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December 9th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
Just a reminder that the Sound of Music our Silent (Night) Holiday Auction is LIVE on their website until Friday, Dec 10 @ 4pm. Get your bids in soon!  That is an impressive list of items. When they say Silent Bids – you get one chance to bid and hope that yours was the offer. Remember – bidding is BLIND – be sure to enter your best offer as you will not be notified if you are out bid. Good Luck! Click HERE to bid 
December 8th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
When a book store closes there is a tear in the social fabric that is hard to repair. Something that was – isn’t anymore.  Scheduled to close at the end of January. At the end of January Fly By Night – Antiques and Books will close its doors for the last time. Personal health reasons are such that Michael Cowan, who has been running the store for more than 20 years, can’t do the work anymore. The focus is on used books with every imaginable title in a store that is a collection of shelves that go to the ceiling and packed in stacks on the floor as well. Cowan started with just books but developed a personal interest in antique items and began stocking things that appealed to him. It grew into a strong part of his business. The books are sourced by a person called a “picker” who gets called when there is a household that might be moving and wants to get rid of the books. People managing an estate will call the picker and ask him to just please pick up everything and get rid of it.  Row upon row of shelves that were a destination for those who were looking for something new to read. For book lovers these stores are paradise – a place to spend hours glancing over titles. Bob “G”, was uncomfortable having his last name used, said he is “out of the picking business, too old to do the running around and lugging heavy boxes of books.” He tells the story of once picking a guitar that he paid $20 for and then learned it was an antique Gibson that he resold for $22.000 “The last time Michael and I counted the inventory there were more than 20,000 titles on the shelves.” The bookstore has a small but very loyal customer base that drops in regularly; they are in the 60 to 85 age range and each as their own interest area. The store has customers who read Westerns; other who like everything they can find on the two World Wars and others that look for romance or mystery titles.  Michael Cowan – books and people are the two things he knows. Cowan started with operating a bookstore in Oakville and moved to Burlington which has always been seen as a good book market. Bob adds that there are fewer buyers; the younger people aren’t readers and they aren’t nearly as many true book lovers. Mike was a generous person, he helped the down and out; he wasn’t in the business to make money. He loved books and he loved people. Store closes at the end of January. Michael’s brother Rick is handling the closing. Why a bookstore named Fly By Night. Not exactly the name one would put on the lease application. Has to do with owls.
In 1921, the Oskee Wee Wee cheer was first used at a Hamilton Tigers football game. Back then, there were two teams in Hamilton — the Tigers and the Wildcats. They merged in 1950 to become the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
It may not be the usual month that Canadians are treated to all that this tournament has to offer, but the 108th Grey Cup is just around the corner. With all of the action kicking off on 12th December, we thought that it would be a great time to reflect on the history of this Cup. While the Grey Cup may not be quite as popular as the NFL, it is still big business in Canada. According to research by Betway Insider, the Grey Cup still stacks up well against the NFL Super Bowl and brings Canadians the same thrill that their US counterparts experience. So much so that even Burlington residents were behind getting the Grey Cup game to Hamilton in 2021. Some of the draw of the Grey Cup is down to its history and some of the interesting facts that can be attributed to it. Let’s take a look at the top three: Fire struck the 35th Grey Cup It was back in 1947 that the Toronto Argonauts rowing club building caught fire. It didn’t just catch fire – the building was burnt down in its entirety. Inside this building was no other than the Grey Cup and there was real concern that this could spell the end of the tournament for that year with no cup to award. Fate, however, had different ideas. The shelf that was home to the cup had collapsed during the fire. Every trophy on that shelf had fallen to the ground and been destroyed. All except for one. By some miracle, the Grey Cup fell but found itself caught in a nail. This saved the cup from the engulfing fire. The Grey Cup sees more points being scored than the Super Bowl What makes a game exciting and the ultimate in entertainment is the number of points that are scored. The more points the bigger the thrill and the more intense a game becomes. When you compare the Grey Cup to the NFL Super Bowl, the way in which points are awarded is almost the same. There is, however, a difference. The CFL provides a wider field, extra receiver, and unlimited movement before the snap. The result? A fast-paced and higher-scoring game. Research from Betway Insider has shown that the last 25 Grey Cups have seen 1,312 points being scored compared to 1,201 at the Super Bowl. The Grey Cup has been stolen three times – so far!  The RCMP keep the Grey Cup safe. The Grey Cup is clearly an attractive trophy. So attractive that thieves have targeted it three times. The first time was back in 1967 with the cup being stolen from the Hamilton Tiger-cats. It appeared that this was more about a prank than a real ambition to keep the cup as it was found abandoned some three days later. 1969 saw the Grey Cup being stolen for the second time. This time it was taken from the Ottawa Rough Riders only to turn up in a hotel locker. The most recent occasion came in 1997 when Toronto kicker Mike Vanderjagt had it stolen from him in a bar. Fortunately, it was recovered the very next day.
