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Good morning, Thunder Bay — and welcome to issue one hundred and sixty-four. Mainly cloudy with a high of 5°C, a chance of showers or flurries and a gusty north wind. It's Wednesday, November 11, Remembrance Day. In today's issue: the library strike is over, Cumberland Street reopens with a new four-way stop, Costco gets its building permits, and the city wants to know how you see Thunder Bay. Plus where to mark Remembrance Day this morning and family picks for the weekend.
In this Harbour Beat Issue…
Trivia: The “Fosbury Flop,” going over the bar backwards and head first, took over which Olympic event after Dick Fosbury won gold with it in 1968 — high jump, pole vault, or long jump? (Answer at the bottom!)
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Thunder Bay Events
Here's what's on from today through Sunday, from the City's community events calendar and Your Thunder Bay. Remembrance Day comes first: three main ceremonies are planned this morning.
Wednesday, November 11 — Remembrance Day
NOV 11 · Remembrance Day Service at Waverley Park — 9:30 a.m. to noon; March on the Colours at 10:20 a.m. · 📍 Waverley Park cenotaph, Waverley St. · The north-side ceremony honouring veterans of the world wars, Korea, peacekeeping missions and Afghanistan. · 📅 Add to Calendar
NOV 11 · Remembrance Day Ceremony on Anemki Wajiw — 10 a.m. · 📍 Cenotaph, Anemki Wajiw (Mount McKay) · Fort William First Nation's annual ceremony, followed by a community luncheon. · 📅 Add to Calendar
NOV 11 · Remembrance Day Services at Fort William Gardens — 10:30 a.m., please be seated by 10:30 · 📍 Fort William Gardens · The south-side ceremony with the Slovak Legion, the Thunder Bay Community Band and the Thunder Bay Police Pipes and Drums. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Thursday, November 12
NOV 12 · Niizh — Magnus Theatre opening night — 7:30 p.m. (runs Nov. 12 to 28), reserved seating · 📍 Magnus Theatre, 10 Algoma St. S. · Joelle Peters' romantic comedy about a young woman preparing to leave her reserve for college. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Friday, November 13
NOV 13 · Tails of Hope Gala for the OSPCA Northwest Animal Centre — 6 p.m. onward, tickets $110 · 📍 venue and tickets on the event page · The inaugural gala supporting the Ontario SPCA's Northwest Animal Centre. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Saturday, November 14
NOV 14 · Artisans Northwest Art and Fine Craft Show — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday · 📍 Superior Inn and Conference Centre · More than 40 local and regional artisans at the 51st annual show, with woodworking, soapstone, glasswork and fine art prints. · 📅 Add to Calendar
NOV 14 · Christmas Dessert Tea and Bazaar — 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., $8 · 📍 Lakeview Presbyterian Church, 278 Camelot St. · Specialty desserts with tea and coffee, plus a bake table and crafts. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Sunday, November 15
NOV 15 · St. Elizabeth's Church 2 Bit Auction — 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., doors at noon; $8 in advance, $10 at the door · 📍 766 Sprague St. · The church's annual fundraiser auction, with prizes and refreshments. · 📅 Add to Calendar
📌 Also happening
Wed 7 p.m. · Westfort Prosvita Catch the Ace · Westfort Prosvita
Thu 2 p.m. · Spaghetti Takeout (Thursdays and Fridays to Dec. 11) · Columbus Centre, 301 May St. S.
Thu 8 p.m. · Open Mic Comedy · Campfire Comedy, 117 Cumberland St. N.
Fri 8 p.m. · Bar Polonia Friday Live Music · Bar Polonia
Sat 10 a.m. · Community Volunteer Fair · location on the event page
Sat 9 p.m. · The Cover Show XXXIV Encore · Black Pirates Pub, 215 Red River Rd.
Sun 10 a.m. · Hilldale Lutheran Church 30th Anniversary · 321 Hilldale Rd.
💬 Over to you, Thunder Bay: Good Neighbour
Who's the grown-up on your street who clears the sidewalk before you're up, shares the garden haul or checks in on everyone when the weather turns? Just hit reply with their first name, your part of town and a line about what they do. With their OK, we'll share a few in an upcoming issue.
