'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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.