A Virtual Remembrance Day

John Draper

In previous years as many as 1000 people were at Cobourg’s Remembrance day ceremonies at the Cenotaph in Victoria Park but this year, they were asked to stay at home and watch the ceremony streamed on the Town’s You-Tube channel.  Despite this, at least 150 came anyway although they did stay well spaced.  The streaming was organized by local media entrepreneur Graham Beer and his video is now on the Town’s You-Tube channel – see below.  Also below is my summary video (4 minutes) which gives an idea of what it’s like.  Not everyone watched the live streaming (around 250) but a good number remembered in other ways – many stood outside their front doors at 11:00 am and observed… Read complete articleA Virtual Remembrance Day

Google Features Marie Dressler

John Draper

One of things that Google does is to occasionally modify the logo at the top of its search page with a “Doodle”.  Today, for all Canada, the Doodle is a celebration of Marie Dressler’s 152nd Birthday.  See it yourself by going to Google’s home page – click the Doodle and get the results of a Google search for Marie Dressler.  Cobourg Council recently declared today (November 9) as Marie Dressler Day – can we imagine that Google noticed?  Normally, the Marie Dressler Foundation would be holding a Birthday celebration event like they did in 2018 but this year the celebration is virtual. In addition to the Doodle, Google also has a page where they explain what the Doodle is about. … Read complete articleGoogle Features Marie Dressler

Entertainment Update – November 2020

John Draper

The Concert Hall in Victoria Hall is still closed with no opening date; the Firehall Theatre is closed; there are no shows scheduled at the Best Western or United Church – basically all live shows are cancelled for now.  There is one exception – a live show at the Loft on November 22 will be held but it’s already sold out.  It’s a classical concert and the audience is limited because of spacing needs and the performers are not using wind instruments or singing which might cause a spread of the Virus.  (Details at Les AMIS Concerts or the Loft – links below).  Port Hope’s Capitol has cancelled all shows but is holding events like the Annual Christmas Tree display…. Read complete articleEntertainment Update – November 2020

Starbucks coming to Cobourg

John Draper

The famous coffee shop originally planned to come here in 2008 but the financial crisis caused them to put that on hold.  But now they plan to go into the new plaza at the Mall that is currently being constructed.  Lydia Smith raised the subject with Council and Councillor Nicole Beatty who is the Coordinator for Planning said that “it’s been publicly presented that a Starbucks is proposed as a potential business to occupy one of the storefronts being constructed as part of the new exterior building at Northumberland Mall.”  She also provided the plan showing the location – see image below.  Over the past few months, there has been a lot of work at the Mall – a rework… Read complete articleStarbucks coming to Cobourg

Unfinished Business – November 2020

John Draper

Cobourg Council is still struggling to keep up with unfinished business – on September 20th I reported on 16 items on the list with half of them running late.  In particular, in February 2020, the Library Board asked for an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) to define “who does what” with a due date of 20 June 2020.  At the Council meeting on November 2, the board sent a memo to Council that asked, in essence, “What happened?  This is now  urgent!”  Their memo gave an example of the failure of an HVAC unit and Town staff were not very helpful in dealing with it – they basically suggested that they should look after it themselves (with a contractor) despite having… Read complete articleUnfinished Business – November 2020

Remembrance Day – 2020

John Draper

No surprise, there will be no crowds at the Cenotaph this year on November 11 but instead there will be an online ceremony and other things happening.  A Poppy campaign has already started – see details below. On November 11 there will be a Virtual Wreath Laying and Two Minutes of Silence. Also planned are Interviews with Veterans and a Virtual Walking Tour.  The activities are being organized by Cobourg’s Community Services Division in partnership with the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 133 and were announced by the Town on 28 October. The Poppy campaign is already under way: boxes are available at participating businesses, are protected behind plexiglass and were available starting October 30.  Also available for purchase this year… Read complete articleRemembrance Day – 2020

Town and DBIA preparing for Cobourg’s Christmas in 2020

John Draper

Plans are underway for a different kind of Downtown Christmas celebration this year – there will be lights as usual but no turning-on ceremony; instead of the 65th Santa Claus Parade there will be floats but only three of them and they won’t move – but there’s more.  The “downtown corridor” (presumably King Street) will be lined with trees that are to be decorated by the merchants. And residents are not left out – they will be challenged to decorate their homes and the Town will produce a “drive-by map” so others can enjoy.  These ideas were presented by the Town’s Marketing and Events manager, Kara Euale, at a presentation to Council on October 7 and briefly mentioned on my Post… Read complete articleTown and DBIA preparing for Cobourg’s Christmas in 2020

Reducing Plastic Pollution in Cobourg Harbour

John Draper

With Provincial funding, Cobourg has installed a Seabin and some LittaTraps to reduce plastic pollution in Lake Ontario.  The project is part of an initiative by Pollution probe to remove plastic pollution in the Great Lakes.  Working with the Council of the Great lakes Region and other partners the Province has provided $375K in funding to install Seabins and LittaTraps in up to 12 marinas.  Seabins work by collecting floating debris and Littatraps are installed in storm drains to trap debris before it enters the Lake.  Cobourg has one Seabin installed at the North West wall of the fuel dock and three Littatraps (more details below).  At an event today, Mayor John Henderson was joined by MPP David Piccini in… Read complete articleReducing Plastic Pollution in Cobourg Harbour