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Happy Saturday, Thunder Bay! Mainly cloudy with a 60 per cent chance of afternoon showers and a high of 21°C — worth tucking a light jacket in the bag before the street fair. In today's issue: the Murillo Fair opens its 136th year with a barn full of wildfire evacuees, police defend an officer's use of force after a bystander video spread online, the owners of Centerfolds say the building survived, and 829 people across the northwest are still waiting to go home. Plus something new — the first Harbour Beat Real Estate Snapshot. 🎪
In this Harbour Beat Issue…
Trivia: In 1816 a French doctor, too embarrassed to press his ear against a patient's chest, rolled up a sheet of paper and listened through that instead — which everyday medical instrument grew out of that moment? (Answer at the bottom!)
Carry Something Different
Backpacks.
Luggage.
Slides.
Apparel.
Accessories.
Sprayground has everything you need to make this summer unforgettable.
Thunder Bay Events
A street fair, two festivals on the same waterfront lawn, a Japanese summer festival and the last Live on the Waterfront of the season. ✅ Outdoor events can still shift on short notice — confirm with the organizer before you head out, especially with showers in Saturday's forecast.
Saturday, August 15
AUG 15 · Westfort Street Fair — 9 a.m.–5 p.m. · 📍 Frederica St., Westfort · Free · The neighbourhood's longstanding street party: local vendors, artists, musicians, street food, beer gardens and food contests take over Frederica for the day · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 15 · Festival of India — 3–8 p.m., chariot parade sets out at 1 p.m. from the Waverley Resource Library · 📍 Marina Park, Water St. · Free, including a vegetarian dinner · Postponed from earlier this month because of the smoke: an 18-foot Jagannath chariot, live music and dance, henna, yoga and family activities · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 15 · Summer Matsuri — 4:30–9:30 p.m. · 📍 West Thunder Community Centre · Free, rain or shine · The Lakehead Japanese Cultural Association's fourth annual festival: taiko drumming, kimono dressing, martial arts demos and a Japanese and Asian food market · 📅 Add to Calendar
Sunday, August 16
AUG 16 · Sundays in the Park: Brother John — 1:30–3:30 p.m. · 📍 Chippewa Park Main Stage, 1735 City Rd. · Free · Free live music north of the Pavilion — bring a lawn chair · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 16 · Festival of Colours — from 3 p.m. · 📍 Marina Park, Water St. · Colour throws, interactive dances, live kirtan bands, DJs and food — wear white, and do not expect it to stay white · 📅 Add to Calendar
Monday, August 17
AUG 17 · Monday Evening Concerts at Waverley Park — 6:30–9 p.m. · 📍 Waverley Park, Waverley St. · The Coalition for Waverley Park's summer concert night, with one more to come on Aug. 24 · 📅 Add to Calendar
Tuesday, August 18
AUG 18 · Tai Chi in the Park — 7–8 p.m. · 📍 Tai Chi Pad, Marina Park · Free · An hour of open-air tai chi on the waterfront, all welcome and no experience needed · 📅 Add to Calendar
Wednesday, August 19
AUG 19 · Live on the Waterfront — season finale — 6–9 p.m. · 📍 Marina Park Festival Area, Water St. · Free · The last Wednesday of the summer series, which has run every week since July 15 · 📅 Add to Calendar
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✅ NO WEATHER ALERTS IN EFFECT
Environment Canada had no watches or warnings posted for Thunder Bay as of Friday evening. Fire restrictions across the Northwest still change day to day — check the province's Restricted Fire Zone rules and your municipality's own ban before you light anything outdoors. Latest alerts at Environment Canada.
🌧️ Saturday, August 15 — Thunder Bay
21°C
Overnight low 13°C
Mainly cloudy · 60% chance of afternoon showers · UV 7 (high)
A softer day than Friday, and a wetter one. Mainly cloudy through the morning with a 60 per cent chance of showers in the afternoon and a high of 21°C — so the Westfort Street Fair should stay dry for its first few hours, and the Marina festivals are the ones to keep an eye on. Even under cloud the UV index hits 7 (high), so sunscreen still earns its keep. Showers overnight and a low of 13°C. Sunday warms up to 24°C with sun and cloud and another 60 per cent chance of showers, then Monday is the pick of the stretch — sunny and 25°C. Full forecast and any new alerts at Environment Canada.
