KITCHENER — The Kidspark event planned for Sunday has been cancelled due to weather concerns.
In a press release organizers said the event, which was to run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Victoria Park, was cancelled due to anticipated heavy rains and thunderstorm risk on Sunday.
“The City of Kitchener and event partner, the Kitchener Public Library want to thank performers, entertainers, vendors, sponsors and volunteers and all of those involved for their hard work and dedication to the annual event and look forward to bringing back a bigger and brighter Kidspark in 2023,” the release said.
Vancouver is refunding the $500,000 deposit for a major international electric car race that was supposed to have happened earlier this month before organizers pulled out.
The two-day event was scheduled to start on July 2, and included a Nickelback concert, before being cancelled by its organizer, One Stop Strategy (OSS) Group, who have previously said it would be rescheduled to next year.
But four weeks after the cancelled event’s original date, ticket-holders have complained about not receiving refunds. The city said its repayment of the organizer’s performance security payment for the event is contingent on giving fans their money back.
It was to be the first Formula E event in the city, and promoted as an economic boon, selling thousands of tickets to the False Creek-area races.
One of those fans waiting for a refund is Andrew Chobaniuk, who said he could not get any response after repeated request from organizers and ended up reporting it to his credit card company.
It reimbursed him the $210 he paid for four tickets to see the Vancouver races.
“Absolutely no word from the Formula E organizers despite numerous emails to them,” he told CBC News in an email. “Received a refund from my credit card company pending an investigation.”
“It’s disappointing — you look forward to car racing finally making a return to Vancouver after all these years, and you’re left feeling swindled. Given the lack of communication from the organizers … I have no faith in OSS at all.”
One Stop Strategy Group did not respond to multiple requests for comment Friday.
Decision came ‘after intensive review’ with city
On Friday, the city said its deposit return would have “no financial impacts” on its budget, and was only made on the condition that “that the funds be used by OSS to pay its financial obligations” including refunding ticket-holders, suppliers, or event sponsors.
“Questions about funds being paid or refunded by OSS to ticket-holders, suppliers, sponsors, and/or other potential creditors should be directed to OSS,” the city said in a release.
An electric Formula E race car prototype is seen on a display stage at CeraWeek energy conference in Houston in this 2019 file photo. (Kyle Bakx/CBC)
On April 22, the city announced that the event’s organizers called off the event, exercising their rights under the Host City Agreement. At the time, the city said in a statement it hopes “to announce a new date in the near future.”
At the time of the cancellation, OSS said the “incredibly difficult” decision came “after intensive review” with the city.
“Delivery of a world-class event is of the utmost importance” to the group, it said, promising to communicate with ticket-holders “to inform [them of] their options.”
Coun. Michael Wiebe co-sponsored a motion last year that supported hosting the event the city.
“I know the management company didn’t work here, but I still believe it can be a great event,” he said in an interview Friday. “It was going to be a big weekend, I’m disappointed because it’s an opportunity for Vancouver.”
He stepped aside from voting on the city-issued deposit refund because he himself bought tickets to the cancelled event, and is now among the thousands who have not yet received a refund.
“I haven’t yet, but I’ll wait in the back of the line,” Wiebe said. “I want to make sure the people that really deserve the funding are getting it.
“We’re saying, ‘If you are going to take the $500,000 return, there are certain people that need to be paid, and the funding can only go to specific things … That includes ticket-holders, suppliers and others.”
Controversial races
The Formula E races have been controversial in other cities.
In 2017, Montreal city officials announced they would pull the plug on a Formula E race that was set to take place in that city the following year.
The mayor said the event was “headed straight for a financial fiasco,” and that taxpayers would be on the hook for $35 million.
But one year ago, the City of Montreal agreed to pay a settlement of $3 million to Formula E Operations, which puts on electric car races around the world. It had sued the city for $16 million after the city cancelled their events in 2018 and 2019.
Formula E isn’t the organizer of the Vancouver event, though it appears to have a degree of oversight with regard to the OSS Group-promoted race, which is part of the Formula E series.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s day of whistle stops in the Ottawa area ended early today as anti-Liberal protesters gathered outside a brewery before he arrived.
Following uneventful stops in Gatineau Park in Quebec and two Ottawa suburbs earlier in the day, Trudeau was on his way to the Brasserie Étienne Brûlé Brewery in Embrun, Ont., about 30 minutes east of Ottawa. The event was called off before he arrived.
