Some Entertainment Venues Now Open

With the Province re-opening, we can hope that more local entertainment venues will open since with Step 3, 50% capacity is allowed.  That means cinemas, theatres, museums, Art Galleries etc. can open and operate.  But in Cobourg, not all venues have announced any change.  The Concert Hall at Victoria Hall is still closed; the Firehall theatre is closed; the Cobourg Community Centre is partially closed; there are no events at the United Church; the Learning connection is not holding live events; the Cobourg Lions Centre and Columbus Centre are not holding events – at least not yet.  BUT, some venues are now open and providing entertainment.  There is a page on the Cobourg Calendar site that tries to list all entertainment in the “Covid-19 era” – see links below.

In fairness to live theatre operations, it must be said that most live shows need to fill their theatres to pay for the production and Covid-19 spacing or occupancy rules mean they cannot do that – so many will stay closed for the time being.

Entertainment Venues

Cobourg venues providing entertainment or entertaining events

  • Highland Games Pop-Up Patio & Ceilidhs. A Fund raising initiative to support the Cobourg Highland Games, and to help our struggling local musicians get back to what they love doing best, performing. Starting on July 22nd the Highland Games organizers will be opening Pop-Up Patios on the concrete pad, next to the Canteen, down by the beach, in Victoria Park.  More details here

    Pop-up theatre

  • Northumberland Players – Pop-up Theatre. Northumberland Players normally has a full calendar of plays – a dinner-theatre at the Best Western, major plays at the Concert Hall, smaller ones at the Firehall and a Musical at the Capitol in Port Hope.  None of these have been happening for 18 months but in the next few months (July through September), there are four “pop-up theatre” events at outdoor venues.  First one is July 30.  Because they are outdoors, there are a lot less restrictions although some are still in place.  More details here.
  • Cobourg Ecology Garden Celebrates 25th Anniversary – a one time outdoor event on July 24
  • Northumberland County Mini Art Galleries – the Art Gallery of Northumberland (AGN) has been holding virtual events but have also set up a way for everyone to participate.  Details here. Otherwise, the Art Gallery is closed.
  • Film Access Northumberland (FAN) – A new group has been formed to promote local film making and appreciation.  Their first event the “Eye2Eye International Film Festival” will be held in Victoria Park on August 29.  There is more detail here. This will also involve other Cobourg Arts groups and venues (e.g. the Loft)
  • Rainbow Cinemas  The local cinemas at the Mall have been open whenever they have been allowed and they re-opened July 16.  Their program is limited but includes the popular Black Widow – more details here.  Film Sundays screenings remain on hold.
  • Cobourg Loft Cinema. After receiving some financial help from supporters, the Loft will re-open on July 20 with a full program. Loft Web site. There is no word yet on dates for Les AMIS classical concerts but they are expected to resume in September.
  • Sifton-Cook Museum.  This popular Museum will re-open on July 23 – details here. They will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.  Other museums listed here have not yet re-opened.
  • Port Hope Drive-in  – on Theatre Road (of course).  It opened for Step 2 and is now fully operational.  Their web site is here.  The Port Hope Drive-in is one of only 16 left operating in Ontario
  • Cobourg Library Now open: Monday to Wednesday from 12-8 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 10-2 p.m., Saturday from 10-5 p.m., Closed on Sundays.

The usual calendar sites are mostly empty or not operating  (Snapd, Experience Cobourg, radio stations, Concert Hall box office etc) so people don’t go to them.  That makes it hard for organizers to get the word out.  I suggest trying the links below.  Note that for major sports events such as Hockey (Cobourg Cougars) and Lacrosse (Cobourg Kodiaks), I would think fans don’t need this blog to provide updates but I see that the Cougars expect to start their season October 1st.

Links

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Wally Keeler
2 years ago

Lockdowns killed more Canadians under 65 than COVID-19: Statscan | True North (tnc.news)

The fear mongers are responsible for this lethal consequence. Doesn’t take a limerick lover to have known that fact.

Frenchy
Reply to  Wally Keeler
2 years ago

Too bad you weren’t this wise at the beginning of this mess. You could have warned us then instead of (in your 20/20 hindsight) now.

Rob
Reply to  Frenchy
2 years ago

Many of us have been saying this, on this blog site, since the late spring of 2020…

Wally Keeler
Reply to  Rob
2 years ago

Absolutely.

