LATEST NEWS - Summer 2010
SUMMER 2010
The summer of 10 will be the best summer we've
had in years. You heard it here. So how's the summer
season of 10 shaping up so far. The last two summers were certainly a mix promise
and disappointment. Bad weather was tempered with the promise of
beachfront re-development. Already this year things look better.
It's been warmer and drier. We are on course for a hot, wild
summer despite the rather negative news regarding the
re-development of the commercial beachfront.
The saviours of Wasaga Beach, the Levy Bros.,
seem to have no money. Not only has it been reported they have no
cabbage, they owe a ton to the Town, to the banks and to whoever
else was stupid enough to extend them credit. Heck, it they wanted
it to all turn to crap, they could have just lent me the money.
Hopefully, the Dard, the Banana Boat and
whatever other watering hole will open this year. It has been
reported that they would not but believe me, somehow, some way,
someone will be selling beer on the beach.
And how about the Dome. Well it was late
summer before the Levys finally got around to open our new
entertainment venue. They were probably waiting till last minute
to book acts that were trying to fill out a tour or acts that
didn't want any money up front or a guarantee because they were
having problems getting gigs. Exactly why we got Girlicious last
summer, and some Wrestling thing or something. Wrestling? Nuff
said.
Wasaga Dome
It'll be a
while before the Beachfront re-development is complete, years possibly. But
even I, a confirmed cynic, sees promise for the new beachfront in
Wasaga Beach. Now, with a
little co-operation from Mother Nature, the second half of the summer of 09 will be
just fantastic.
THE NEW MAIN STREET AND
WHAT'S FOR DINNER
As well as the re-development of the
Beachfront, Main Street (the street leading to the Beachfront if
you are entering Wasaga Beach from the east) is also in a state of
re-development. I'm saddened to say we now have a strip of
insipid, innocuous and banal chain restaurants.
Which brings us to a very important subject.
Food in Wasaga Beach. Let's be honest. The food in Wasaga Beach is
nothing to rave about. When the residents are praying for a Swiss
Chalet as an answer to their culinary prayers the bar isn't
exactly set very high.
An old favourite, The Dyconia Resort Hotel,
has new owners after being run by The Hutchinson family for around
50 years. The dining room at the Dyconia was always a comfortable
and reliable place to get a good meal. Unfortunately, the new
owners have decided not to open the Dining Room this year. This
could change in the future but for now, the kitchen is closed. The
rest of the Resort is still open and still features one of the
nicest properties in the Beach..
Still no Starbucks. I'm running out of
patience. All I want is a cappuccino that is the right temp (It's
a HOT coffee and milk drink. It's not freakin' complicated) and
has the right amount of milk and froth and for heaven's sake. And
use some good beans will you?
And, in the east end of town we have a new
eatery and entertainment venue called Cheerleaders. I haven't had
a chance to have lunch or dinner there yet but early reports are
that the food is very good.
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 bassist , 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 was rehearsing and recording with
a new Hard Rock band (Hard Road) with Earl Johnson
(Moxy) on guitar, Russ Graham (Killer Dwarfs) providing the voice
and hard hitting' Morgan Evans (Lee Aarron) on the skins. The band
has completed a new CD of originals to be released late this
summer. Leaving a band just prior to the release of their first CD
is rare however Mr. Lazaroff has parted ways with the Hard Road
camp. A mutual split we may add, and all concerned are recovering
well in hospital following the last band meeting.
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LIVE MUSIC RETURNS TO THE
BEACH,
OR DOES IT?
(An amendment to the past article, "Where did
all the bands go?")
There was a time when live music was King in
Wasaga Beach. From the west side with "The Beacon" to the main
Beach area with "The Dardanella" , you weren't a nightclub unless
you had a good band. Well the last few years with new ownership at
the Dard and a seemingly waning interest in live music in general
for the 20 something crowd there has been an absence of live bands
performing here in Wasaga Beach.
It's not as if some promoters and bar owners
haven't tried. The Wasaga Beach Bluesfest which took place a few
years back was a disaster. Even with world renown Blues Bands and
artists such as "Roomful of Blues " and "Taj Mahal" nobody seemed
to care. I went to the main beach area to check out "Roomful of
Blues" during Bluesfest. A bright sunny warm day, proper staging,
a top notch PA, and an excellent band. Well my self and about a
dozen other people were treated to a very greasy, groovin'
performance by one of the world's best Blues Bands on the scene
today. The beach was packed that day. The area inside the concert
area was empty. I was dumbfounded. Why wasn't it jammed?
John Hutchinson, the former owner of the
Dyconia who once had the downstairs bar at the Dyc rocking and
rolling with live bands finally gave up booking live bands a few
years before selling the resort. One summer he brought in Randy
Bachman and David Gogo, two Canadian guitar greats. There was
about 30 people for Bachman and 6 people for Gogo.
It seems the young crowd today are more
interested in canned music played by DJ Droopy Drawers. "Oh he's
good. I love the way he presses play on the CD player". Personally
I don't get it. I'll take a live band with real musicians any day.
Get to the point already! Well, we don't have
any good news for live music fans. We can dream though. A new bar
in the east end called Cheerleaders tried to get some live acts
going once a week but the last I heard, they had given up. You can
now enjoy Karaoke there every Friday evening. I dropped in one
night to once again be accosted by a KJ/DJ who had no idea how to
operate a P.A. Funnier still was when he would lean over the
Mixing Board and pretend to "D.J." I guess he thought we would
actually believe he was doing something with the knobs. Un-freakin'
believable.
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. One Councilor,
(whose name I will refrain from listing) 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. 1 a.m. is
the cutoff time for fires in the evening/morning.
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.
Are the new by-laws regarding backyard burning
working? No. My neighbour is burning Styrofoam and cardboard as I
type. Styrofoam emits a thick, pernicious, carcinogenic
black smoke if you wanted to know. And, he is sitting just a
couple of feet away from this death pit. Doesn't really fit the
profile of a nice camp fire roasting marshmallows and hot dogs now
does it. Would you like your Hot Dog with Styrofoam Flavoured smoke
or without? If it's happening right next door; it's happening all
over the beach. Guaranteed.
UPDATE - Curiously, the clause in the
new by-law that prohibits burning when an air quality advisory is
issued is flawed. The Town chose that the air-quality advisories
published by Environment Canada would be the measuring stick for
restricting said fires. However it is the Provincial Government
that issues those advisories for this area. Therefore they have
the loophole of letting the fires burn even when the Provincial
Government has issued a warning that has severe impact on the
health of the residents and visitors to Wasaga Beach. Get it
right. Place restrictions so as to fix the problem once and for
all. As I've inferred before, the local municipal politicians are
not really concerned about the environment or pollution problems
that we face here in Wasaga Beach. Shame on you.
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 Ba
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 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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