The Murillo Fair's newest residents came off the fire lines
The Murillo Fair opened Friday for its 136th year, and this time some of the animals in the barns are not there for the ribbons. The Oliver Agricultural Society has spent the summer helping care for livestock evacuated from the wildfires, and some of those animals are still at the fairgrounds — visitors can meet them this weekend. “It's been a ton of work, and we're happy to have the community who has been donating and supporting us through this whole journey to come and see our special roommates,” society president Lindsey Kosolowski said. The rest of the weekend runs as it has since 1890: barrel racing in the horse arena, lawn mower racing, pies and baked goods in the exhibition hall, and the Zipper back on the midway by popular demand. Saturday 10 a.m.–10 p.m., Sunday from 10 a.m., rides from noon. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for seniors 55+ and kids 5–18, free under five.
Police defend an officer's use of force after a bystander video spreads
A 40-second video posted to social media Thursday afternoon — showing an officer on his back in the reeds near the Neebing-McIntyre Floodway, grappling with two people — brought acting police chief Jeremy Pearson to a press conference Friday to defend how his officers handled it. Police say the call came in around 4 p.m. Aug. 13 about a robbery at a Thunder Centre retailer; a lone officer approached the suspect near the floodway and “was assaulted while attempting to make a lawful arrest,” Pearson said. The struggle lasted about three minutes before backup arrived. Pearson alleged bystanders used “disturbing language” encouraging others to join in — that is not audible in the 40 seconds captured. A stun gun and physical force were used; the accused was medically cleared at the hospital. Tyson Fiddler, 32, faces charges including robbery, assaulting police and resisting arrest and was held in custody; a second person was charged with obstructing police. Body camera footage has gone to the court as evidence.
“The bar survived” — Centerfolds plans to rebuild
Four days after fire tore through Centerfolds Showbar on Memorial Avenue in the early hours of Monday morning, the owners say the damage is not as bad as it first looked and they intend to reopen. In a post to the club's Facebook page they said the fire “ripped through the main stage area” and did serious damage to the public space, but the structure itself and most of the staff-only areas came through untouched. “The bar survived,” the post read. “We don't mean to brag, but we can't be taken down that easily.” Clean-up has already started. No reopening date yet — just a promise to keep people posted on the renovations.
2,000 evacuees are home. 829 are still waiting.
About 2,000 people have made it home since the mid-July surge in wildfire activity, but as of Friday roughly 829 remain displaced across northwestern Ontario, per the province's Ministry of Emergency Preparedness and Response. Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (Gull Bay First Nation) lifted its state of emergency Wednesday and has nearly all its members back — Chief Wilfred King flew over the area Tuesday and found hot spots but no big fires. “Nobody was injured, no property was damaged, so we're quite happy with the end result,” he said, while still pressing for a public inquiry into the province's response. Just under 140 fires are burning in Ontario, most in the northwest; Thunder Bay 36 remains the largest in the province at more than 301,000 hectares and not under control. Highway 527 between Kopka River and Armstrong is still closed both ways. About 60 firefighters from Mexico were due to arrive to join the Rinker Lake crews. King's reminder: fire season does not end until Oct. 31.
🏡 Harbour Beat Real Estate Snapshot
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New feature, starting today: every second Saturday we will take the local housing numbers and put them in plain language. July's story is a quiet one — sales were flat against June, prices set another record, and for the first time in nearly two years there are more than 600 homes on the market to choose from.
By the numbers — single-detached homes, City of Thunder Bay (July 2026):
💵 Median price: $420,000 — up 2.2% from July 2025
🏠 Homes sold: 113 — down 16.3% year-over-year, but essentially bang on the five-year average for July
⏱️ Median days on market: 17 — up from 15 a year ago
📈 Total value of sales: $52.4 million — down 9.3% from July 2025
What it means: Board president Karen Hill calls it “a remarkably steady month” — activity was virtually unchanged from June and right about where a normal July lands. The number that stands out is inventory: active listings climbed above 600 homes for the first time since September 2024, back in line with the five-year average, which means buyers have more to look at than they have in a long while. Prices have not blinked — the average sale price has now held above $400K for four straight months, something the board says has never happened before. Homes are taking two days longer to sell than they did last summer.
Source: Thunder Bay Real Estate Board via CREA, July 2026 MLS® data. Informational market snapshot only — not financial advice.
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Trivia answer: The stethoscope. René Laennec's rolled-up paper tube worked so well he built a wooden cylinder version, published his findings in 1819, and gave doctors a way to listen inside the body that has barely been improved on in principle since.
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