Wasaga.Net - An Insider's Guide to Wasaga Beach Wakeboarder Photo
Home Eat Stay Play Video Photos Editor's Picks


LATEST NEWS - Summer 2008

WINTER / SPRING 2008

Burn Baby Burn. Yeah, yeah, there was a fire. What's the hub bub about anyways. Some of the sensationalist media outlets painted a picture of mass destruction. I got calls from friends asking if I was all right because Wasaga Beach had burned to the ground. Well for starters the town's almost 20 km long. Second of all; it's a Beach.

About a half dozen or so crappy wooden structures, that were home to t-shirt and bikini sales outlets, burned to ground. No big deal really. They were all slated for the wrecking ball to make way for the overhaul and or development of the entire Beach Drive.
I didn't realize how bad that sounded until I typed it.

Anyways, the Beach is OPEN. News of the Fire and and a cool and rainy spring has made for a slow start for the Accommodations providers and Restaurants but one fine weekend of weather will turn that 'round lickity split.

SUMMER 2008

Summer is here. It definitely is my favourite time of year. The hotter the better I say. 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. Yes!. Beachfest is back with a full slate of bands this coming weekend. (June 20, 21, 22.) And we do have Jazz in the Park returning. Corvette Weekend of course and, drum roll please; Waste Electronics Recycling. What? That's right. Straight from the Town's website from the Events Listing.
Effective Apr.1/08, County of Simcoe Landfill Site #10 will now be accepting Electronics for recycling. I know Town Council has cut back on funding for all things fun as far as Events go but it seems as though we've really run out of ideas this time.
They didn't think twice about handing over a 1/4 million dollars to the Saviours of the Beach, The Lovy Bros. though.
$250.000. towards a Splash Pad to be constructed on the site of the Waterslide that use to be on the Beach. The same Bros. have bought up most of beach Drive. and have promised a complete make-over with a Major Hotel, Restaurants, a Conference Centre and an Amphitheatre to start.

If it all comes to be, it'll be a fantastic move forward for the Beach. If it stalls, sputters and falls apart it will not look good on the Town that has had it's share of Image problems in the past. The fire this past winter, clearing for the most part, all of the old wooden structures lining the small Pedestrian Mall that would have been demolished to make way for the new development just adds to the image problem headache.

So now the Town is in the Splash Pad business with a Developer that has not inspired confidence in the minds of the public. That's the poop on the street at least. The same developer now owns Wasaga Waterworld which will not open this summer. Apparently it would cost $1 million to bring the Park up to snuff. The new Water Park owners had a meeting with the Mayor and the CAO of the town about the future of the Water Park. No doubt they asked for concessions or more money. In return, they would open the Waterpark providing the town with one very feeble attraction. The Waterpark as it stands is a relic. Compared to world class Waterpaks like Wet and Wild in Florida and Wild Wadiin Dubai our now closed Water Park is a sad joke.

Well the Lovy Bros. have proposed a new beginning for Wasaga Beach. It's long overdue. The World's longest freshwater beach deserves it. $5. cappacino's are hard to swallow but we need to move forward. We have an amazing opportunity to develop Wasaga Beach into a world class vacation destination. If it were Intrawest at the nucleus of this project I would say it was time to count chickens. This is sadly not the case. We have a rookie developer with no track record in Community Development at the helm. On Council we have rookie politicians whose brainstorm was to offer the Business Owners French lessons in order to better serve our visitors.
Well, that's enough chit chat from me. I'm off to the Splash pad. After all, my taxes paid for 1/4 Million Dollars of it. Not open? What do you mean it's not open?

Oh well. Which way to the Beach?


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.

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.


Cool Links


 

News