About a dozen protesters gathered across the street from the brewery, including one who was carrying a flag emblazoned with a profanity directed at Trudeau, and another who was recording the establishment on their phone.
RCMP officers in plain clothes were posted outside.
“Due to the size and composition of the protest group and for the safety of all attendees, it was decided that it was not safe for the prime minister to attend the location,” the RCMP National Division said in a statement to CBC News.
The brewery itself was packed, both inside and on the patios. Three of those patrons, seated on the back patio, were asked to leave by a brewery employee. One of them, a woman, approached RCMP officers appearing to briefly argue with them before walking away.
The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement that while the event had to “unfortunately” be cancelled, the prime minister looks forward to being back soon.
PM dogged by protests
It is the second time in less than two months Trudeau was forced to pull out of a planned appearance because of the presence of people espousing similar views as the “freedom convoy” protesters who blockaded downtown Ottawa for three weeks last winter.
On May 24, more than 100 protesters crowded outside the gates of a banquet hall in Surrey, B.C., with one carrying a makeshift gallows with a noose, and Trudeau Treason written on it. Trudeau opted to address the fundraising event virtually.
Trudeau has been dogged by protesters regularly since the last federal election. One election stop in Bolton, Ont., was cancelled due the presence of a large crowd of protesters.
WATCH | Convoy protesters return to Ottawa for Canada Day:
Convoy protesters return to Ottawa for Canada Day
Freedom Convoy protesters returned to Ottawa during the first in-person Canada Day celebrations since the pandemic. With vehicles unwelcome, protesters marched on foot in the capital, angry about COVID-19 restrictions and at the government.
At a later event in London, Ont., a handful of gravel was thrown at him as he boarded his tour bus. One man was later charged with assault with a weapon.
That man was also arrested in February in Ottawa during the convoy protests.
The protesters are largely rallying against COVID-19 restrictions, including vaccine mandates and mask requirements, but some have also demanded Trudeau resign or be thrown out of office.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Liberal MP Jenna Sudds, right, speak with Reza Matin, left, and Shirin Mohseni, second from left, about the Climate Action Incentive Payment at their backyard in Ottawa on Friday. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
Before Embrun’s event Friday the big talk of Trudeau’s day was his new short hair cut.
Trudeau also visited a family’s home in Ottawa to discuss a “climate action incentive” payment that Canadians received from the federal government. Some neighbours gathered as curious onlookers, but there were no protesters visible there.
Earlier in the year, a “Freedom Convoy” base camp was set up in Embrun during the blockades that seized Ottawa for three weeks.
The 2022 PGA Tour Canada golfing event was cancelled due to inclement weather.
The announcement was made early last Saturday after PGA Tour Canada felt that the course at Elk Ridge was unplayable, due to all the rain they have received over the tail end of the tournament — over four inches to be exact.
Naturally, organizers are disappointed, but it was out of their hands. Now they can only look forward to better weather in 2023.
“Kudos to the players in the whole community. Everyone rallied and did whatever we could. But at the end of the day … Mother Nature called the shots, and unfortunately, our golf course is unplayable for PGA Tour Canada standards. They have an obligation to look after the player safety,” said Ryan Danberg, Elk Ridge Resort managing partner.
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Elk Ridge Sunday shootout saves the day and the weekend
Elk Ridge Sunday shootout saves the day and the weekend – Jun 28, 2022
Elk Ridge Open Tournament Director Hugh Vassos says there was a lot of work put into the event thanks to the more than 100 volunteers working on the course, getting it prepared.
“We pick ourselves up and we start planning for next year. And what we can do besides build a dome? It was a good event leading up to it, I just feel bad for all the volunteers and organizers,” Vassos said.
“They didn’t get a chance to showcase this event. I know it would’ve been a fantastic one.”
But there is still golf to be played and money to be made. Thanks to the Elk Ridge Resort ownership group, they will be putting up $40,000 themselves for a one-round shoot-out on Sunday to help offset the player’s expenses.
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Attendance on Sundays is free, and they even plan to set up hospitality tents on the 18th green. As they are also putting up $3,000 for the golfer or golfers (to which it will then be split up), that can eagle the par for the 18th hole.
“Kudos to our committee. They went above and beyond in my opinion. There are a lot of players smiling today, to a cancelled event. And at the end of the day, if you’re ever going to have a cancelled event you couldn’t ask for a better plan B,” said Danberg.