✅ NO WEATHER ALERTS IN EFFECT
Environment Canada has no alerts in effect for Thunder Bay. Watch for a risk of freezing drizzle early this morning before a gusty north wind moves in.
🌨️ Wednesday, November 11 — Thunder Bay
5°C
Overnight low −3°C
Mainly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of rain showers or flurries, and a risk of freezing drizzle early in the morning. The wind becomes north 20 km/h gusting to 40 this morning. Tonight stays mainly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of flurries and a wind chill near −9.
Thursday is cloudy and 1°C with a low of −6°C, and Friday is a mix of sun and cloud at 2°C, dropping to −7°C overnight. The weekend brings a mix of sun and cloud with highs of 4°C on both Saturday and Sunday. Forecast from Environment Canada.
The library strike is over, and three branches return to regular hours Thursday
Thunder Bay Public Library workers in CUPE locals 3120 and 87-18 voted 100 per cent on Tuesday to accept a new four-year agreement, ending a strike that kept about 70 staff on the picket line for 26 days. The union says proposed concessions on benefits, vacation and sick time came off the table, and the library board has also ratified the deal. Mary J.L. Black, County Park and Brodie libraries resume normal hours on Thursday, while Waverley stays closed as it gets ready for its renovation. Book lending carried on during the strike, but programs and community partnerships will take a few days to ramp back up; the library expects full service by next week.
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Cumberland Street reopens, with a four-way stop where the lights used to be at Park Avenue
The city says the Cumberland Street Renewal project has wrapped up for the 2026 season and the street is open to traffic again. The work added pedestrian bump-outs at intersections, extra patio space for businesses and new line painting, and replaced aging pipes underground. The traffic signals at Cumberland and Park Avenue are gone, replaced by a four-way stop. The last phases, from Red River Road to Tupper Street, plus top-lift paving and landscaping, are scheduled for 2027. If you drive through the north core, plan to come to a full stop at Cumberland and Park now that the lights are gone.
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Costco's building permits are approved, with an opening targeted for summer 2027
The city's building services division has issued the permit for Costco's 160,000-square-foot warehouse at 1075 Central Ave., at Golf Links Road, with the building valued at about $32 million. A separate permit, worth just over $1 million, covers the gas bar at 1077 Central Ave. It will be the company's first warehouse between Sudbury and Winnipeg. Thousands of tons of gravel are already down on the site, but officials say foundation work won't start until spring. Don't expect much to change on the site this winter; the real building work starts in spring, and Costco's fast-build process could have the store open by summer 2027.
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The city wants to know how you see Thunder Bay
The City of Thunder Bay and the Community Economic Development Commission have opened a public perception survey, the first of its kind here, to help build a new "place brand" for marketing the city. CEDC CEO Jamie Taylor says the goal is to understand how people view Thunder Bay so everyone can talk about the city the same way, and focus groups with community, business and tourism groups will feed in too. The survey opened Nov. 9 and runs until Dec. 7, so there are about four weeks to have your say.
🗳️ Your call: If Thunder Bay's new brand could lead with one thing, what should it be?
The city wants to know how you see Thunder Bay. What should our brand lead with?
🧒 WEEKEND WITH THE KIDS
A few family picks for Friday to Sunday, plus the Artisans Northwest craft show in Events above.
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile JR. — The Badanai Young Company's musical about a crocodile who loves to sing. Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., Badanai Theatre, 499 Dewe Ave., $20. Details →
Sunday public skate at Neebing Arena — 1:15 to 2:45 p.m. The family rate is $16.75, or $5.75 for kids 14 and under. CSA-approved hockey or speed-skating helmets are mandatory for everyone, and kids under 12 need a skater 16 or older with them. Skate schedule →
Star Wars with the symphony — The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra plays John Williams' music from the first six Star Wars films on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Community Auditorium. Tickets start at $72, so it's a splurge, but a big night for young fans. Details →
A free library stop is back on — With the strike over, Mary J.L. Black, County Park and Brodie libraries are back to regular hours from Thursday, so a weekend visit for a stack of picture books is free again. Read more →
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Trivia answer: High jump. American Dick Fosbury won Olympic gold at the 1968 Mexico City Games with his backwards, head-first technique, and within a few years it became the standard style in the event.
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