Wasaga Beach Revival (Lessons from Hackney in London)

Before you visually digest these cakes with your eyes, take a moment to secretly admit that you long for a Wasaga Beach Revival (Wish List) - go here and watch this.  All things are possible.

Patti Friday, Photojourno, reporting from inside 'The Art Dept.' at the international 'Embassy of Ideas'. Wasaga Beach, Ontario CANADA - The longest freshwater beach in the world! 14 km of scenic beauty.

Live Music In the Streets

Just a sweet sampling of the joyous live music in New Orleans. This would be so perfect for Wasaga Beach, Ontario. I vote YES to inviting Musicians to come here to perform.

Patti Friday, Photojourno, reporting from inside 'The Art Dept.' at the international 'Embassy of Ideas'. Wasaga Beach, Ontario CANADA - The longest freshwater beach in the world!

Cultural Tourism and Public Art Wasaga Beach

It is no secret that I believe Wasaga Beach would benefit greatly from more public art, multi-purpose gardens and a cultural tourism strategy. (I still think our 'Marketplace' would have been more successful thus far if it had of been named 'Farmer's Market'....but that's a whole other topic!)

This morning I watched a segment on CBC about the newly unveiled lights on the Bay Bridge in San Francisco.  It will bring 50 million visitors to the area in the next 2 years! The lights = 50 million tourists!

Yes, we are much, much (MUCH) smaller than this city.  Yes, we don't have the budget or population base they do. BUT! We have what they don't!

The world's longest freshwater beach!

What are some of the simple things we could do - solar lights on the blue bridges, Nancy Island? There are many ideas!

Let's urge our local council to make cultural tourism and priority. Let's create a Wasaga Beach Tourism campaign as good as or better than Newfoundland and Labrador!

Let's BOOST our public spaces and attractions!

Patti Friday, Photojourno, reporting from inside 'The Art Dept.' at the international 'Embassy of Ideas'.

Skinny Dipping In Wasaga Beach

Not only do I want (dream) more public art, more trees, yards + yards filled with victory gardens and a centre for the arts in Wasaga Beach, I also long for a skinny dipping pier similar to the one in Denmark! We could do it. Read all about how this project impacted their economy in an extremely positive way. 

"Six years ago, the shoreline in Kastrup, Denmark was practically inaccessible, not that anyone wanted to go there: It was nothing but industrial buildings and rocky beaches. The parklike Copenhagen waterfront to the north was the envy of Kastrup residents, so in 2003, the city hired Swedish design firm White Arkitekter to clean up its coast. The result: the Kastrup Sea Bath. What was once considered the wrong side of the harbor is now a bustling hub of activity, a result of the recent extension of the Copenhagen Metro through Kastrup, the replacement of the beach’s rocks and stones with white sand, and the completion of the sea bath in 2005. Teenagers swarm the structure in the summer, jumping off the diving platforms. Even in the winter, when temperatures dip down to the 30s (Fahrenheit), hardy bathers still stop by for a quick dip or, more frequently, to soak up the sun on the built-in benches. From the beach, the bath’s 328-foot pier extends into the Øresund Strait toward Sweden and culminates in the 9,365-square-foot swimming, bathing, and diving structure." - Dwell

Patti Friday, Photojourno, reporting from inside 'The Art Dept.' at the international 'Embassy of Ideas'.

Wasaga Beach EAT Street

We need a 'food truck alley' or a 'food truck festival/weekend' - we NEED to open the doors to more creative economic developments - public art - buskers - EAT Street! - Food Board Walk - whatever you want to call it - how about 'sunset events' every week?

It is proven that food trucks increase traffic and revenue for existing restaurants! So have no fear. In fact, many owners enter into the food truck market which helps them market their existing locations!

Our council must look to other successful communities. We can't stay in the stone age.

Let's get Wasaga Beach EAT Street started!

Patti Friday, Photojourno, reporting from inside 'The Art Dept.' at the international 'Embassy of Ideas'.