Collingwood's patio dining breaks record number of participants
People enjoying drinks and friends on an outdoor patio. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
It was sunny skies Monday afternoon in downtown Collingwood and one of the town's biggest summer draws, the patios were full of life.
Kim Morrow, who was visiting from Barrie for the day was enjoying everything the town had to offer. 'It's beautiful downtown here. Good company and wonderful food and such a great atmosphere,' Morrow told CTV News.
This year, visitors to the Georgian Bay community will notice even more outdoor patios lining the main street. While the town has supported a patio program for years, this summer it has approved a record number of 25 applications.
'Using the parking spaces to animate the downtown makes a lot of sense,' said Sue Nicholson, general manager of the Collingwood Downtown BIA. 'So they have used both sidewalk space, and many have extended into the roadways and parking spots.'
Collingwood resident Chris Lawrence supports the idea. 'I think every place should have a patio, everybody wants to sit outside in the summertime,' he said.
Filiz Lutkett, owner of the Mexican restaurant Baked and Pickled, has had a patio for over a decade and understands its value. She was quick to join the expanded program this summer.
'This year, we were able to expand it to the street, which is really nice. It made it a little bit bigger and more spacious for the customers,' she said.
Mark Krause of Espresso Post agrees. 'Now that they've expanded them out onto the street, it's been even more fantastic. I think that really reaches the town,' he said.
With a record number of patio permits issued this year, Collingwood's downtown is buzzing with activity.
The permits will remain valid until mid-October, giving locals and visitors alike a full season to enjoy the open-air dining.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
It's 1 year until the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Is Vancouver ready?
Social Sharing One year out from the FIFA World Cup, questions remain about where soccer fans visiting Vancouver will stay and how much it will cost to keep the city safe. Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim spoke to reporters at an event marking the one-year countdown to the tournament on Wednesday, saying the city began working on security plans even before it was confirmed to host seven 2026 World Cup games. He says those plans were "augmented" after 11 people were killed when a man drove a car into a crowd at the Lapu-Lapu Day festival in April. The security costs have not been publicly released, but Sim says the city will "make the necessary investments to make sure that people are safe in the city of Vancouver" during the event. WATCH | Is hosting the World Cup worth it? Is hosting the FIFA World Cup worth the ballooning costs? 1 year ago Duration 1:59 Toronto and Vancouver are slated to host 13 FIFA World Cup games in 2026, and the security budgets have gone up by tens of millions of dollars. Some are asking if it's worth it. Spencer Chandra Herbert, B.C.'s minister of tourism, arts, culture and sport, says the province will release a "full costing" later this month, updating how much it expects to spend on the World Cup. Back in April 2024, B.C. organizers estimated the cost at between $483 million and $581 million for city and provincial services, as well as upgrades to B.C. Place stadium. Vancouver Coun. Sean Orr said he isn't convinced the economic benefits of the tournament will outweigh concerns about cost overruns, security, and potential long-term effects on housing affordability. "I just don't know if throwing a party in the midst of, you know, [a] potential downturn in the economy is the best plan right now," he told CBC News. "We've got threats of tariffs, we've got, you know, downturns in the market ... is this the best use of our resources right now? That's my big concern." Hotel rooms up in the air About 350,000 people are expected to visit Vancouver during the World Cup, Chandra Herbert said at Wednesday's event. Questions have been raised about where they'll stay, as a city report released in April noted there are just 13,000 rooms spread across 78 hotels within the municipality. The report found that Vancouver lost about 550 hotel rooms between 2020 and 2022, in part because some older hotels were converted to housing for vulnerable people. WATCH | Questions over hotel capacity in Vancouver: Is Vancouver ready to accommodate the 2026 FIFA World Cup? 1 year ago Duration 6:24 Royce Chwin, CEO of Destination Vancouver, said the seven matches Vancouver will host will be spread throughout June and July of next year, leading to an "ebb and flow" of visitors. "We had nine hotels in the pipeline a couple years ago," he told CBC News. "We're now up to 23 because we're getting the word out there." Tourists may need to get creative during the tournament, Chandra Herbert suggested. "We're working with our hotel partners across the province," he said. "We think there's opportunity for people to stay further afield. "We know Hullo and B.C. Ferries, we're looking at them as an opportunity for overflow, even all the way to Nanaimo," the minister added. "Of course, out in the [Fraser] Valley." Chandra Herbert said some Vancouver residents may also look to rent out their homes during the World Cup. Both the province and the City of Vancouver have regulations for short-term rentals, including rules on what types of homes can be used. In Vancouver, all operators must also have a business licence. The FIFA World Cup kicks off on June 11, 2026, with opening games in Mexico City and Guadalajara. Toronto and Vancouver are the two Canadian cities hosting matches, as part of the 16 host cities across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Vancouver will stage five opening-round games starting June 13, plus a round-of-32 and a round-of-16 match.