December 8th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON It all starts late Thursday afternoon. The first annual Holiday Market for Burlington; an event patterned after the very successful markets that have taken place in Europe for decades. The vendor list is acceptable, the locations are close to each other. Now we wait for the actual roll out and see how it works.
 Will it be filled with people Thursday night and through the weekend?
December 7th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
There is taxi service- city hall is issuing temporary licenses to drivers who can be on the road by the end of the day. Blue Line of Hamilton will be offering the service.  The number to call is on the cab – 525-0000 Add the 905 Calls for service will go to the Blue Line dispatch which is described as very robust. Taxi rates are determined by the municipality. Blue Line rates are lower than what Burlington taxi was asking for – so there will be cars and drivers on the road and it will cost you less. Blue Line has taken up 40 of the 51 driver/car slots that were available. If you want a cab – call Blue Line. They have an App – and they offer a number of services. Blue Line is working with the Boards of Education and the hospital. More detail is expected from the city soon. Wondering how Scott Wallace is feeling about all this.
December 6th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
 Call it a Christmas Caravan – a collection of vehicles that worked its way through the city on Saturday and Sunday. Santa was there – but no chance to hand out cookies. The Good things was that the weather held. The crowds in the different neighbourhoods were small but enthusiastic.  That little lady on the right had things to say to Santa when he got to her door. And everyone held the hope that the Santa Claus parade in 2022 would be the real thing. The city did put together a set of routes that got the Fire truck that was subbing for a sleigh into a lot of neighbour hoods. It was one of those “you do what you can with what you have”.  There he was – not quite what the event is usually about – but the kids seemed happy and the parents may have done something to add to the event.
December 6th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
Frosty the Snowman and more than 100 of his brothers and sisters have made an early Christmas visit to Burlington’s Lockhart community. The plastic, blow-up images of the Yuletide characters dot the lawns of almost every home in the area, behind the old John A Lockhart School. It’s all part of the Frosty’s Village program, organized by several mothers, to spur donations to the Burlington Foodbank.  Campbell Court was alive with Christmas music On Saturday night a selection of musicians from various bands in the city gathered at the end of Campbell Court to entertain folks, who accompanied them by singing Christmas carols. The concert was organized by Marg MacVinnie, who now is retired from her job on the Waterfront Project for the City of Burlington, with the help of Jan Boomgardt, Sue Hall, Cathy Hall and Phyllis Wallen. The volunteers were able to secure a grant of $1,500 from the City’s Community Support Fund to organize the concert and another one, which will be held this Saturday night at 7 on the promenade of Spencer Smith Park.  76 trombones led the big parade. Children will be able to learn bucket-drumming on metal pails then follow Burlington’s Junior Redcoats as the march along the edge of Lake Ontario. Purpose of the fund was to encourage neighbourhoods, arts, recreation, sports and culture groups to create new ways of connecting with each other. Three mothers came up with the idea for the blow-up Frosty’s.  Three-year-old Quinn McMahon watches the concert from the shoulders of her granddaddy Alan Sharkey. Frosty’s Village has brought in hundreds of food donations for the local food bank. They collected about 900 pounds of food last year, and are hoping to double the donations after formally partnering with the Burlington Food Bank. The Lockhart Community is named after the late John A Lockhart, who served as Principal of Central Elementary School for 26 years, then as Mayor of Burlington from 1957 to 1961 after completing his education career.
