Tag: Events

Santa Parade – 2019

John Draper

There was a good crowd watching Cobourg’s 64th Santa parade on Sunday – lots of families and little ones.  Organization seemed to be good despite the Lions withdrawing financial support.  They continue to help, notably with Santa’s float and providing volunteers, but in a letter to Council dated October 17, the Lions Club said they are unable “to provide financial support to the 2019 Santa Claus Parade nor to any Santa Claus parade in the foreseeable future”.  The weather this year was cold (around freezing) but sunny.  The Parade lasted about 40 minutes and featured five bands (see list and video below), a good number of floats with lots of kids, a number of sports teams and dance troupes plus… Read complete articleSanta Parade – 2019

Christmas Lights Changed for 2019

John Draper

Due to popular demand, this Christmas, Cobourg will expand the lights to include Victoria Park and the lighting ceremony will be more extensive than previously.  There will be 180,000 lights stretching from Victoria Hall, through Rotary Park, along the waterfront and into Victoria Park.  The lights go on at 6:30 pm on November 22 after a countdown at Victoria Hall then everyone will be invited to walk to Victoria Park where there will be a 30 foot Christmas tree with 3000 lights and Mayor John Henderson will welcome all at the Bandshell.  Santa will then arrive for the kids and DJ Dominic will play festive music.  The walk will highlight a connection to downtown with a variety of displays throughout… Read complete articleChristmas Lights Changed for 2019

Memorial to Afghanistan Veterans Unveiled

John Draper

On Friday November 8, Cobourg’s memorial to those who fought and died in the war in Afghanistan was unveiled.  The workhorse of the Canadian troops, the LAV III (Light Armoured Vehicle), not quite a tank, was a Canadian manufactured armoured troop transport with a 25 mm gun described as “fast, armoured and packed a punch” so it is a fitting tribute to the 40,000 soldiers deployed and the 162 Canadians who died (158 military).  Displayed is a replica consisting of an actual “hull” donated by the Federal Government then mounted complete with plaques and signs indicating what it’s about.  It’s located just south of the Cobourg Community Centre on D’Arcy Street.  The Highway of Heroes is also memorialized with a… Read complete articleMemorial to Afghanistan Veterans Unveiled

Citizenship Ceremony in Cobourg

John Draper

For the first time, a citizenship ceremony was held on Friday in Cobourg.  Although Cobourg hosted the event and organizing it was partially by Northumberland County, the 38 participants were from a number of places and not just the county.  County CAO Jennifer Moore said that it helped to showcase the County and Mayor John Henderson said he was pleased to be participating in the event held in Cobourg’s Victoria Hall.  Previous M.P. Paul Macklin, Warden Bob Crate and Mayor John Henderson gave speeches welcoming the new Canadians. Councillors Adam Bureau, Nicole Beatty and Emily Chorley were amongst the guests.  There were no children participating in the ceremony although there were several as guests.  I understand that children of new… Read complete articleCitizenship Ceremony in Cobourg

Busy Saturday in Cobourg

John Draper

Every Saturday for most of the year, Cobourg has a Farmers market but this year there were several other events held downtown simultaneously.  King Street was closed for Harvest Festival which you might think had the products of Harvests – instead there were mostly street vendors since the Farmers’ market was still operating (see link below). The Harvest Festival also included  the popular Chili “cook-off” (winner King Street Deli and Bar) complete with entertainment (see photo below). But in addition, there was also the Art Walk and the Cornerstone fund-raising event “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes”.  The Art Walk meant that several stores had the works of local artists on display in their windows but there were not as… Read complete articleBusy Saturday in Cobourg

Cobourg’s First Poutine Festival

John Draper

Filling the gap left by the no longer operating Shelter Valley Folk Festival, Cobourg’s first Poutine Festival is happening this weekend – Thursday to Sunday in Victoria Park. It was not well advertised so attendance was a little below expectations when I visited on Friday at around noon.  There was also no beer tent and the only “entertainment” that I saw was recorded music and a bean bag toss game.  But those who were there seemed to be enjoying their icecreams and other food – presumably including Poutine.  I spoke with one of the vendors who was involved in organizing the event and he said that they were working with the Town and the Lions club and assuming traffic picked… Read complete articleCobourg’s First Poutine Festival

Changes Recommended for Christmas Lights

John Draper

In 1995, Cobourg started to light up Victoria Park at Christmas time.  However, in 2015, the DBIA thought that it did nothing to get people into the Downtown area so they were moved to Rotary Park and the Esplanade.  It was also said that the lights were damaging the trees although they were added to a few trees in Rotary Park.  On the Esplanade, there were no large trees so trees were brought in.  But many citizens thought the lights had been better in Victoria Park so in January 2019, a citizen Ad Hoc committee was formed to recommend what should be done.  Called The Christmas Magic Ad Hoc Committee (CMAHC), the committee is composed of Bruce Moore, Ron Hyatt,… Read complete articleChanges Recommended for Christmas Lights

Sidewalk Sale and Sandcastle Competition 2019

John Draper

Everyone I spoke to commented that it was a perfect day – sunny and warm but not too hot – and a breeze helped.  And it seemed that many people agreed since the beach was packed and the Downtown Sidewalk sale was busy – at least one vendor said it was the best yet.  The point of these events is to boost downtown business so we’d hope they did well. I’d guess that we had more visitors than even the Waterfront festival.  The Sidewalk sale was a four day event – Thursday to Sunday on King between Division and Spring; the Sandcastle competition was only Saturday – so I checked the event out on Saturday, around noon. I’m glad I… Read complete articleSidewalk Sale and Sandcastle Competition 2019

Food and Music Festival

John Draper

A relatively new event today, and maybe it was the threatened rain, but it did not bring a whole lot of people out.  There were a lot of food vendors and one stage for performers.  I made a video starting at around 2:00pm so I saw two performers – The Offbeats and the one man band Cale Crow.  There’s a list below of all those who were booked to play.  There were few non-food “vendors” but the axe throwing guy seems to show up at every event in Town.  People must like it but so far I’ve not seen anyone succeed other than the person operating the show.  The food vendors were all on King street – apparently they were… Read complete articleFood and Music Festival

Canada Day: Cobourg – 2019

John Draper

Summer finally arrived for a perfect day to end the Waterfront Festival and celebrate Canada Day in Cobourg.  The Parade was short but sweet – it moved steadily without delays and, this year, seemed to be a showcase for our diversity – the Hispanic group seemed to be especially enjoying themselves and it was contagious.   I don’t have any way to verify it but it seemed to me that more spectators of the Parade were wearing red – yes I know that’s expected but it was more noticeable this year.  With the world’s troubles, are we happier than ever to be Canadian?  The parade finished at Victoria Park where the Waterfront Festival was in full swing.  Entry to the Lions… Read complete articleCanada Day: Cobourg – 2019