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Happy Thursday, Thunder Bay! Sunny, 27°C, humidex 32 — the warmest day of the week, and the CLE midway is open from noon. In today's issue: a First Nations group adds a second Thunder Bay hotel, the Canada Games Complex books a three-week pool shutdown for September, Science North's waterfront build loses its timeline, and the MNR says pilots keep flying into restricted airspace over the fires. ☀️
In this Harbour Beat Issue…
🏨 A First Nations group buys a second Thunder Bay hotel
🏊 The Complex pool closes for three weeks in September
🔬 Science North's waterfront build has no new start date
🚁 Pilots keep flying into restricted airspace over the fires
🥖 Local Business Spotlight: Maltese Grocery
Trivia: How many individual squares are on a standard Scrabble board? (Answer at the bottom!)
The last home game of the Border Cats season, the Stanley Cup on a table at the Auditorium, and four more days of midway. ✅ The city's fire ban and the province's Restricted Fire Zone for the Northwest Region are both still in effect — no open fires, no fireworks, no backyard campfires. Showers move in Friday through the weekend, so check with the organizer before you head out to anything outdoors.
Thursday, August 6
AUG 6 · Canadian Lakehead Exhibition — from noon, daily through Sunday, Aug. 9 · 📍 CLE Grounds, 425 Northern Ave. · Day two of the 136th CLE: 40 rides, about 30 games, a dozen food trailers, live entertainment and the agricultural exhibits the whole thing started with · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 6 · Border Cats vs. Rochester Honkers — final home game — 7:05 p.m. · 📍 Port Arthur Stadium, 425 Winnipeg Ave. · The last home date of the Border Cats' 2026 Northwoods League season; the club finishes on the road in Duluth over the weekend · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 6 · FIRE AID! Wildfire Relief Concert — doors 7:30 p.m., music from 8 p.m. · 📍 Black Pirates Pub, 215 Red River Rd. · $10 nightly · All-ages opening night of a three-night benefit for families and First Nations hit by this summer's fires; Friday and Saturday are 19+ with doors at 9 · 📅 Add to Calendar
Friday, August 7
AUG 7 · North Shore Dog Club shows — 9 a.m.–4 p.m., daily through Sunday · 📍 Chippewa Park, 1735 City Rd. · Free for spectators · All-breed conformation shows with pet-supply vendors and food trucks; junior handling Saturday and an eye clinic Saturday and Sunday · 📅 Add to Calendar
Saturday, August 8
AUG 8 · Jordan Staal and the Stanley Cup — 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., doors at 10 · 📍 Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, 450 Beverly St. · Free · The Carolina captain brings the Cup home for a public showing; parking is directed to the Canada Games Complex and organizers expect a crowd, so come early for photos · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 8 · Zulu Challenge Thunder Bay — 10 a.m.–4 p.m. · 📍 Boulevard Lake, Lyon Blvd. W. · Registration required · A tethered obstacle course with a 5 km adult route, shorter kid categories from age 3 up, and a 5 km K9 course for dogs in a harness and hands-free leash · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 8 · Fat Guys Auto Parts Annual Car Show — 11 a.m.–4 p.m. · 📍 333 Memorial Ave. · A show they've been running since 2012: cars, bikes, food and a lot of hoods up · 📅 Add to Calendar
Sunday, August 9
AUG 9 · Sundays in the Park Concert Series — 1:30–3:30 p.m. · 📍 Chippewa Park Main Stage, 1735 City Rd. · Free · Free live music north of the Pavilion, put on by the Friends of Chippewa Park. Bring a lawn chair · 📅 Add to Calendar
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✅ NO WEATHER ALERTS — BUT THE FIRE BAN IS STILL ON
Environment Canada had no warnings posted for Thunder Bay as of Wednesday evening. The city's fire ban and the province's Restricted Fire Zone for the Northwest Region both remain in effect: no open-air burning, no backyard campfires, no fireworks, and all fire permits stay suspended. Propane fire tables, pizza ovens and barbecues are still allowed. Latest alerts at Environment Canada.
☀️ Thursday, August 6 — Thunder Bay
27°C
Feels like 32 · Overnight low 19°C
Sunny all day · UV 7 (high) · Southwest wind 30 km/h gusting to 50 from late morning
The warmest day of the week, and the last dry one for a while. Sunny right through, with a high of 27°C and a humidex of 32 — so it will feel closer to the low thirties by mid-afternoon. The wind picks up late in the morning, southwest at 30 km/h gusting to 50, which is enough to move patio umbrellas and midway signage around. UV index 7 (high): sunscreen, a hat and some shade if the fairgrounds are your whole day. It stays warm overnight at a low of 19°C, with a 30 per cent chance of evening showers and a small risk of a thunderstorm. Friday through Sunday all sit near 23–24°C with 30–40 per cent chances of showers. Full forecast and any new alerts at Environment Canada.
