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Happy Saturday, Thunder Bay! The long weekend is officially on, and the forecast is finally cooperating. In today's issue: Jordan Staal is bringing the Stanley Cup home next weekend, a record July 50/50 jackpot goes to a man who bought tickets to give back, Sachigo Lake marks 50 years with $1.26 million in community investment, and William Street shuts down today for hydrant work. Plus a wild blueberry cobbler for August and everything worth doing between now and Wednesday. ☀️
In this Harbour Beat Issue…
🏒 The Stanley Cup is coming home to Thunder Bay
🎟️ A record $2.77M 50/50 jackpot — and why he bought the ticket
🪶 Sachigo Lake marks 50 years with $1.26M in investment
🚧 William Street closes today for hydrant repairs
🫐 Recipe of the Month: wild blueberry skillet cobbler
Trivia: True or false — Chewbacca's voice in Star Wars was built mostly from recordings of real animals. (Answer at the bottom!)
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Three days off and the weather finally playing along. ✅ Fort William is closed to traffic and open to everything else this weekend, Festa Italiana takes over Algoma on Sunday and Monday, and the CLE midway fires up Wednesday. (Regional fires are still burning, so a wind shift can change air quality fast — outdoor events have been cancelled before, so check with the organizer before you head out.)
Saturday, August 1
AUG 1 · South Core Roar 2026 — 10 a.m.–11 p.m., and again Sunday · 📍 Downtown Fort William, 513 Victoria Ave. E. · Free · Day one of the big one: classic cars and motorcycles, a multicultural stage, Indigenous programming, kids' crafts, vendors and live music until late · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 1 · Evil Dead: The Musical — 8:30–11 p.m. · 📍 NV Night Club, 228 Red River Rd · From $22.63 · Closing night of the splash-zone horror-comedy staged by five young local directors, with leftover proceeds going to Paws for Love · 📅 Add to Calendar
Sunday, August 2
AUG 2 · Festa Italiana — noon–11 p.m., and again Monday from 1 p.m. · 📍 Italian Cultural Centre, 132 Algoma St. S. · Free · Its 36th year: meatballs by the thousand, live music, a beer garden, and Monday's watermelon and gelato eating contests · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 2 · Family Art Days — 1–4 p.m. · 📍 Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 1080 Keewatin St · Free · Drop-in, all-ages art activities plus a wander through the current exhibitions — no experience needed · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 2 · Sundays in the Park at Chippewa — 1:30–3:30 p.m. · 📍 Chippewa Park Main Stage, 1735 City Rd · Free · Live music north of the Pavilion — bring a lawn chair and stay a while · 📅 Add to Calendar
Monday, August 3 — Civic Holiday
AUG 3 · Monday Evening Concerts at Waverley Park — 6:30–9 p.m. · 📍 Waverley Park, Waverley St · Free · An easy civic-holiday wind-down under the big trees · 📅 Add to Calendar
Wednesday, August 5
AUG 5 · Canadian Lakehead Exhibition opens — from noon, running through Sunday, Aug. 9 · 📍 CLE Grounds, 425 Northern Ave. · Opening day of the 135-year-old fair: midway rides, live entertainment, games, exhibits and far too much food on a stick · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 5 · Live on the Waterfront — 6–9 p.m. · 📍 Marina Park Festival Area, Water St · Free · The Wednesday-night waterfront concert series, with food vendors and the harbour behind the stage · 📅 Add to Calendar
✅ NO ALERTS IN EFFECT — BUT THE UV IS HIGH
Environment Canada has no warnings posted for Thunder Bay as of Friday evening. The heat has backed off, but the sun hasn't: a UV index of 7 means unprotected skin starts burning in about 20 minutes. Sunscreen, hat, shade through the middle of the day — especially if you're spending the afternoon at a festival. Latest alerts at Environment Canada.
⛅ Saturday, August 1 — Thunder Bay
25°C
Humidex 28 · Overnight low 11°C
Sun and cloud · 30% chance of afternoon showers · UV 7 (high)
A good-looking start to the long weekend. Expect a mix of sun and cloud with a 30% chance of showers in the afternoon — worth a glance at the sky before you commit to a patio, but nowhere near a washout. The high is 25°C with a humidex of 28, comfortable by recent standards, and the UV index hits 7 (high). Tonight turns partly cloudy then clears, dropping to a fresh low of 11°C — bring a layer if you're out late. And the rest of the weekend is the good stuff: sunny and 25°C Sunday, then sunny and 26°C for the civic holiday Monday. Full forecast and any new alerts at Environment Canada.
