At city council, Bill Kennedy holds one of the plaques being mounted in the city centre by the Hastings County Historical Society, June 12, 2017 (Photo: Mary Thomas/ Quinte News)
This is the year Belleville marks its 200th birthday and the Hastings County Historical Society is planning to mark the milestone.
The Society will install five commemorative plaques for the downtown over the summer.
President Richard Hughes told city council Monday night the first one will be for the former Firehall #2 building which is now Chilango’s restaurant in the city centre.
It will be installed in a ceremony at the site, at 2 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon.
Others will be installed at various times:
At the Belleville Club to mark the old Pinnacle Street railway which lasted until the 1960s
At the site of the Great Belleville Floods in the downtown
At the site of the former Mrs Simpson’s Tavern on the corner of Dundas and Front (the building is long gone)
At the law office at Bridge and Church Streets, the site of the Griffin Opera House
Celebrating Canada 150 and more
Members of Queen Victoria Elementary School Junior Choir perform “A Place to Stand” an Ontario 150 song, at Belleville city council June 12, 2017 (Photo: Mary Thomas/Quinte News)
Belleville will be celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday, Belleville’s 200th birthday and Waterfront Festival in a “bookend” week of celebrations.
Dwane Barratt of the Canada Day committee told city council Monday night the $150,000 Canada Day celebration will feature three days of events, beginning with a free outdoor movie, Lego Batman, on the opening Thursday night.
Mark Rashotte of Empire Productions told council the main stage will be an Empire Theatre production with a long lineup of acts, including the Canadian band Trooper.
Council paid tribute to Barratt’s 25 years on the Canada Day Committee.
Executive Director of Belleville Chamber of Commerce Jill Raycroft outlined the four days of the Waterfront Festival, which follows Canada Day, beginning July 6.
An outline of both events can be found on their websites:
http://www.bellevillecanadaday.com/
http://www.bellevillewaterfrontfestival.com/