“Us players we have a lot of expenses. Staying in a hotel and travel, and all that stuff. For the ownership group here at Elkridge to come out and have this Sunday shoot out with a $40,000 purse, for one day, most guys already have hotel rooms anyway so it’s really great and it’s a great gesture,” said Brad Reeves, a golfer in the tournament.
The Travel Lady: Golfing in Portugal
The Travel Lady: Golfing in Portugal – Jun 28, 2022
The plan is for Feast on the Farm to return in 2023. ‘Many of our local businesses are still feeling the adverse effects of the pandemic and extended lockdowns imposed on them for the past two years.’
WEST NIPISSING — The West Nipissing Chamber of Commerce is postponing its popular Feast on the Farm culinary event until 2023 due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising costs.
“After receiving the Ontario Culinary Event of the Year award in 2020, our team wanted to ensure that the next event was brought back to the highest standards possible,” reads a release from the Chamber. “Unfortunately, due to an overall lack of participation, this is something we could not guarantee at this time.”
The 2020 and 2021 events were also both cancelled due to the pandemic. Even with the setback this year, the Chamber intends to move forward with Feast on the Farm in 2023 with the hope another year to recover from the pandemic will lead to a top-notch experience for all.
“Many of our local businesses are still feeling the adverse effects of the pandemic and extended lockdowns imposed on them for the past two years,” the Chamber states. “Lack of adequate staffing and the substantial increase in food prices have also been a major deterrent for our participants. We feel that allowing our local businesses more time to prepare themselves will lead to a more successful event in the future.”
Feast on the Farm was poised to return on August 7. The annual event is held at Leisure Farms. Zack Lafleur, the Chamber’s executive director has noted the event is the organization’s biggest fundraiser, and once costs are covered, the proceeds help the Chamber to continue to offer programs for the local business community.
Feast on the Farm is also a promotional tool for the farm and restaurant sector within West Nipissing and surrounding areas. The event has grown considerably, from 50 guests when it launched in 2013 to the 550 guests planned for this summer’s feast. The Ontario Tourism Association declared Feast on the Farm the 2019 Culinary Event of the Year.
“It’s a very big award for us, and it was really nice to be recognized,” Lafleur said. “That really put us on the map.”
The Chamber was offering $1,500 per chef to help offset the cost of cooking a small plate for 550 guests. Chefs are welcome to apply from anywhere, although most come from West Nipissing, North Bay, and Sudbury, with a heavy emphasis on West Nipissing cooks, because the idea is to maintain a strong local presence.
Each meal prepared for the feast uses ingredients sourced from within 100 kilometres of Sturgeon Falls. Local businesses sponsor the chef tents with guests circulating around the farm to sample the many different kinds of food and refreshments representing a variety of cultures.
The event highlights local producers as much as the local cooks and organizers will now go to work to bring Feast on the Farm back as a main course option next summer.
Organizers of a family-friendly drag show at a Victoria café have cancelled the event after the café owner says staff were inundated with homophobic and transphobic phone calls.
The monthly Sashay Café drag show was scheduled to go ahead this Saturday at Caffe Fantastico.
Café owner Ryan Taylor said staff received many hateful calls, but one call on Tuesday turned especially aggressive when the caller threatened to “shoot up the place and everyone in it.”
After that call, Sashay Café organizers decided to cancel the event and the incident was reported to Victoria police.
Taylor said staff had been logging calls, which he said expressed homophobic sentiments and mischaracterized the event as “trying to groom children to be gay.”
“Our team was doing its best to try and sort of counter that ignorance and explain that this is a simple dress-up show,” said Taylor. “It’s not by any means lewd or anything but positive.”
Taylor said two of the phone calls logged by staff came from local numbers.
Victoria police said in a statement they are investigating two separate reports.
“It is very disappointing to learn of these deeply concerning calls and the impact that they have had on staff, event organizers and those who were looking forward to this event,” said Staff Sgt. Jennifer Ames.
Police say they are keeping café staff and organizers updated and supported.
Taylor says the Sashay Café event, which features performers doing musical numbers in drag, encourages participants to express themselves.
“It’s for people who are looking for an avenue for expression and a safe place,” he said.
Taylor said rising homophobic and transphobic sentiments are a particularly tough blow as people are emerging from a pandemic.
“To be trying to finally feel like you’re coming out the other side and trying to have some sense of normalcy, an attack like this is really kicking you when you’re down,” he said.
“It just brings me to tears.”
While Taylor understands why the event’s organizers would not want to be in the limelight at this time, he hopes for more pride events to lift people’s spirits.
