By Martha Aitkin, Bruce Peninsula Press
The Chi Cheemaun festival kicked off on June 10th, with “Scrub the Tub”. 49 volunteers on the ground gathered litter around the village and 8 scuba divers collected garbage from the waters of Little Tub Harbour. Other volunteers were on location to assist the tub-scrubbers by providing bright yellow t-shirts, garbage bags, gloves and litter grabbers, as well as keeping a watchful eye on the divers. The underwater teams hauled out lots of plastic, a few broken glass bottles and some other “treasures” including rusty fishing lures and one or two pieces of the wagons used to haul the scuba gear. On the ground, the most picked up item was cigarette butts! A total of 20 large garbage bags were filled before the celebratory gathering for free pizza got underway at the Crowsnest.
The Fashion Show, featuring Mementos of Tobermory, The Blue Heron Shops, also of Tobermory, and The Shops at 84 Main in Lion’s Head took place at the Tobermory Community Centre on June 12th. The local models showcased the best that these shops have to offer, from sporty beach and campfire clothing to dressy casual summer wear to gorgeous classical evening wear, including shoes, hats and other accessories to an admiring audience of at least 50 people. DJ Maxx provided the lights and music for this lovely fashion show while Olivia Saldua provided the fashion show commentary. The tables were beautifully decorated and included delightfully arranged yummy snacks. The cash bar added to the joy of the evening. Tobermory Primary Place was on hand to help with the show and raise some money.
There were lots of hungry people lining up on Saturday morning for the lively Pancake Breakfast hosted by the Tobermory Health Services Auxiliary. Breakfast included stacks of pancakes, of course, plus sausage, bacon, plenty of coffee and REAL Maple Syrup. Yum!
The children’s programming for the fun-filled weekend included The Minecraft Movie on Friday night. This was originally planned as an outdoor event, but moved indoors due to the rain. Saturday’s children’s programming included some Virtual Reality (VR) gaming and the awesome “Touch a Truck” event, which was enjoyed by children of all ages. An animal display from Hands On Exotics featuring a parrot, rabbits, a chinchilla and even a 7-foot boa constrictor was part of Sunday’s programming. “One of the primary objectives of this fun weekend of activities is fundraising for the Tobermory Primary Place Daycare,” reported Councillor Aman Sohrab, “so it’s nice to be able to provide a fun weekend of activities for the children.”
The Northern Bruce Peninsula Fire Department (NBPFD) and Parks Canada set up beautiful and interactive displays alongside Little Tub Harbour on Saturday, while just up the hill, the Friends of Tobermory Public Library sold used books by donation. Tobermory Foodbank volunteers had a hot dog stand in the Harbour area from 11 am to 3 pm, during which time the Cardboard Boat Races took place in front of a large and excited crowd.
In the early evening on Saturday, people gathered on the Ferry dock to board the Chi Cheemaun for the Dinner Cruise and Silent Auction. The cruise along the shoreline was beautiful, and the dinner was delicious. As the Chi Cheemaun was making her way into the harbour at nightfall, her passengers, along with a crowd of people on the dock, enjoyed the big bangs of a fantastic fireworks display from BS Fireworks.
On Sunday morning, a quieter gathering took place at Tobermory United Church, where all four of Tobermory’s churches celebrated together for the annual ecumenical Chi Cheemaun Sunday service and a blessing of all the boats of Tobermory for a safe and prosperous season. The crowd at the church enjoyed the beautiful harmonies sung by the choir called The Ladies of Note. This choir of 15 women, under the direction of Vicki Corcoran, comes from the Lion’s Head area.
Tobermory Primary Place Daycare staff and volunteers kept a food booth open alongside the Beer Garden and overlooking the JP Johnstone Slo-Pitch Baseball Tournament from Friday evening in the cold rain and through two beautiful sunny weekend days until Sunday at 5pm. A total of 14 teams in 4 divisions were represented in this year’s tournament. The Kings were the winning team in the Export Division and took home the trophy. Miller Wasted won in the Canadian Division. Bucked Up took the win in the Coors Division, and Gibby’s were the winners in the Ultra Division. This event wrapped up the very successful 2025 Chi Cheemaun Festival.
Councillor Sohrab and staff person Madie Barker were successful with some grant applications, which helped to pay for the extra programming as well as a bigger and better fireworks display. Many thanks to Aman Sohrab, Riley Bennet, Jim Mosiuk, Will Francis, Smokey Golden, Bob Stewart and Megan Elliot for putting this great festival together. Thanks also for the many donations from the community members and businesses, as well as the many hours of volunteer work that went into making the event the success that it was.
