be their
greatest bungle. Wasaga Beach is the best locale for this
tournament and not only was it a great fit, visitors and residents
both came out in big numbers to view this world class sporting
event. I've live here for 15 years full time and have been
spending a good portion of my summers here sine the 60s and this
sporting event was one of the best events to call Wasaga Beach
it's home.
Hmmmm. Well, what else? Events? What's
happening? I tried to find out by going to the Town's redesigned
website but I got fed up with the slow acting and poorly designed
events calendar. I'll tell you what; when something interesting is
on the horizon, I'll let you know. The best part of Wasaga Beach
is the beach anyhow. Not the events. The beautiful beach, the
people, the food (did I say the food. I might
just get fried for that) and the weather. I'm ready. See you at the beach!
Beach Volleyball Championships. Gone!
JAZZ IN THE PARKING LOT
Ba booooommmm! That's the sound of our penny
pinching town council dropping the ball on the hugely successful
Jazz in the Park concert series.
The Jazz concert series has had a great run
for several years featuring lightweight Jazz bands on Nancy
Island. The bands ranged from average to absolutely abominable.
The venue however was fantastic.
Every Tuesday night throughout the summer,
hundreds of people would make their way to Nancy Island to hear some music. Flanked by the Nottawasaga
River on both sides, green grass and swaying willow trees, the
island location offered ample parking and was easy to get to for
residents and visitors; a perfect place for an outdoor concert.
The concert series has now had a year under it's belt at the new
location and the general feeling is insalubrious.
Town
Council's decision to move the location of the thriving concert series across town to
a gazebo adjacent the recreation centre is
bewildering. In order to save some cash, the geniuses on
council have decided to fix something that wasn't broke.
Apparently the staging was too expensive
and dealing with the obdurate and arbitrary Nancy Island
operatives put in place by the provincial bureaucracy was a little
too much for our boys and girls on
Council.
This adjustment has to be the most imbecilic,
fatuous decision that council has made during their reign. What
Council has failed to recognize is that initiating any sort of
music event and actually having it be a success is an extremely
problematic task. It would seem they are determined to eradicate
the hard work of the community development office thus erasing
years of promotion and development of the Jazz in the Park concert
series.
Why am I not surprised?
CLEAN AIR
OR POLLUTED
TAKE A PICK
One of the hottest topics
in the last municipal election here in Wasaga Beach was the open
fire burning by-law. There has been a huge problem with air
pollution here in the Beach fuelled by the unchecked and out of
control bon-fires in hundreds of back-yards during the summer. Add
to that the 5 or 6 Trailer Park / Campgrounds which exist within
the boundaries of Town and you have a recipe for very unhealthy
air.
Many candidates professed
to be very concerned about the environment and promised that if
they were elected the health of the people and the environment
would be a top priority. First on their list was to revamp the
open fire burning by-law as to tighten up the rules concerning
what would be allowed and what times it would be allowed and where
it would be allowed.
Surprisingly, the by-law
was tightened up a bit but not enough to satisfy those who are
truly concerned about the environment. Some councilors had to be
dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century in regards to
a new way of thinking when it comes to protecting the health of
our residents and our environment. Councilor Connie Gray fought
almost every change to be implemented showing a total disregard to
clean air and the health of our children and senior citizens who
are most affected by air pollution.
The are however provisions
for a nuisance clause which will curtail bonfires that are
infringing on a person's right to breath clean air. There is also
a clause restricting the time that bonfires are allowed. ! a.m. is
the cutoff time for fires in the evening/morning.
Most important is that on
days that Environment Canada have issued a Air Quality Warning,
fires will be prohibited. This clause was a no brainer but not a
sure thing. Some of the Councilors curiously think that clean air
means a hit in the pocket books for local business'. Such archaic
thinking is the stumbling block to clean air and good health.
20 years from now people
will look back and laugh at the ignorance of the Town leaders that
allowed such pestiferous behaviour to exist.
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BEACH
DRIVE TO BE OVERHAULED
AND RE-DEVELOPED
The transformation has
begun. It was time for a change and it seems a deep pocketed
developer has come to the rescue. Or so we hope. Hopefully a
"rescue" is how it will be viewed when all is said and done.
A major portion of Beach
Drive (The Main Drag, Beach Area 2, The Main Beach Area) whatever
you want to call it, is slated for re-development.