Frenchy
Reply to  Wally Keeler
2 years ago

Examples (links) of your early warnings from spring 2020?

Last edited 2 years ago by Frenchy
Wally Keeler
Reply to  Frenchy
2 years ago

Ask Rob. He made the “spring 2020” reference, not me.

I simply concurred with his overall assertion.

Wally Keeler
Reply to  Rob
2 years ago

Many many more on this blog were vociferous lock-down activists. They know who they are. They were the fear mongers, all hopped up on CNN paranoia. There were consequences from this fear mongering, and Statistics Canada cleared the air and provided statistics to support the contention that lockdowns cause more damage than a ‘cure’. I know that I opposed the lockdown on the beach. I voiced support for the movement of thousands and thousands individuals marching down Yonge Street earlier this year. Billed as a super spreader event by the fear mongers, there was no uptick in cases. At the time I also opposed lockdowns because of the damage they have done to small business.

Let us note that Rob, among others (not me) had been saying that lockdowns cause more social damage than they cure, they have been saying this since spring 2020. And he has. And I note that your 20-20 hindsight, like me, was totally lacking.

And I don’t see any of the tiresome fear mongers replying to the Stats Can facts. They are speechless that their fear mongering caused damage. Perhaps if they were less concerned about limericks and more concerned about the health of society, we would be better off.

And in that regard, I thank Rob and the others for voicing their concern about unbridled fearmongers long before I joined their anti-lockdown bandwagon.

Last edited 2 years ago by Wally Keeler
JimT
Reply to  Wally Keeler
2 years ago

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

— First inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt— March 4, 1933; 88 years ago

Kyle
Reply to  Frenchy
2 years ago

Quoting fake news from Trump supporters “True North” racist digital rag.

Wally Keeler
Reply to  Kyle
2 years ago

Quoting facts from Statistics Canada, not Trump Supporters.
How tiring to hear again and again, this is racist, that is racist, everything is racist because I said so and I’m righteous.

Wally Keeler
Reply to  Kyle
2 years ago

Are you asserting that Statistics Canada is run by Trump Supporters? Wow! CNN really has a hold on you. And the other members of the fraudcasting industry.

Kyle
Reply to  Wally Keeler
2 years ago

No, the Stats Canada report ( which now has a huge qualifier on it) was cherry picked as usual by rags such as True North to further their agenda. The most used word in the report is “may”and even suggests that may deaths due to influenza “may” have been avoided during Covid. I suppose you closely follow their anti-immigration Column.

Wally Keeler
Reply to  Kyle
2 years ago

You suppose wrong. I don’t follow True North at all. Someone sent me a link and I clicked. (condemn me). That was further linked to Statistics Canada, and authenticated what was posted in True North. I did cherry pick it, but so what? The fact it was cherry picked does not dilute the message that Stats Can was sending out — basically, get over the paranoia and fear-mongering that has been going on in this blog, because it is causing harm to the community. True North published info from the Stats Can report whereas almost all the rest of the fraudcasting industry ignored it.

I suppose you closely follow…

Was nothing more than a personal smear. And it reflects the extraordinary stupidity of self-censorshit. I read news from the left, right, centre and far out. Unlike yourself I do not regard some publications as avoidable based on ideology.

In the socialist countries of East Europe, citizens had to rely on samizdat, mahgnetizdat, tamizdat for real information, not from the mainstream state-controlled media (fraudcasting industry). True North and this blog are all part of the samizdat ‘network’ — small journalism as in small business. You should diversify your intelligence gathering Kyle.

JimT
Reply to  Wally Keeler
2 years ago

I agree with you. I read all the news, from left to right, every day.

Last edited 2 years ago by JimT
Kyle
Reply to  Wally Keeler
2 years ago

I do regard some publications as racist, homophobic, Anti-Semitic etc. and do not even legitimatize them in any way. Even with a “internet hit”. Lest they can claim my ‘view” of the hate and lies they spew.

Wally Keeler
Reply to  Kyle
2 years ago

Lest they can claim my ‘view” of the hate and lies they spew.

Really!? And you are paranoid about that?!

Kathleen
Reply to  Wally Keeler
2 years ago

Since hindsight IS 20/20, you have absolutely Zero knowledge as to how many would have died had we not had lockdowns.

Wally Keeler
Reply to  Kathleen
2 years ago

You missed the point of the Stats Can report. The lockdown caused more deaths than were necessary.