December 4th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON Photo by DENIS GIBBONS It wasn’t a parade but Santa did manage t get around town with the aide of Fire department volunteers on Saturday.  Small groups gathered at intersections to watch Santa in a Fire truck drive by. They will be back out on the streets of the city on Sunday.  He isn’t really sure what’s coming his way.  Taking it all in as best they can during a pandemic
 Santa Drive By
December 5th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
 Staff from Hospital’s Labour and Delivery Unit handing out Christmas packages. Photo by DENIS GIBBONS Burlingtonians, who purchased Join the Joy gift boxes to support Joseph Brant Hospital’s Labour and Delivery Unit, were able to pick up their gift boxes in the parking lot of Access Storage on Fairview St. on Saturday. The boxes contained fun items like a family-friendly game, hot chocolate, magical reindeer dust and holiday crafts.  Retired fire fighters keeping an eye on an antique fire truck. Photo by DENIS GIBBONS Veteran Burlington firefighters had their 1922 fire truck, which is housed in Kilbride, on display as they handed out candy canes to children Tasty pastries were handed out by employees of COBS Bread Bakery, representatives of FastSigns accepted letters to Santa and Paladin Security had its cars and men on hand to act as Santa’s secret service.
December 4th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
When budgets are put together there is the opportunity to get a closer look at all the wheels and cogs that make the city work day to day. We learned last week that 47% of the cost of running the city is on the Human Resources side and that in this budget there was an expense of $40,000 to cover the cost of the provincial legislation that raised the minimum wage effective January 1st. One of the Councillors asked why that amount was necessary and learned that the city has staff who are earning just the minimum wage.  City Manager Tim Commisso City Manager added that it was people working part time, mostly students doing parks and recreation work or sprucing up the flower beds in the medians and working in the summer Parks and Recreation summer camp programs. For a city that adds the phrasing “Burlington is a City where people, nature and businesses thrive” to every media release they put out the admission that people are paid that bare minimum has to be at least a little embarrassing. There wasn’t a word from any member of council on ensuring that the city do better.  Director of Human Resources Laura Boyd One can’t thrive on the current minimum wage; the new one ($15. an hour) won’t help much. It was appropriate for both the City Manager Tim Commisso and the Director of Human Resources Laura Boyd to commit themselves to ensuring that the city would always be above the minimums before they were forced to be by the province. We didn’t hear that last week.
