More than 90 businesses in West Ferris have come together to accentuate the positive of the area and create more for residents and customers to appreciate. The slogan is: Ferris – the place to be.
The West Ferris Fun Day planned for July 15 is one of several ideas, with working committees pushing forward with event projects this fall and into next year. Watch for details of a drive-in movie night and a proposed 20-foot shadfly statue to provide a tourism photo opportunity.
Paul Meyers did a great YouTube video interview with Byron Jones, one of the organizers, explaining the whys and wherefores, including how 40 percent of North Bay’s population is south of the overpass and downtown.
Look for ‘Ferristheplacetobe’ on Facebook and .com website, local businesses and friends of Ferris are keeping in touch and making plans public. Readers may have seen the mini “sign challenge’ with businesses showing they are working together promoting a Fun Day. More than a dozen businesses are hosting events by the hour Saturday, July 15, some offering $1 hot dogs, others just a donation jar or a car wash fee as a fundraiser for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Bay and District.
As an example, Long and McQuade is holding an “instrument petting zoo” where visitors can try out an instrument, such as a saxophone, tuba, banjo or ukulele donations to Big Brothers Big Sisters 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Photo Metro is doing a passport deal, Aligned Athletics is opening with a dunk tank, Ferris Martial Arts is hosting demos and Dinner is Served is celebrating its 3rd anniversary, and Klean and Shine is hosting a $5 car wash. At 176 Lakeshore, the Nipissing Region Curatorial Collective is holding a pop-up NOVAH gallery and art sale on July 15 while Back in the Bay Magazine is hosting a $1 hot dog barbecue in the garden centre with back issues sold for $2, with all proceeds and donations to the Big Brothers Big Sisters.
See the full list of events at www.ferristheplacetobe.com
Writer, photographer and proud father. My mom's family is from the Soo with its Algoma Highlands, dad hailed from Cobden in the Ottawa Valley and I spent my teen years in Capreol. Summers were at the beach on the Vermillion River and winters at 'The Rink.' Born in East York but Toronto never was my thing. Ever since a kid looking out the window on long trips, I imagined living on the highway in a little house with a big yard and trees growing all around me.