Now we are getting reports from researchers from SickKids Hospital Science Table calls for mask, distancing rules to be dropped in low-risk scenarios | Toronto Sun

“In-person learning is essential for the learning and overall well-being of children and youth,” the report, released Monday, explains. “Therefore, barring catastrophic circumstances, schools should remain open for in-person learning.” The main situation when a closure would apply is when school kids themselves are becoming deathly ill with the virus, which has so far not happened in Canada throughout the entirety of the pandemic.

It is not about 20/20 hindsight, it is about being open to learning. Experts are beginning to reveal the very real downside of lockdowns. The lockdown caused a lot of health damage above and beyond what the virus itself has caused. People can stick their heads in the sand and deny deny deny, but let us note, there is ZERO knowledge that the lockdowns were beneficial. Certainly not to small business.

We have been abusing our children for months on end. It is the adults in the room that have been abusing our children. With unnecessary lockdowns. School closures. etc.

Marie
2 years ago
  • Reports of death after COVID-19 vaccination are rare. More than 334 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the United States from December 14, 2020, through July 12, 2021. During this time, VAERS received 6,079 reports of death (0.0018%) among people who received a COVID-19 vaccine. FDA requires healthcare providers to report any death after COVID-19 vaccination to VAERS, even if it’s unclear whether the vaccine was the cause. Reports of adverse events to VAERS following vaccination, including deaths, do not necessarily mean that a vaccine caused a health problem. A review of available clinical information, including death certificates, autopsy, and medical records, has not established a causal link to COVID-19 vaccines. However, recent reports indicate a plausible causal relationship between the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine and TTS, a rare and serious adverse event—blood clots with low platelets—which has caused deaths.

Just checking th FACTS, the above is directly from the mentioned CDCVAERS site.
FACT is: 0.0018% of death but not necessarily vaccine related.

Marie
2 years ago

Some managers don’t want to be in the position our restaurants found themselves with the
open-again-closed-again scenario. I am sure money was lost resulting from these fast changing rules.
Also some are hesitant considering that Northumberland is lagging not only our Health Region cousins to the north (i.e. Kawartha and Haliburton) but also the Province in first vaccine shot by about 10%. Even previous hot-spots like Peel and Toronto are way ahead of us. So far our local walk-in vaccination venues have not helped to close the gap. Vaccine supply is abundant, we are lacking the arms!
Until our community exceeds the 80% threshold, large gatherings are best avoided or a renewed wave may well put us back into stage 2.
In the absence of vaccination passports we should not gather in large numbers.
Don’t blame the managers – the primary blame lies with us the community as a whole…..

Old Sailor
2 years ago

What is the likelihood of vaccine passports being issued Federally or by the province of Ontario? Political leadership in this area appears to be missing in action. Mayor Tory and small business associations are in favour of vaccine passports.

ben burd
Reply to  Old Sailor
2 years ago

Political leadership is not missing, but good leadership is, The esteemed Premier of Ontario has definitely stated he will not allow vaccination passports!

A political position of stupidity but Doug Ford is the King at the moment and nobody in his Party will oppose it.

The rest of us just wonder and boggle our minds.

Last edited 2 years ago by ben burd
JimT
Reply to  Old Sailor
2 years ago

Not exactly a “passport” but provincially-issued proof of vaccination seems to be serving the same or similar purpose in some cases:

Any person entering a long-term care home who is fully immunized will be
exempted from surveillance testing…

People can prove they are fully immunized by showing the physical or
emailed receipt that was provided to them at the time of vaccination.

Vaccination receipts can also be downloaded or printed through the provincial
portal.

Any individual who is not fully vaccinated or does not wish to provide proof
of immunization status must continue to have an Antigen test when they
come for an indoor visit.

— Golden Plough Lodge, July 15, 2021

Mark
Reply to  JimT
2 years ago

A QR code would be better since with the email a person checking would almost to need to hold the person’s phone to read , with a QR code they can just scan the code without touching the phone

ben burd
Reply to  Mark
2 years ago

Just my two cents worth, if the Provincial database know when , where and how many shots you have had what would stop the design of an app issuing a QR code that would be connected to said database?

Oh I know; the all knowing unthinking Premier Ford. After allowing many of our relatives to die in understaffed and badly run LTC homes he now wants a repeat with the unvaccinated and swamp us all with no way of verifying who has been vaccinated.