December 3rd, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
It has been a hard year for everyone. A wee bit of Joy will be Santa driving through the streets of the city in an antique fire truck. The route maps and time frames are set out below:
Dec. 4, morning route, starting at 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: south-east Burlington Dec. 4, afternoon route, starting at 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: north-east Burlington Dec. 5, morning route starting at 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: north-west Burlington Dec. 5, afternoon route, starting at 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: south-west Burlington Santa is unable to stop and chat or accept any letters, glasses of milk or bags of delicious cookies. Milton chose to hold a real parade; the city of Toronto is holding one. Burlington chose a different route. Set out at the bottom of this story is a link to an article on a parade that took place in 2012 We knew how to do it then. The 2012 Burlington Santa parade
December 1st, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
The piers that line the canal leading from Lake Ontario into Hamilton Harbour may be gated in the very near future. Transport Canada will use gates to close the popular Burlington shipping canal piers to pedestrians in December: both Hamilton and Burlington are putting up a fight.  A fleet of tall ships sailed through the canals in June of 2013. At least 1000 people were on hand to watch the passage. The federal agency angered local residents last year by threatening to ban the public from the pair of 321-metre-long piers that usher ships into Hamilton Harbour and serve as popular walking paths into the lake. Public pressure and Advocacy from former MP Bob Bratina resulted in a closure “pause” last year to allow talks with Burlington and Hamilton.  Gates are in position – just waiting for someone to put the lock in place. But residents watched nervously this month as three new swing gates were installed to block entrance to the piers from the waterfront trail. Transport Canada confirmed it will begin “restricting access” ahead of winter conditions, but added future recreational use is still up for negotiation. Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger said Friday cities on both sides of the canal would consider taking responsibility for pier maintenance and controlling access in dangerous weather — if the federal government first pays to make the crumbling concrete safe. That could cost anywhere from hundreds of thousands of dollars to the low millions. “We certainly expect that the federal government will make those investments,” said Eisenberger. “I imagine it’s not a small investment, but certainly not in the tens of millions of dollars, either.” Related news story
December 1st, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
City of Burlington is offering special rates for rentals of gyms, ice rinks and community rooms from now until January 2nd, 2022. . Residents can book space for 60 or 90-minute intervals at a variety of locations across the city. This presents a great opportunity for families to be active together in a safe, controlled environment over the month of December. Rentals can be made 48-hours or more in advance. All bookings can be done through liveandplay.burlington.ca.
 A steal of a deal at less than 30 bucks an hour. All COVID-19 precautions and restrictions apply. For more information, including booking and payments, visit burlington.ca/rentals.
December 1st, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON OPINION People at city hall don’t set out to hurt people. Mistakes get made and the people who made the mistake, for the most part, set out to correct the error. Some mistakes leave scars and diminish people who are already struggling to keep their heads above water. The number of people going to food banks has risen: 300,000 households in Ontario made the trip this year.  The Food Bank can deliver some of the food needed – but not all of it. The Burlington Food Bank is able to deliver food to many of the households that need help. No one broadcasts that they need help feeding their families; while it is not something one should be ashamed of – there is a sense of shame for those on any form of public welfare. Several of the churches in Burlington had a system that let them give families with no transportation a taxi chit that let them get to the food bank. Now there is no taxi service and I personally doubt there will be one for something in the order of 100 days. The “significant legislative and legal challenges” made it impossible. Those “legislative and legal challenges need to be replaced by “whatever it takes”. That is what makes a city great. These mistakes cannot and should never be looked upon as a “learning opportunity”; a phrase that has achieved some currency at the Council table. The apology from the City Manager just isn’t enough. Related news story. Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.
o November 29th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
Each member of Council has the opportunity to put forward a motion that sets out the changes they want to see to the budget staff has put forward. Keep in mind that taxpayers are looking at a pretty stiff budget increase and that Staff don’t see tax increases falling below 4% a year for the next five years.
Also, keep in mind that 2022 will be an election year.
 How much fiscal prudence and how much political skin is there in the Stolte budget change proposals? Ward 4 Councillor Shawna Stolte set out the changes she wants to see. Motions for Council to Consider:
1) Pride (Rainbow) Crosswalks
Remove $45,000 in funding for three additional Rainbow Crosswalks that are addition to the 4 that have already been committed and encourage community groups to engage and fund raise for future installations. OR for further consideration: Rename and repurpose the $45,000 to fund public art installations that support additional marginalized groups in the community (ie. a “Seven Feathers Crosswalk” in support of our First Nations/Indigenous community)
And Direct the Director of Roads, Parks and Forestry to generate “City of Burlington Decorative Crosswalk Guidelines” to ensure consistency for future funding requests of this nature.
2) Dedicated operations space for Building Inspection and By-law Staff
Remove $110,000 from proposed Risk Mitigation Measures budget increase.
