'Renaissance for downtown Windsor': live music and reopening revive core
The Downtown Windsor BIA is hosting the first in a series of street closures this weekend and businesses are anticipating to be very busy.
Turbo Espresso bar owner Renaldo Agostino says the downtown core has revived since COVID-19 restrictions loosened. He expects even more customers for the open streets event.
“It’s really been a Renaissance for downtown Windsor,” says Agostino. “Almost to the way it used to be, except this time it’s full of Canadians and everyone’s well behaved and having a good time, everyone’s profiting.”
DWBIA vice chair Pat Papadeas says there’s a great line-up of local musicians.
“We have over 10-12 different types of musicians, solo artists, everything from folk to classic rock to jazz,” she says.
That’s welcome news to Agostino.
“It’s like the reward for what everyone’s been through and this is what you get out of it,” says Agostino.
Musician Andrew Seguin is thrilled to be part of the downtown boom, welcoming back visitors and residents after a long pause due to the pandemic.Andrew Seguin performs on Ouellette Avenue in Windsor, Ont., on Friday, July 30, 2021. (Melanie Borrelli / CTV Windsor)
“It’s gonna be nice to help kind of revive the downtown area because it’s has been kind of dead here, not many people have been down here,” says Seguin.
Seguin is performing on Ouellette Avenue near Lefty’s on Friday night. He says he’s looking forward to “having that interaction with other people again.”
Weekend street closures in downtown Windsor. July 30, 2021 Courtesy: Open Streets Windsor
EVENT LINEUP:
FRIDAY, JULY 30
200 Block of Ouellette (in front of The Coffee Exchange)
- 5:30-7:30pm: Madeline Doornaert & Dane Roberts (singer/songwriter duo)
- 8:00-10:00pm:Ted Hogan (solo saxophone – jazz and pop)
300 Block of Ouellette (in front of Lefty’s on the O)
- 5:30-7:30pm: Andrew Seguin (solo finger-style guitar – pop/top 40)
- 8:00-10:00pm: Strange Cats (classic rock duo)
University Ave West (in front of Craft Heads Brewing Co)
- 5:30-7:30pm: David Faulkner (solo piano – mix of jazz and pop)
- 8:00-10:00pm: The Fontaines (folk / singer-songwriter)
Maiden Lane West (in front of Maiden Lane Wine & Spirits)
- 8:00-10:00pm: Coffee House Combo (vocal jazz trio)
SATURDAY, JULY 31
200 Block of Ouellette (in front of The Coffee Exchange)
- 8:00-10:00pm: Ted Hogan (solo saxophone – jazz and pop)
300 Block of Ouellette (in front of Lefty’s on the O)
- 8:00-10:00pm: Faking Requests with Mark Calcott (solo piano & vocals)
University Ave West (in front of Craft Heads Brewing Co)
- 5:30-7:30pm: Due North Trio (jazz trio)
- 8:00-10:00pm: Andrew Seguin (solo finger-style guitar – pop/top 40)
Maiden Lane West (in front of Maiden Lane Wine & Spirits)
- 8:00-10:00pm: Organization Trio (instrumental organ, soul-jazz trio)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.