After all the people in danger are only Old, Poor and Marginalised, what loss are they to FordNation?

Rob
Reply to  Old Sailor
2 years ago

Small businesses do not need to know the vaccination status of individuals and they should not be entitled to ask for it. There may be an argument for it as a requirement for travel between countries and visitors to Canada however anything else is a significant overreach.

ben burd
Reply to  Rob
2 years ago

So it’s ok for you to infect the business but they are not allowed to prevent it by asking if you are vaccinated!!!!!!!!!

Last edited 2 years ago by ben burd
Rob
Reply to  ben burd
2 years ago

Ben – I would like to see everyone double vaccinated, like I am, however some people can’t and others won’t. We know that we do not need 100% of the population vaccinated in order to develop herd immunity. We also know there are conditions/health issues that will prevent some from being vaccinated without the potential of significant side-effects. The potential problem with the passport/disclosure idea, is a deny of human rights based on ones personal and private health information. If I’m a vaccinated business owner, the unvaccinated pose little to no threat to me – that is the purpose of the vaccine and it is very good at its purpose. If I’m unvaccinated because of underlying health issues or ethical objections, I should have the same rights and freedoms within my country as all other Canadians and there there should not be a requirement to share this information with the neighbour working at the mall or my favourite restaurant.

Ken Strauss
Reply to  Rob
2 years ago

Rob, to expand a little on your points:

  1. For a number of reasons there is some risk and inconvenience to vaccination. Except for medical conditions, the risk is mostly assessed using Facebook “research” or “ethical objections” (whatever that means).
  2. Not everyone needs to be vaccinated for herd immunity (exact value unknown but perhaps 80-95%)
  3. In your opinion privacy means that the unvaccinated should gain the benefit of others taking a risk and accepting the vaccine

Why should someone take a risk for the common good to allow a selfish person to refuse vaccination yet have the same benefits? Having the same rights and freedoms as any other Canadian also means having the same responsibilities.

Last edited 2 years ago by Ken Strauss
ben burd
Reply to  Ken Strauss
2 years ago

Jéez Ken you can make sense sometimes

Wally Keeler
Reply to  Ken Strauss
2 years ago

…allow a selfish person to refuse vaccination…

Not all those who refuse this vaccination are “selfish”. I got the infant vaccines that almost killed me, so when the polio vaccine came around, I could not accept that. Is that selfish? Furthermore, the other kids shunned me, learned from their adult parents no doubt. Accused of being potentially contagious, a carrier, etc. It certainly made an impression on me.

I am responsible to myself first and foremost, not to you and your paranoid concerns. You are into coercive practices, as is Burd, control freaks, a common characteristic of socialist dictatorshits.

Ken Strauss
Reply to  Wally Keeler
2 years ago

Wally, I think that you know me well enough to realize that I abhor socialism in every form. You mentioned slanders earlier…

If you had actually read my post you would have noticed that the first sentence included “except for medical conditions” which may be applicable to you depending on the reason for your adverse reaction to the polio vaccine. On the other hand, vaccines have evolved over the last 70 years so past issues may be irrelevant.

Wally Keeler
Reply to  Ken Strauss
2 years ago

You abhor socialism. I also abhor it, so much so that I took actions to harm it in the socialist countries. Socialists are control freaks, don’t want individuals to act freely and independently of the glorious correct policy directives to protect groups. The individual must subsume to the group. Your call for covid passports is a socialist’s nightmare. It is excessive overreach. Totally unnecessary.

ben burd
Reply to  Wally Keeler
2 years ago

Wally another of your red herrings. If you look at the “dictatorshits” of this world they are so far ideologically away from Socialist that it is obvious. Orban, the Polish guy, Erdogan, and that guy with the silly hair from the UK. Make a list and you only find one person to fit your silly slur – Kim Jong .

Wally Keeler
Reply to  Ken Strauss
2 years ago

What about the responsibilities of the business owners to be vaccinated. Why should they get a pass to potentially infect others? Business owners should be required to get provenly vaccinated before they open for business to the general public. And furthermore, it is much less expensive to provide vaccine passports for small business than the entire population. Talk about inefficient.

Frenchy
Reply to  Wally Keeler
2 years ago

Most people smart enough to run a small business are usually smart enough to have already been vaccinated.

Wally Keeler
Reply to  Frenchy
2 years ago

Absolutely right, emphasis on “usually smart”. They know what is good for their business and profit. Always a good motivator.