3) Sherwood Forest Community Centre Facility
Recommit previously approved funding, 2022-2024 capital funding totaling $6.2 million as well as 2022-2023 capital reserve funding totaling $600,000 to the Capital Infrastructure Reserve Fund until such time as the plan for cost sharing is approved by Council and the applicable Joint Venture Groups can provide documentation confirming feasibility of financial commitment. 4) School Playground Improvement Strategy Reason:  Mayor Meed Ward has put a lot of her political capital on the Rainbow Crosswalks – that capital could be at risk. The LGBTQ2S+ community in Burlington feels very welcomed and supported with the four new Rainbow Crosswalks around the City of Burlington and greatly appreciates that with the addition of these four Rainbow Crosswalks Burlington now, proudly, has more Rainbow Crosswalks per capita than any other community in the country. The City of Burlington strives to be a place of diversity and inclusion and to that end the residents of the city are widely supportive of this funding being repurposed to include additional valued community groups and initiatives. 2) While the rationale for dedicated space for the Bylaw and Building Department needs are sound, it is premature to commit $110,000 to new leased space when the required space within existing City owned facilities has not been determined based on remote work arrangements. Efforts to confirm and consolidate existing City owned space allocations needs to be completed before committing to newly leased space. 3) Funding for projects that require Council approved cost sharing arrangements should not be committed until such cost sharing arrangements are confirmed. Additionally, applicable Joint Venture Groups should be required to provide confirmation of feasibility of financial commitment before commitment of capital assets. 4) Upkeep, maintenance and improvements on properties owned privately by the Halton District School Board should be funded through Provincial Ministry of Education funding.  Will Councillor Kearns, on the left, second the Motion Councillor Stolte brings to the debate this week Stolte now has to find a member of Council to second her motion. This Budget Memorandum approach is different – it will be interesting to see how the other members of Council react to what Stolte has proposed. 2022 is an election year and members of this Council are going to have to defend the increases.  This just not a sustainable number – where will the cuts be made?
November 23rd, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
It is time to enjoy one of the real delights of living in Burlington. The Festival of Lights launches officially on Friday. As the darkness of a late November afternoon settles on the city, lights come on at Spencer Smith Park illuminating the “sculptures” set up all along the park. The photographs in this article are what the designs look like in the daytime. At night they are a true delight.  At night they look like they are dancing to the music.
 You can’t hear the sounds of the propellers – but you can imagine it.  Reindeer get replaced for the Santa trip to Burlington
Just the place to take the kids to the park and wander from one design to another and then be off for a hot chocolate to ward off the evening chill.  The trees are all lit up making the park look like a forest.
November 23rd, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
Interviews with downtown Burlington business owners as the holiday market approaches suggests there are distinctly different views and some concern over any impact the event will have on downtown core merchants.
