Tag: Tourism

Christmas Lights Changed for 2019

John Draper

Due to popular demand, this Christmas, Cobourg will expand the lights to include Victoria Park and the lighting ceremony will be more extensive than previously.  There will be 180,000 lights stretching from Victoria Hall, through Rotary Park, along the waterfront and into Victoria Park.  The lights go on at 6:30 pm on November 22 after a countdown at Victoria Hall then everyone will be invited to walk to Victoria Park where there will be a 30 foot Christmas tree with 3000 lights and Mayor John Henderson will welcome all at the Bandshell.  Santa will then arrive for the kids and DJ Dominic will play festive music.  The walk will highlight a connection to downtown with a variety of displays throughout… Read complete articleChristmas Lights Changed for 2019

Filming in Cobourg

John Draper

With Murdoch Mysteries once again filming in Cobourg on October 30, and Netflix filming twice recently, citizens are asking “How does Cobourg win from all this?”  Most of the filming takes place in Cobourg’s historic downtown so it’s not surprising that the DBIA (Downtown Business Improvement Area) asked the same question.  At their September 5th Board meeting, the Town’s Marketing and Events Manager, Kara Euale, was asked to make a presentation on the subject and I thought others would be interested in what she had to say.  Cobourg has policies on the subject, requires approval from multiple departments and has fees that must be paid.  Basically, filming is encouraged because the Town believes it can “provide both direct and indirect… Read complete articleFilming in Cobourg

Canada Day: Cobourg – 2019

John Draper

Summer finally arrived for a perfect day to end the Waterfront Festival and celebrate Canada Day in Cobourg.  The Parade was short but sweet – it moved steadily without delays and, this year, seemed to be a showcase for our diversity – the Hispanic group seemed to be especially enjoying themselves and it was contagious.   I don’t have any way to verify it but it seemed to me that more spectators of the Parade were wearing red – yes I know that’s expected but it was more noticeable this year.  With the world’s troubles, are we happier than ever to be Canadian?  The parade finished at Victoria Park where the Waterfront Festival was in full swing.  Entry to the Lions… Read complete articleCanada Day: Cobourg – 2019

Cobourg Lakefront Properties being Damaged by Floods

John Draper

Cobourg residents with properties fronting onto Lake Ontario are asking for the Town’s help with sandbags. Deputy Mayor Suzanne Séguin and Director of Works Laurie Wills have responded but so far the only help offered is “Unfortunately all we can do is provide the materials but not the labour.”  The official numbers for lake levels show that the lake level is at higher levels than in 2017 and has peaked – although it has not yet dropped.  The problem is that with high winds, the shoreline is getting damaged.  Some property owners are losing land and flooding is occurring at the Marina and along the West beach boardwalk.  Average levels only tell part of the story – winds cause levels… Read complete articleCobourg Lakefront Properties being Damaged by Floods

New Tourism Publication for 2019

John Draper

At Cobourg Council’s Committee of the Whole Meeting on Monday, June 3, the Manager of Marketing Events, Kara Euale, presented the new Experience Cobourg 2019 Tourism Booklet.  It’s a noticeable improvement on previous years even though production credits are the same.   Although the cover page shows footprints on our beach, Kara said that the goal was to convey that the beach is not the only story.  Advertising is included to help defray costs but the intent was not to “scream advertising” as so often happens in these kinds of publications.  Some advertising is actually in the form of advertorials which blend in and make for interesting reading. They are based on interviews given by business owners.  Fonts are larger than… Read complete articleNew Tourism Publication for 2019

Tourism Metrics

John Draper

In March of this year, tourism contract employee Bryan Mercer presented a plan to increase tourism in Cobourg and presented a new printed guide that focused on experiences.  In June, he launched a new web site – experiencecobourg.ca (link below) and summer students were hired as “Experience Ambassadors” – one of their jobs was to conduct surveys by asking visitors some leading questions.  Other methods of collecting data were also employed and now the results have been tabulated and we have some good data on visitors and tourists.  Bryan presented this data to Cobourg Council at their meeting on October 1st and the results show that although the beach is Cobourg’s prime attraction, visitors do spend money and do come… Read complete articleTourism Metrics

Tourism – Municipal Candidates’ Positions

John Draper

The second “leading question” asked of all candidates in the upcoming election was “Tourists – Are they good for Cobourg?”  Many of the Policies and decisions made by Cobourg’s Council encourage visitors to Cobourg.  There are Town staff whose job it is to cater to Tourists; the Town has a web site that provides information for Tourists yet not all Downtown merchants and citizens see a benefit. Although the DBIA organizes many events downtown, it could be argued that these are intended to attract residents to Downtown and not necessarily visitors.  Tourists spend money in Cobourg but they also cost for more policing, garbage collection and they create crowds.  Is it worth it?  Should Tourists be encouraged?  Each Candidate gives their… Read complete articleTourism – Municipal Candidates’ Positions

Criterium Race Downtown on Saturday

John Draper

The Gran Prix Bicycle race is a first for Cobourg and is billed as “one of the most exciting spectator events this town has ever seen.”  Organizers have worked hard to ensure that all the details are covered, and risks are minimized, especially due to the road closures.  The 1.2 km race course (see map below) is East on King St. to Third, South on Third to Albert, West on Albert to Bagot, North on Bagot to King and East on King to the start/finish line. Each race involves a minimum of 33 laps at high speed.  Residents living on the course would be wise to move their cars south of Albert to facilitate access to the town throughout the… Read complete articleCriterium Race Downtown on Saturday

Sandcastle Festival 2018

John Draper

There must be a lot of people without air-conditioning or maybe Cobourg’s Beach simply draws big crowds.  I checked it out today and although there were thousands on the beach, I didn’t see any signs directing people to the Sidewalk sale – but then there were so many people a sign would get lost.  It was perfect beach weather – hot and humid; lots of people spent time in the water and although there were quite a number of “master sculptors”, there didn’t seem to be many amateurs. Parking was scarce (and/or expensive) so many had a long walk and just maybe they went via downtown.   There was a DJ blasting music from a spot on the boardwalk and when… Read complete articleSandcastle Festival 2018

Sandcastle Festival upgraded this year

John Draper

Cobourg’s Sandcastle festival on the Saturday of the August long weekend (the 4th) will be more fun this year – there will be a live DJ (the DJ is live, not the music), free live entertainment by Mark Sepic the “Nutty Music Professor”, a Kid’s zone, an inflatable Fun Park (for $5) and of course a Sandcastle competition and Sand Sculpting Lessons.  The Schedule of events is being made available in advance (see below) and the event runs at the same time as the Downtown Sidewalk Sale so once again Cobourg should get a lot of visitors. There’s a kids movie in Victoria Park at sunset (Sherlock Gnomes) so overall it seems to be aimed at families although the Sidewalk… Read complete articleSandcastle Festival upgraded this year