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www.petespaint.ca Vol. 10, Issue 35
PLUMBING • HEATING • HVAC SERVICES •
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
KIDS
2
By Bryan Jessop
EVERY Y E W DNESDA
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Rommy Lazcano and Matthew Denomme are dressed in Mexican festival spirit as they take in the sounds of a mariachi band from the hill at Seacliff Park.
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Traditional Mexican attire, musical sounds, and spicy cuisines filled your senses the closer you got to Seacliff Park Amphitheatre, Saturday evening, September 14. The Noche Mexicana festival ran from 4-9 p.m. and included traditional foods vendors serving tacos topped with fresh cilantro and made in traditional clay salsa pots and Concha (a Mexican bread).
Maia Sciame Jimenez and Lara Wilson Trevino swing each other around, dancing to the music of Mexican Band La Nueva Estrategia. (Southpoint Sun Photos by Deanna Bertrand)
LEAMINGTON – The days are numbered for a 58-yearold Leamington landmark. The Visitor Information Booth located at the wedgeshaped intersection of Talbot Street West and Mill Street West — known by residents and tourists alike as “The Big Tomato” — was the focal point of a report to municipal council following months of consideration regarding the structure’s future. In the report, which included the results of a study conducted by RC Spencer Associates Inc., administration recommended to council that the tomatoshaped booth be demolished in part to make way for a multi-use public space. Council approved of the recommendation, although the existing structure will not likely be dismantled until a design and size for a new, artistic replacement is selected. Administration’s recommendations also included redirecting the booth’s purpose as a tourist information centre to other outlets including permanent and mobile kiosks and redeveloped online sources. Council approved the recommendations. “The way that visitors have accessed information in recent years has changed drastically,” explained manager of economic development, tourism and special events James Cox, who described trained ambassadors as a third means of providing tourists and guests to Leamington with information on its attractions, resources and events. As part of the demolition request, it was suggested to council that a new “Big Tomato” be constructed for strictly artistic/visual purposes. Some members of council and administration expressed an interest in seeing the new tomato built at the same location as the version built in the early 1960s while others thought a new location could be ideal in order to offer the Leamington Art Centre more usable outdoor space immediately west of its building. Currently owned by the municipality and operated by the Leamington and District Chamber of Commerce, the booth has served as a distribution centre for literature on local attractions and events since its construction was completed in May of 1961. Up until this year, the Leamington Chamber of Commerce arranged for volunteer ambassadors to operate the booth. In the spring, however, the structure was deemed unsafe for ambassadors to occupy, as mould and leakage issues, which were thought to be remedied last fall, resurfaced. (Continued on Page 2)
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