“To show these perpetrators of hate that it’s not acceptable. They’re not going to win,” he said.
“They need to be condemned at every single step along the way, and they need to know their attitudes are not tolerable and that they cannot be part of our society.”
Istanbul, Turkey – It is the height of spring in Turkey, and with that comes a flurry of concerts and outdoor festivals to complement the pleasant weather.
But in recent weeks, a string of events have been cancelled by cities and districts run by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), leading critics and analysts to accuse the government of attempting to wage a “culture war” in the run-up to next year’s general elections.
The first widely publicised cancellation occurred on May 9 when the governor of the Central Anatolian province of Eskisehir banned all outdoor events for 15 days on the grounds that “terrorist groups were preparing demonstrations”. Eskisehir is known as a lively college town with brimming nightlife and while the city municipality is run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the provincial governor, like all others in Turkey, was appointed by the president.
The ban effectively cancelled a large festival which was scheduled to take place in Eskisehir between May 12-15, featuring some of the country’s most popular singers.
Meanwhile, iconic Kurdish singer Aynur Dogan’s concert on May 20 in the province of Kocaeli was cancelled on the basis that the event was “not appropriate,” while folk musician Niyazi Koyuncu’s concert in the Istanbul district of Pendik scheduled for May 25 was banned on the grounds that Koyuncu – who is known for being opposed to the government – did not share the “value judgements and views” of the municipality.
Despite enjoying a surge in popularity, singer Melek Mosso’s June 3 concert at a festival in the western city of Isparta was axed by the municipality after two youth associations released a statement alleging that Mosso “encourages immorality,” urging that her show be shut down. Another Kurdish singer, Mem Ararat, had his concert in Bursa cancelled by the provincial governorate for reasons of “public safety”.
“Cancelling concerts by Kurdish singers plays into the recent surge in nationalist, anti-Kurd and xenophobic bent of a lot of the AKP’s rhetoric and policy – an outgrowth of their partnership with the [far-right] MHP – but the general idea of taking the fight to pop music is striking in a country that generally has viewed pop music as an apolitical venue,” James Ryan, Associate Director at New York University’s Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, told Al Jazeera.
“There are a lot of AKP voters who watch Eurovision, listen to [doyenne singer] Sezen Aksu, watch [the popular contest show] O Ses Turkiye, and I’m sure there were at least some AKP-aligned voters who held tickets to the concerts by Dogan, Ararat, Koyuncu and Mosso,” Ryan added.
The Directorate of Communications did not respond to a request for comment by Al Jazeera.
But Hilal Kaplan, journalist and columnist for the pro-government Sabah newspaper, said the two organisations that urged for the cancellation of Mosso’s concert in Isparta are, in fact, linked to the Felicity (Saadet) Party, which is among the six opposition parties belonging to a coalition alongside the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
“The Saadet Party positions itself in a more religious and more reflexive place than the AK Party. Moreover, after Melek Mosso’s concert was cancelled in Isparta, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism arranged a stage for Melek Mosso to give a concert in Istanbul. Thus by organising a concert for her in Istanbul, the government has created a much larger sphere of influence than in a small Anatolian city,” she told Al Jazeera.
“So it would be misleading to ignore these facts and claim that the events were cancelled by the government.”
Meanwhile, spring festivals take place at numerous universities throughout the country but this year live music performances at the gatherings at Middle East Technical University in the capital of Ankara and Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul were cancelled, officially because three Turkish soldiers were killed in a recent military operation targeting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Both universities are led by rectors who have been appointed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“It’s hard to know the exact motivation behind [all] these cancellations, which is even more disturbing, but I think it’s related to the election climate we are about to enter,” said James Hakan Dedeoglu, a publisher of the independent music magazine Bant and long an active figure in the Istanbul music scene booking and promoting concerts.
“It seems to me it is a way for the forces in the government to show they can do whatever they want. Especially when it comes to answering the needs and requests of the conservative population. And they need to consolidate their voters, especially in this current disastrous economic downturn,” he told Al Jazeera.
Other analysts agree that the cancellations likely stem from a pre-election strategy on the part of President Erdogan, who has slipped in the polls due to Turkey’s ailing economy, with general and presidential elections set for June 2023.
“With the growth being down and inflation nearing triple digits – the highest since Erdogan came to power – and other economic indicators not looking very good, I think Erdogan is going to double down on the culture wars aspect of his brand,” Soner Cagaptay, Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute, told Al Jazeera.