The common response from business owners whether they were enthusiastic or skeptical about the event was that they hoped the event would prove prosperous as the hard times they’d fallen on in the pandemic remained. Many were optimistic the market would increase traffic in the downtown core, others concerned about facing direct competition.  Joelle’s store front – one of the stronger retail operations on Brant Street Joelle Goddard-Cooling, owner of Joelle’s, said busy-ness kept her from participating in BDBA matters. Joelle said she had spoken to Brian Dean of the BDBA, early in the process but elected to focus on her store.  Joelle Godard Cooling: probably the best retail marketer in the city. “It would be difficult to participate, to go and haul something over there would be a little tricky,” Joelle said “but hopefully it brings more people downtown.” Several business owners spoke of the onus being placed on the retailer to set up booths at the market. Joelle wishes she was more involved with the discussions but the holiday season traffic made it difficult to do so. She suggested if she wanted to know more about the market she could have and there wasn’t an issue with transparency from the BDBA, but acknowledged she would have had to devote time she didn’t have to participate if she wanted input. “We always want the downtown to flourish, I certainly talked to Brian in the beginning and I felt…” Joelle paused, “I maybe would have commented if I didn’t agree, but I’m not sure if I agree with the market or not. So I have no comment.” Jason Pepetone, the owner of Centro Garden, found that he too had difficulty keeping up with existing demands as a reason for declining participation in the holiday market. Pepetone was asked to be a vendor but is dealing with enough staff for day-to-day operations. “I guess it’s a good problem to have,” he said of the demand being placed on his business. In addition to staffing issues, Centro Garden is dealing with supply delays.  Centro Market: one of the more interesting places on Brant Street for the casual shopper. “We’re not participating in the market. I’ve heard bits and pieces. But we’re dealing with shipments coming in late. I’m in Toronto picking up stuff that’s supposed to be delivered here. We’re dealing with the same supply chain issues as everyone else,” he said. Pepetone wasn’t concerned about the potential competition and thought the holiday market directing foot traffic could pay dividends for his operation. “They did something similar years ago in the Village Square, it’s a nice atmosphere. I could see it as competition but that’s never hurt me.” Shirley, the owner of the Knitter’s Boutique, felt like setting up at the holiday market would have been redundant, her storefront at 431 Pearl Street ( it opened this week) will be right in the thick of the market. The Knitter’s Boutique borders the 402-420 Martha St Parking Lot which is entirely fenced off and under construction, a project Shirley said the city is assuring her will be completed ahead of the December 9th market. Shirley is looking forward to the project’s completion to assist with traffic outside her location. One day she showed up to find a fence around her store, to her relief the city quickly removed it “I noticed before they started the construction that the pathway, (the Elgin Promenade) was packed with people. I couldn’t believe the number of people walking! And there was like a gazillion dogs so, in true entrepreneurial fashion Shirley immediately got into knitting dog sweaters and got them in the window. Because it’s just amazing how many dogs there are. “I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s gonna be huge for businesses and I love the vibe of downtown Burlington. I think there’s a lot of action here and this spot is kind of perfect for it. I’ve told people about the market and they’re spreading the word, it’s going to be so nice because it’s outdoors people can come together and shop without worrying about capacity limits.”  Waves is located in the Village Square – yards away from the Holiday Market location. Caitlin McGillivray, owner of Waves in the Village, didn’t receive any more than a flyer informing her about the market. Caitlin would have participated in some capacity and is concerned the Village Square will be forgotten about by the marketplace. Caitlin said if someone came around to inquire from BDBA they could have at least contributed something for a gift bag so if people left without checking in to Waves in the Village they would know they were there. “I’m concerned that we’re gonna have a lot of people down here and they’re not going to be redirected into the Village because a lot of people don’t know the Village exists. So I’m afraid they’re going to go through the parking lot and then they’re just going to go to their car and leave. People should be redirected into this area to help some of the businesses that are in here as well,” said McGillivray.  The Agora Market Place: One of those gems you come across in Burlington. Located in the Village Square Ali Ucar, owner of the Agora Marketplace, is participating in the holiday market and hopes it will provide a much-needed boost for his business. The John Street gift shop owner opened during the pandemic and was hamstrung introducing his shop to the public by the frequent lockdowns. Ucar is paying a $50 fee to participate and is responsible for bringing his own tent and table. Ucar has tried marketing and social media and isn’t sure where to go from here, he is hopeful the holiday market spreads awareness. There is a responsibility burden on the BDBA for the marketplace to infuse the downtown core with an influx of shoppers this holiday season. The event must benefit not only partnering businesses but all local retailers in the downtown core who lacked the time, resources or information to participate. The Burlington Downtown website says the marketplace aims to revitalize the downtown core just in time for the holiday season. Here’s hoping that goal comes to fruition lest the BDBA receive a few lumps of coal from their clients this holiday season. The parking lot will be filled with people for four days in December. The Poacher at one end and Dickens at the other. The Burlington Holiday Market is being run with support from the Sound of Music and will feature choirs, interactive community art features, and advent-style community displays. The event kicks off Thursday, December 9th from 4 pm to 10 pm, runs from 11 am to 11 pm on Friday and Saturday, and 11 am to 7 pm on Sunday.