It started with the
dismantling of the Waterslide and the demolition of a good portion
of the old Miramar Motel ( one of the last accommodations directly
on the Beach). Well, if they had just waited for a stiff breeze
the Miramar might have fallen over anyway.
A Brampton businessman
purchased the Miramar several years back and smartly refrained
from trying to "fix it up" as it was obvious that tearing it down
and starting over was the right thing to do. Well
lucky for him, the deep pockets developer dude has taken it off
his hands for a tidy profit I'm sure.
So, as it has been
reported; almost the entire strip will be re-developed, including
I'm sure, with the demolition of the long standing Dardanella. The
old Dance Hall will surely be on the demolition/chopping block.
Only Beach Bananas and it's structure will survive the
re-development plans.
So, what should we expect.
Well rumour has it that a major Beachfront Hotel is in the plans.
Possibly Conference and Meeting facilities, and shops and
restaurants of course. I just want a Starbucks. Is that too much
to ask. Coffee's not just for breakfast anymore.
All this re-development
will take some time of course. You won't see much of anything this
summer. The same t-shirt/bikini stores will still line the Beach.
The Town has been courting
this development for some time and it will be a welcome change.
Wasaga Beach needed to enter the 21st century. The Beach is
fantastic; let's have a fantastic beachfront. Time for a little
up-scale thinking.
RE-DEVELOPMENT UPDATE
Well, maybe I got ahead of
myself and got a little re-development giddy. Some long-time
residents and business owners are a little apprehensive about the
outcome of this project. A month or so has gone by without a
hammer being swung. The "opening soon" signs line the Beachfront
but nothing is being done. No sign of the re-development actually
taking place. This project better proceed successfully or Town
Council will look like they have been bamboozled once again.
(Stonebridge dust bowl?). This time I actually want Town Council
to come out of this smelling like a rose.
WASAGA BEACH
MUSICIAN
TACKLES SOLO CD RELEASE
It is safe to say that Wasaga Beach is not a
haven for world renown musicians with CD releases from Canada to
Japan and more than a dozen countries in between. However it is
home to Toronto born bass phenom, Rick Lazaroff.
Rick Lazaroff made his name as one third of
Toronto's deluxe Hard Rock trio, "Santers". With "Santers", Mr. Lazaroff toured throughout the world and released many recordings
to the delight of fans of this genre. Not surprisingly though,
Rick has recorded and performed in many styles, including a CD
with Turkish Jazz guitarist, Orhan Demir. The common thread
throughout his career has been a support role, playing material
penned by others.
Part 2 is here. Groovistico
Ballistico is here. Mr. Lazaroff's solo CD
is not in the Hard Rock or Jazz
genre. It is a move towards a serious and experimental genre
that could possibly be described as improvised music with elements
of Jazz, Rock, Industrial, World and Ambient. The CD
is available on his
Webpage.
Recently Rick has been performing with the
Darlene Watters Jazz Quartet. Strangely enough the Quartet is not performing at the
Jazz in the Park concert series here in Wasaga Beach.
Why would a world renown player of his calibre
not be included in a Jazz concert Series, here in his adopted
hometown. Well, when concert promoters don't know the difference
between the Count and the Bird, they shouldn't be booking Jazz
concerts.
JUST A SHORT DRIVE AWAY
WE'RE NOT FAR AT ALL!
Wasaga Beach is conveniently located
1 1/2 hours from Toronto.
Tourists from all over the world travel to the shores of
Nottawasaga Bay, to stroll along 14 kilometres
of white sand beach, swim in clean warm waters and enjoy the
panoramic mountain views across the Bay.
Wasaga Beach has a good variety of accommodations and restaurant
choices. Throughout the summer there is a different event almost
every weekend, lots of choices for evening entertainment and an
endless variety of summer sporting activities.
With all said the star of the show is definitely
The Beach. The water is shallow enough to stroll out for what
seems forever. The waves on a windy day are a blast. And the
sunsets are magnifico! There is no better place to go in the
summer than Wasaga Beach. Over two million people every summer
will agree.
Thanks for visiting wasaga.net. Drop back often as
this site will evolve. Into what were not sure. For now it will
provide some handy info for those planning a visit to Wasaga
Beach.
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