The Stanley Cup is coming home to Thunder Bay
Mark the calendar: Jordan Staal is bringing the Stanley Cup back to Thunder Bay, and he's sharing it. The Carolina Hurricanes captain will spend two hours with the public at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium on Saturday, Aug. 8, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and admission is free. Staal and the Hurricanes beat the Vegas Golden Knights in six games for the franchise's second title — and it's his second trip home with the trophy, after winning it with Pittsburgh in 2009. Mayor Ken Boshcoff called it a chance for locals to “see hockey's most iconic trophy up close.” If you want a photo with him, come early — the city is expecting a crowd. Parking will be directed to the Canada Games Complex, with accessible parking and drop-off available.
A record $2.77M jackpot — and why he bought the ticket
Bhavya Faldu wasn't playing to get rich. He moved to Thunder Bay in 2019 for school, and started buying Thunder Bay 50/50 tickets as a way to give something back to the city that took him in. On Friday that habit turned into $2,772,840 — the largest July grand prize in the lottery's history, and the biggest outside the three December holiday draws. “I've been so grateful for the opportunities Thunder Bay has given me,” he said. Foundation CEO Glenn Craig, who made the call, said Faldu was in complete shock: “There's no better way to kick off a long weekend.” Faldu, who recently bought a home, plans to help his sister buy one too and support his parents. The draw has now paid out more than $106 million, with proceeds funding equipment at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. The August draw is already open.
Sachigo Lake marks 50 years with $1.26M in investment
Thursday was a big day in Sachigo Lake First Nation: 50 years as an independent First Nation, marked with bands from across the country, a barbeque, free t-shirts — and more than $1.26 million delivered back to the community. North Star Air returned $853,978 in revenue to one of its Indigenous partners, Windigo Community Development Corporation contributed $404,841, and Northmart added $10,000. Chief Robert Beardy, who grew up there “when it was just bush trails,” says the plan is to build on it: “As a community, we grew and our young people, they're going to take over.” North Star Air VP Tom Meilleur has now been to the community's 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th and 50th anniversaries, and says the company has returned roughly $2 million to Sachigo Lake over the years.
William Street closes today for hydrant repairs
Heads up if you're driving through the William and Balmoral area today. Crews are doing a scheduled hydrant repair, and road and sidewalk closures start at 7 a.m. Saturday, staying in place through the day with work expected to wrap in the evening. William Street is closed between Barton and Roland, plus on both sides of Balmoral. Both turning lanes on Balmoral are closed, leaving northbound and southbound through traffic only — and the city warns the traffic signals at the intersection may be temporarily disconnected for safety. Some nearby sidewalks are closed too. Follow the signage, watch for crews, and give yourself a few extra minutes. Separately, residents along Oliver Road may see low water pressure over the next two weeks during infrastructure work, with some temporary discolouration once service is restored.
Recipe of the Month: Wild Blueberry Skillet Cobbler
August is wild blueberry season in Northwestern Ontario, and nothing shows them off like a cast-iron cobbler — a jammy berry base under a golden buttermilk biscuit top. One pan, forty minutes in the oven, best eaten warm on the deck while the sun goes down.
Ingredients
4 cups wild blueberries (fresh or frozen)
⅓ cup sugar, plus 2 tbsp for the topping
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp lemon juice
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
⅓ cup cold butter, cubed
¾ cup buttermilk
Steps
Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
Toss the berries with ⅓ cup sugar, the cornstarch and the lemon juice, then spread them in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or baking dish.
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Cut in the cold butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
Stir in the buttermilk just until a shaggy dough comes together — don't overmix.
Drop spoonfuls of dough over the berries, leaving gaps for steam to escape. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tbsp sugar.
Bake 35–40 minutes, until the topping is golden and the fruit is bubbling at the edges.
Let it sit 15 minutes before serving. Vanilla ice cream is not optional.
Tip: wild blueberries are smaller and far more intense than the cultivated kind, so resist the urge to add extra sugar — let them do the talking.
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Meme of the Day
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Trivia answer: True. Sound designer Ben Burtt built the Wookiee's growl by blending recordings of bears, walruses, badgers and lions — a black bear named Tarik at Happy Hollow Zoo in San Jose did most of the heavy lifting. Burtt sorted the clips by emotion rather than by animal, then cut and rearranged them into something that sounds like speech.