The government has firmly defended its economic record and its controversial interest rate policies, arguing that lower rates will lower inflation and will boost economic growth, exports and jobs – and Erdogan said in a statement on June 6 that Turkey does not technically have a problem with inflation, but with a high cost of living.
And some argue that the cancellations are not linked to a top-down policy imposed by the ruling party.
“The decisions to cancel the concerts and festivals are definitely not the decisions of the government, they are personal decisions made by provincial or district administrators, mayors, governors and district governors,” Tulay Demir, journalist and columnist for Daily Sabah, told Al Jazeera.
“It is definitely not government policy, it is being portrayed by the opposition as if it were government policy.”
But for music publisher and promoter Dedeoglu, the wave of cancellations is deeply worrying.
“[It’s] a horrific and systematic thing the government is doing. And even if this is a temporary and stupid political act, the harm it does to society will last a long time.”
Ironically, the concert bans and ensuing outrage have probably generated a bit of the Streisand effect, in which an attempt to suppress something only brings more attention to it. Melek Mosso continues to perform for large crowds across the country, while Aynur Dogan played on May 28 to a packed house at Istanbul’s pre-eminent outdoor venue, the Cemil Topuzlu Open Air Theatre, singing Kurdish songs to thousands of fans.
“It was a dream, my heart soared from excitement and I was thunderstruck,” wrote Dogan in a heartfelt tweet featuring photos of her Istanbul performance, an indication that music can be difficult to silence when there is a dedicated audience for it.
“Every beautiful word that could be uttered lost its meaning at that moment. Your eyes and faces were more beautiful than a thousand roses and you became thousands of hearts.”
Bir rüyaydı,heyecandan kalbim uçtu, dilim tutuldu.Söylenecek her güzel kelime anlamını yitirdi o an.Siz, gözleri, yüzleri bin gülden güzel, binlerce yürek oldunuz. Beni yalnız bırakmayan sizler, büyük bir inanç ve emek gösteren @gergedanyapim ve @bgstorg binlerce kez teşekkürler pic.twitter.com/3SNvUVcnWy
Ticket holders have been told their passes will carry over to next year, but no Vancouver event has been confirmed yet for 2023.
Alan Walrond showing his purchased tickets for the 2022 Canadian E-Fest race event, in Vancouver on May 19.Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG
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Disappointed fans who bought tickets for the cancelled 2022 Vancouver Formula E car race are frustrated they’ve been told to wait for refunds.
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Last October, soon after tickets went on sale for the inaugural Canadian E-Fest race event, Alan Walrond spent $682.50 for a pair of VIP, two-day grandstand seats. Organizer said they sold 33,000 tickets for the event, which was originally scheduled for the Canada Day long weekend this year but was abruptly called off in April, less than three months before race day.
Last week, Walrond and other ticket-holders received an email from E-Fest organizers, saying: If you would like to carry your tickets over to the 2023 event — no action is required. Your tickets will automatically be carried over.”
Ticket-holders unable to attend next year’s edition will receive refunds, the email said, and “the refund process will be communicated after the announcement of the 2023 Canadian E-Fest date.”
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But, to Walrond, “that makes no sense.”
“I don’t see why I have to wait until the 2023 date is announced,” he said. “I’m upset I can’t get a refund … If you have the money, give it back to me. And what if there is no 2023 (race)?”
Other frustrated ticket-buyers also contacted Postmedia News, wanting refunds and worrying about their money. They all received the same email from E-Fest organizers stating: “We have logged your request for a refund. We will begin the refund process once the postponed date is announced this coming June.”
It would have been Vancouver’s first time hosting an event for the Formula E Championship, an electric car race series that launched in 2014 and this season was intended to include 16 races in cities around the globe. The Vancouver event was being organized and promoted by Montreal-based One Stop Strategy Group, or OSS.
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Dignitaries and officials gather around a race car after the announcement of the Canadian E-Fest program at the Douglas Hotel in Vancouver on Sept. 29, 2021.Photo by Mike Bell /PNG
No one from OSS was available for an interview Thursday but a representative sent an emailed statement to Postmedia with the same language from last week’s email to ticket-holders, saying the 2023 Canadian E-Fest “will be a spectacular event in Vancouver.”
But it doesn’t yet appear to be confirmed whether there will be a Formula E race in Vancouver next year at all.
Last week, international motorsports news outlet The Race reported: “The possibility of a Vancouver E-Prix taking place in 2023 depends upon if the promoters of the troubled event are able to give assurances that it could go ahead before the World Motorsport Council convenes next month.”