A First Nations group buys a second Thunder Bay hotel
The HT Group — a company controlled by a partnership of eight northern First Nations — has closed on the purchase of the Best Western Crossroads on Arthur Street West. It already owns the Best Western Plus Nor'Wester on Highway 61, and the announcement went out Wednesday. “It's amazing. It's a really big step,” said Erin Moore, vice-president of business development. “First Nation communities are a little bit behind on economic development, and our group is all about bringing nations together to further their footprint in business in Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario.” The partners are Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Sachigo Lake, Wapekeka, Nibinamik, Kingfisher Lake, Kasabonika Lake, Muskrat Dam and Poplar Hill. Moore says more acquisitions are likely.
The Complex pool closes for three weeks in September
Mark the calendar if the Canada Games Complex is part of your routine. The pool, hot tub, saunas and track close completely from Sept. 7 to Sept. 28 for annual maintenance, community services commissioner Kelly Robertson told Newswatch. Crews will drain the pool, repair grout and change-room drains, replace doors and lockers, add lighting around the pool and track, and do some painting. The cardio area closes too but reopens Sept. 15; squash courts, the main-floor fitness area and the second-floor Ontario room stay open throughout. Members who want a pool in the meantime can use Churchill or Volunteer. “This is work that we do every year to try to sustain the life of the facility,” Robertson said. Everything reopens Sept. 29.
Science North's waterfront build has no new start date
The $80-million Science North centre planned for Marina Park was supposed to break ground in spring 2027. That target is gone, and no one has replaced it. Science North declined to give Newswatch a progress report, saying only that “there are no updates to share regarding the project at this time.” City councillors say they are learning about the delay the same way everyone else is. “Their next step is the development process which involves funding, and they need to get their ducks in order,” said Coun. Trevor Giertuga, noting the city has endorsed the site and a letter of intent but committed no money. Coun. Kasey Etreni called it “a shame,” while stressing it is not a City of Thunder Bay project. It is the second waterfront build to stall this summer — the Art Gallery paused its own $75-million project in June.
Pilots keep flying into restricted airspace over the fires
The Ministry of Natural Resources says several aircraft have flown into restricted airspace over the fires north of the city in the past few days — airspace that is closed to everything but fire suppression aircraft up to 3,000 feet. In a post Tuesday the ministry said some pilots are contravening Canadian aviation regulations and the official NOTAM safety notice covering the Rinker Lake complex, where Thunder Bay 36 and Dryden 34 and 35 are still burning across roughly 383,000 hectares. There is some good news underneath it: Monday night's rain cut fire behaviour enough that crews made real progress patrolling hotspots, consolidating hoselines and building helicopter pads. Resources on the complex include 15 crews from Ontario and Alberta and two 20-person crews from Mexico.
Local Business Spotlight
Featured Grocer: Maltese Grocery
Some Thunder Bay businesses you visit. This one a lot of families have simply always gone to. Maltese Grocery has been at the corner of Pearl and Algoma for over 85 years, and it is now run by the fourth generation of the same family — with a fifth already working weekends and summers behind the counter.
It started in 1931, when Dave and Lisa Maltese's grandparents, Papa John and Angelina, opened a storefront in a house on the corner, with a fruit stand out front and an ice wagon Papa John drove around town. The family lived above the shop. The store passed to their sons Rocky and John, and John's wife Nina; today it's owned by Dave and Lisa Maltese, who both started working here as kids. Lisa still remembers hauling a little red wagon down to the lumberyard for sawdust for the floor — twice a day, every five days, at the age of eight.
Highlights
The meat counter. Dave has been butchering since he was about twelve and still runs the department himself, cutting meat and making sausages — and he teaches sausage-making courses to pass the craft along.
Local and imported. Lisa handles the front of the store and the ordering, and her taste for unusual food shows up on the shelves: local products alongside imported staples you won't find in a chain aisle.
Daily lunch specials. A rotating weekday counter menu — beef on a bun Monday and Thursday, sliced pork Tuesday, sausage in sauce Wednesday, pulled pork Friday.
Catering. Full catering menu with an online order form, plus online meat and grocery ordering.
The feel of the place
A proper neighbourhood grocery: a butcher who knows your order, staff who have been there for years, and a building that got a major expansion in 2016 that nearly doubled its size and made the whole store accessible. Free parking, takeout and transit access, in the middle of the Bay and Algoma district.
Location & Contact
📍 301 Pearl St., Thunder Bay
📞 (807) 344-5911 or (807) 345-8886
📸 @maltesegrocery on Instagram
Hours
Monday to Saturday · 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Sunday · 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Final slice
Four generations, one corner, and a sausage recipe that has outlasted most of the buildings around it. If the weekend menu isn't planned yet, start here.
Meme of the Day
Brought to you by Harbour Beat
What's faster than word of mouth? The Harbour Beat Spotlight! Keeps you updated on what's going on locally and connects businesses to our vibrant community.
Trivia answer: 225. The standard Scrabble board is a 15-by-15 grid, which works out to 225 squares — 164 plain ones and 61 premium letter- and word-score spaces.