Tag: Tourism

Cobourg Harbour Usage Higher in 2022

John Draper

According to a report to be provided by Cobourg Community Services Staff at the Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday, both the Marina and the Campground (previously called Trailer Park) had successful years.  There is a long waiting list for seasonal slips – that seems to mean that Cobourg does not have to have a full-service Marina to be popular.  That is, we don’t need a travel lift.  Staff report that there is no desire to expand.  Both Marina and Campground split between seasonal and transient users although the Campground is gradually moving to more transients since it’s more profitable – the six remaining seasonals will be changed to transient “as they are relinquished”. The budget for the harbour… Read complete articleCobourg Harbour Usage Higher in 2022

Tourism in Cobourg

John Draper

One of the issues that people in Cobourg sometimes debate is whether we want Tourists and if so, do they actually help Cobourg’s economy or not.  In 2018, Cobourg hired a contract person, Bryan Mercer, to help increase Tourism – one of his accomplishments was to set up the web site “Engage Cobourg” and another was to get some Tourism metrics (see below).  Increasing Tourism was a strategy initiated by Dean Hustwick, the previous Director of Community Services but since 2018, there has been little follow up. The latest Strategic Plan barely mentions Tourism – “Consider Arts Culture and Tourism Division” gets relegated to “OK to defer” status.  Further, significantly increased parking fees were initiated to help control beach crowds… Read complete articleTourism in Cobourg

Waterfront Festival is Back

John Draper

The last Festival was in 2019 but the Festivals for the next two years were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  Like a lot of activities that are resuming, the Festival may be less exuberant than previous Festivals because some people are still reluctant to venture out.  This includes vendors – judging by the pleas coming from the Lions for vendors, there will likely be fewer participants.  With no sales for 2 years, it’s likely that some vendors are out of business. But the Entertainment has been booked (program below), a Midway is promised, the beer tent is organized and the Rotary Tent planned. The three day event on the Canada Day long weekend is jointly run by the Lions and… Read complete articleWaterfront Festival is Back

Expanded Museum in Dressler House

John Draper

Friday saw the grand opening of the new/expanded Museum in Dressler House – it’s now called the Canadian Women in Film Museum and as well as Marie Dressler, features early Canadian women movie stars Mary Pickford and Norma Shearer.  It was conducted on Zoom and featured speeches by Minister David Piccini, Mayor John Henderson, MP Philip Lawrence, Cara Krmpotich Associate Professor of Museum Studies at U of T, Cari Beauchamp of the Mary Pickford Foundation and Darin Barnes collector and Curator for Norma Shearer.  In the audience were other supporters and people like Michelle Wright (more below) who were involved with project.  The Design of the Museum, was done by students of Museum Studies at the University of Toronto –… Read complete articleExpanded Museum in Dressler House

Cobourg Considering Regulating Airbnb

John Draper

At Monday’s Council meeting, concerns about Airbnb rentals were raised by correspondence from Cobourg resident Anne-Marie Jackson; she complained about problems from an Airbnb establishment on Blake Street (which is within walking distance of Downtown).  Anne-Marie said that “We have seen a notable increase in transient visitors, an increase in on-street parking – often 4-5 vehicles at a time – parties with loud and disruptive guests, documented drug and criminal activity, and as a result, increased police activity.  Further “During documented criminal activity, drug activity and noise complaints where police were called, residents have made attempts to contact (the owner) to address their concerns through the Airbnb ‘Contact Your Neighbour’ portal, but the attempts have gone unanswered. Complaints submitted to Airbnb,… Read complete articleCobourg Considering Regulating Airbnb

Is Tourism good for Cobourg?

John Draper

Not everyone agrees that Tourism is good for the Town and for its businesses and last Fall the Town decided to try and resolve this question.  With some Federal funding, consultant Laridae Communications Inc was hired to do this and their results will be presented in a report to Council at their Committee of the Whole meeting on March 8.  Kara Euale, Manager of the Marketing and Events Department in the Community Services division views the effort as a way to “evaluate our current marketing tactics”.  Staff are working on the premise that Tourists should be attracted although they see the report as a way to “measure the level of impact tourism has on our local economy”. The staff memo… Read complete articleIs Tourism good for Cobourg?

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

Beach and Parks to open in Cobourg starting May 23

John Draper

Some will require a day or two more for Town staff to prepare but the Town is now following Provincial Guidelines and opening up the Beach and Parks as long as social distancing is maintained. The Provincial rules allow reopening of “Outdoor sports facilities and multi-use fields, off-leash dog areas and outdoor picnic sites, benches and shelters”.  The Town is therefore opening tennis courts and pickleball courts although organized sports are still not allowed.  Still closed are outdoor playgrounds, play structures, outdoor splash pads, swimming pools and “all communal facilities intended to be used by persons using outdoor sports amenities”.  The beach will be open for “non-contact unorganized sports”, plus sun-bathing and presumably swimming, although non-family groups can be no… Read complete articleBeach and Parks to open in Cobourg starting May 23

Council Debates Fencing the Beach

John Draper

The Beach is closed for most activities but not fully closed.  So when there are crowds, it’s difficult to enforce Covid-19 social distancing, “park” rules and generally keeping everyone safe. On a recent warm weekend, there were reportedly hundreds on the beach. It doesn’t help that there are few signs – I saw a small one at the main entrance at the bottom of Division St – see photo below.  So at Monday’s Committee of the Whole (C.O.W.) Council meeting, staff suggested that fencing the beach would be useful.  It was thought that most people would then stay off the beach and the few who jumped the fence could be warned or even arrested for trespassing. But Councillors worried that… Read complete articleCouncil Debates Fencing the Beach

Progress on New Museum for Dressler House

John Draper

Marie Dressler Foundation is planning an expansion of the museum at Dressler House to include sections for the other two Canadian female Oscar winners: Mary Pickford and Norma Shearer and at Monday’s Council Meeting, the team working on this gave a progress report.  Toronto University agreed to offer the project to students in their Master program for Museum Studies and 5 students accepted: Michelle Wright, Enya Barbeau, Karen Cheung, Natalie Heaton and Emma Myers.  They presented a brief overview of what the museum will look like and talked about the great access they had to experts who are knowledgeable about the two stars plus thousands of artifacts – mostly photographs and film clips.  It appears that this will be the… Read complete articleProgress on New Museum for Dressler House