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
City of Burnaby, B.C., to apologize to Chinese-Canadians for past discrimination
A plane passes behind condo towers in the Metrotown area of Burnaby, B.C., on Sunday, May 30, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Globe and Mail
4 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
World Cup 2026 organizers prepare for wrinkles created by U.S. travel restrictions
The head of Toronto's World Cup 2026 host committee says the executive order issued by the White House last week restricting travel to the U.S. from 19 countries is more of the same uncertainty that organizers have had to adjust to as partners in the event with the U.S. under President Donald Trump. 'Things have been changing with some of these [presidential] orders back and forth, as we all know in the tariff situation,' said Sharon Bollenbach, the executive director of FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto. When the new edict came down, 'I think there's a bit of, like: 'OK, that's what we're dealing with today.'' Her assessment echoed comments by some of her U.S. counterparts at a gathering of the 11 U.S. host city leaders this week. 'There are going to be geopolitical issues that we don't even know right now that are going to affect the tournament next year, so we recognize that we're planning within uncertainty,' Meg Kane, the head of Philadelphia's local organizing committee, told reporters. 'One of the things that I think we all recognize is that we have to be really good at operating within that uncertainty.' Last week's executive order bans citizens of 12 countries from travelling to the U.S., including Iran, ranked 18th in the world by FIFA, which qualified for the World Cup in March. Other nations with promising teams such as Haiti and Sudan also fall under the ban. The U.S. also partially restricted travel to the U.S. of citizens of an additional seven countries, including Venezuela, Cuba, and Sierra Leone. World Cup 2026 will be Canada's chance to show the world how much fight we have in us The order contains exemptions for players, staff and family members of sports teams competing in major events such as the World Cup or the Olympics. But it caught organizers off guard and represents a significant impediment for fans hoping to travel between the three host nations. It also casts a shadow over the spirit of unity that those countries – Canada, the United States and Mexico – had hoped to strike when they signed on to the tournament in 2018. In a statement to The Globe and Mail, Jessie Adcock, FIFA World Cup 26 Vancouver host committee lead, said the organization is 'actively reviewing the recent Executive Order issued by the White House and are in ongoing discussions with our partners to assess any potential implications for tournament planning and operations.' Bollenbach noted that the schedule for the first round of the tournament – which kicks off in Canada at Toronto's BMO Field on June 12, 2026, followed by a match at BC Place in Vancouver the next day – won't be known until FIFA conducts its draw in December. That is when fans will learn where their teams are playing their three group stage matches, prior to the knockout round. Toronto will host one of the round-of-32 knockout games. Vancouver will host one round-of-32 match and one round-of-16 match. 'Until we know the countries that are specifically coming to our cities, there's not a lot we can do,' said Bollenbach. 'When the draw happens and we know what countries are playing here, that will unlock and cascade a lot of things for us in terms of planning, and part of that will be the travel plans and the marketing plan that we want to do to the countries that are playing here. We'll have to figure out if they're on that travel ban list.' She pointed out that fans from the 19 countries named in the executive order will still be free to travel to Canada. Iran is the only country in that group whose team has already qualified for the tournament. Portugal wins Nations League with thrilling penalty shootout win over Spain Last month, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said foreigners are welcome to attend the tournament, but warned: 'When the time is up, they'll have to go home, otherwise, they'll have to talk to Secretary Noem,' referring to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Bollenbach spoke ahead of an event scheduled for Thursday evening at Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square marking one year from kickoff, at which dignitaries will unveil an official FIFA World Cup 26 Toronto Countdown Clock. Toronto mayor Olivia Chow proclaimed Thursday 'Soccer Day,' and encouraged Torontonians to turn out to the event wearing jerseys of their favourite teams. Chow has been critical of the agreement the city signed with FIFA as well as the escalating cost of hosting the event, which is now pegged at $380-million. In recent weeks she has warned that tariffs could add to the costs, and she has said the city, which is already on the hook for almost $179-million, might need to ask the province and federal government for more money than they have already committed. She has also alleged that the Ontario government is putting too high a value on the services included in the calculations of its $97-million pledge, leaving the city to make up a $39-million shortfall. The city and province are currently in negotiations over the dispute.
