'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
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.