November 23rd, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
The Burlington Performing Arts Centre’s 5th Annual Festival of Trees will be sparking yuletide joy in patrons who visit BPAC until December 18th.  For the fifth year the open spaces at the Performing Arts Centre have been dotted with Christmas trees that were auctioned off. Pre-lit artificial Christmas trees, generously donated by Canadian Tire Burlington Stores and sponsored by local businesses, will light up BPAC’s Lobby for 4 weeks – until their silent auction ‘winners’ take them home for the holidays.  Canadian Tire antique truck brought the Christmas trees to the Performing Arts Centre Toy Drive During the Festival of Trees, new toys will be accepted to be distributed to those in need. Please drop off unused toys to the Canadian Tire classic pick-up truck in the BPAC lobby. BPAC’s Festival of Trees Silent Auction You have the chance to take home one or more of the beautifully decorated trees by entering the Silent Auction. Simply view the trees in-person and place your bid. All proceeds support the Burlington Performing Arts Centre – no bid is too generous! Tree bidding ends on Saturday, December 18 at 4pm.
Viewing Times Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sat & Sun: 12pm to 4pm
There was an error in identifying the location of the Holiday Market scheduled for December 9th to 12th. Our apologies to everyone. The location is alongside the Elgin Promenade.
November 22nd, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON
Getting the plans for a Holiday Market off the ground and into the minds of the public was a little awkward and far less than transparent – but they are closer to liftoff – which is December 9th to 12th – all to take place in a parking lot. The event is free – the opportunity is to see what merchants in the area have to offer. The idea was patterned after the immensely successful German Christmas markets: Burlington wanted one of its own and after more than a year of thinking about it and sifting through various ideas, Brian Dean, Executive Director of the Burlington Downtown Business Association (BDBA) and Peter Van Dyk thought they had an idea that could fly.  The Holiday Market will fill the space in this parking lot. This is the view looking east. It was to be an event supported in a big way with sponsorships. The initial effort to land a major bank didn’t work out. Sponsors as of November 18: With the Poacher on the west end and The Dickens on the eastern end there will be no problems for those looking for an Adult Libation The list of vendors is growing. Some of those set out below will not be present for all four days – a schedule will be posted on the website stating which vendors will be present on which days. Joseph Tassoni Musical acts will be confirmed closer to December 9. At this point there are several choirs lined up. The Holiday market people are working with Sound of Music to determine if some of the talent they work with can be available. Noise was a concern – no assurances at that level. There was mention of alcohol being available. Talks with the people at The Poacher didn’t go very far – they apparently had some liability issues. This is an evolving initiative with a lot of unknowns and great aspirations. The web site for the event Hours of operation: Thursday December 9: 4 pm-10 pm Friday, December 10 and Saturday, December 11: 11 am-11 pm Sunday, December 12: 11 am – 7 pm
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By Staff
By Pepper Parr
Three Interesting facts about the Grey Cup Trophy
By Staff
By Pepper Parr
By Ryan O’Dowd
By DENIS GIBBONS
By Pepper Parr
By Denis Gibbons
By Pepper Parr
By Pepper Parr
By Staff
Many business owners seemed in the dark about the specifics of the 4-day holiday market running from December 9th to December 12th, either because they didn’t have time to keep up with things (they were too busy struggling to keep the doors open) or resulting from an absence of communication by the Burlington Downtown Business Association(BDBA).
Winners will be contacted by email and/or phone and can pick up trees on Monday Dec 20 and Tuesday Dec 21. Entrants must consent to signing up for the BPAC mailing list to be eligible.
By Pepper Parr