Formula E COO and deputy CEO Alberto Longo told The Race that this year’s Vancouver event’s cancellation was “very unfortunate,” saying: “It was a big failure from the promoter.”
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“The main reason was actually one of the stakeholders, which basically were going to do all the garages, we were told that the contract was signed a while ago, and it wasn’t,” Longo said.
Formula E didn’t reply to a request for comment Thursday.
In the weeks leading up to the 2022 event’s cancellation on April 22, Postmedia reported that the OSS Group had missed deadlines at city hall and hadn’t submitted key documents, including proof of insurance and signed contracts with the owners of private properties where the event was planned to take place.
Before the event’s cancellation last month, the City of Vancouver confirmed the OSS Group had paid two tranches of security deposits, totalling $500,000, but had failed to submit other documents required before an event permit would be issued.
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In response to Postmedia’s questions Thursday about the status of the deposit money and the prospect of a 2023 event, a City of Vancouver representative sent an emailed statement saying: “OSS Group has recently initiated a discussion with the city about the possibility of staging the Formula E event some time in 2023. We anticipate that OSS’s security deposit for the 2022 event will be part of this discussion.”
Mitch Evans pilots his Jaguar I-TYPE during the 2019 New York ePrix in Brooklyn with the Manhattan skyline in the background.Photo by LAT Images
In an emailed statement, B.C.’s Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor-General said the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act has refund provisions that may apply in situations where a ticketed event is cancelled.
For his part, Walrond hopes Vancouver does eventually host a Formula E race, and he would love to attend. But, he added: “People have lost confidence. If they have (the event) and I go next year, I’m buying a ticket the day of.”
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Rural Development and Local Government Minister Faris Al-Rawi. –
RURAL Development and Local Government Minister Faris Al-Rawi says TT must accept the fact that notwitstanding the lifting of most public health restrictions, it is very easy for the country to still be swamped by the covid19 virus, if people and communitities are not careful and vigilant.
He said that Government decided to cancel some of the major events associated with Pt Fortin Borough Day because there is still a risk that such events could be super-spreaders of the virus.
It was announced on the weekend that regular Borough Day activities including the popular J’ouvert celebrations will no longer be held.
Speaking with Newsday on Monday, Al-Rawi told Newsday, “this is a matter several members of Cabinet discussed. The Minister of Health, me as Local Government Minister and Ag Attorney General, together with ministers in the Office of the Prime Minister and even the Prime Minister himself.”
He said the flow of data from the Ministry of Health came with caution that with the celebration coinciding with the return of children to school, it would be better to have a readjustment.
“The last thing we want is to see TT plunge, as different parts of the world are finding themselves at present, into a restriction which are brought back because of surges of a different variant or otherwise.”
Asked why a decision was taken so late – two days after Borough Day celebrations were officially launched – and after significant preparations and investments would have been made.
“You know by now that every two weeks there is an epidemiological cycling of data. This is a constant dynamism all entities of government pay attention to, and therefore, it is not uncommon for us to have constant revision every two weeks.
“This is the fluidity of the pandemic to endemic shifting.”
While events such as J’ouvert, pan extravaganza, military parade, traditional mas and all community spotlights have been cancelled, Point Fortin Mayor Saleema Thomas did not speak about whether or not privately-managed Borough Day events will continue as planned.
Asked about this, Al-Rawi said Government is trying its best to phase out the virus where they have control.
“As you know, the regulations stand. What we the Government have control over, is what the Government has control over and nothing else.
“The issue of public and private (events) stands separate. In the mayor’s release you saw that the call was made for people to try to co-operate with the whole thing. We are urging people to remember we are still in a pandemic and to manage it.”
Ensemble Caprice with Ensemble vocal-Arts Quebec will be performing at 7:30 p.m.
NEWS RELEASE
ALGOMA CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC
*************************
Algoma Conservatory Concerts are back!
This Sunday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. in The Machine Shop
You can use your ticket from any of our events or seasons that were cancelled due to COVID-19!
If you do not have your ticket, just come to the door! You will be admitted.
From Montreal – Juno Award Winning Ensemble Caprice with Ensemble vocal-Arts Quebec – directed by Matthias Maute, with guest choir – Algoma Festival Choir – directed by Stephen Mallinger.
Sit back and enjoy this stunning chamber orchestra and choir from Montreal as well as selections combined with the Algoma Festival Choir.