Wally Keeler
Reply to  ben burd
2 years ago

I would recommend that the small business staff get vaccinated and then they can deal with both the vaccinated and unvaccinated.

Matter of fact, business owners should be required to post a sign in their window indicating they have been vaccinated. That way, people who have not been vaccinated can feel a modicum of safety.

Quit putting the onus on the hard-working proletarians, seniors, and marginalized to get vaccine passports. It is too unwieldy, too undemocratic, and unnecessarily expensive.

Ken Strauss
Reply to  Wally Keeler
2 years ago

Wally, why would customers “feel a modicum of safety” simply because staff had been vaccinated? In most shops there are far more customers than staff. A sign saying “Only the vaccinated are allowed in this shop” would be vastly more reassuring.

Wally Keeler
Reply to  Ken Strauss
2 years ago

A sign saying all the staff have been vaccinated is sufficient. Why bother the entire population with covid passports? Your way is costly and inefficient.

Wally Keeler
Reply to  ben burd
2 years ago

ben, it would be cheaper and more efficient to require business owners and their staff to be vaccinated and to display their health status on the window of their business, rather than asking the entire population for their health status every damn time they enter a small enterprise.

ben burd
Reply to  Wally Keeler
2 years ago

Bull, Wally the argument here is not that business owners be vaccinated but the right to control who goes into their stores.
After all you as a “freedom Fighter” would understand personal choice more than most. Businesses can pick and choose their customers, in this case they want to able to identify who to pick and choose. Hence the notices on the doors that state do not enter unless you are vaccinated. Intelligent people also understand that that notice is not a blanket prohibition and people who cannot be vaccinated are a problem to that policy.

Rob
Reply to  ben burd
2 years ago

An access/denial to good and services system based on health, access to heath care and the open and needless disclosure of your health status to perfect strangers – does this really seem like a good idea? Then lets give that control to large technology companies, who have already demonstrated an unquenchable thirst for our private and personal data and who have also demonstrated an inability to protect it as they try to satisfy the unimaginable corporate greed driving them. What could possibly go wrong as your precise location, time of arrival and departure, purchasing, dinning, travel and social habits are now mandatorily provided (or service denied) based on whether you had access to OR were physically able to AND/OR agreed with being vaccinated.

Keep in mind there are discussions going on right now about access to service/travel denials based on the brand of vaccine people have received – imagine not being allowed your favourite coffee shop because you received the AZ vaccination early or because you don’t feel comfortable getting the fall booster after having significant negative side effects with your first two shots.

This idea has so many levels of complexity and so many opportunities for misuse and abuse – I would suggest you dig in a little deeper.

ben burd
Reply to  Rob
2 years ago

Rob the answer to me is very simple – design an app that will tp into the vaccination database and deliver a QR code that can be read by the app. You can make it voluntary but in the long run it will be taken up by a huge majority willing to work within the system. The idiots that insist on personal freedom will not download and participate and will suffer for it.

Rob
Reply to  ben burd
2 years ago

I understand Ben – unfortunately its not a simple issue (for me) …

Wally Keeler
Reply to  ben burd
2 years ago

“The idiots that insist on personal freedom …”

Are you referring to the ‘idiot’ Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn who wanted the freedom to write the Gulag Archipelago? Are you referring to the tens and tens of millions of ‘idiots’ fleeing the oppression of the socialist dictatorshits for democracies throughout the 20th century? Are you referring to the idiots that fled the Middle East wars for refuge and freedom in the democracies? Are you referring to the ‘idiot’ Cuban people who want personal freedom from the Castro family oppressors.

Let me put it this way. Individuals who want personal freedom are not idiots. The aspiration for personal freedom is a natural human desire. The oppression of personal freedom triggers revolution that, more often than not, results in lethal consequences. A cavalier dismissiveness of the notion of ‘personal freedom’ is unhelpful to a strong democracy.

Wally Keeler
Reply to  ben burd
2 years ago

Likewise, as an individual, I have the control and personal choice to not enter a business which does not out a sign in their window indicating that all staff have been vaccinated. Yes, businesses can pick and choose their customers but note, individuals can pick and choose what businesses they will give their money. If a business doesn’t make it clear that their staff have been vaccinated, then the individual has the right to boycott that business. I want business owners to display their “vaccination status” in the window of their business so that the individual will be able to decide if they want to enter or not. I want the onus placed on business owners, not the general population.