So, you’re coming to visit us for the weekend, and you have a jam packed day schedule, but you find yourself wondering… “Hmmm… what will we do in the evening?”. Well do I have the perfect line up for you. Many people think that once 5:00 pm hits, that everything closes its doors around here and you are left to entertain yourselves, but this could not be any more wrong. Come and find out our favourite things to do after 5:00 pm in the Heart of Georgian Bay.
Enjoying an evening in North Simcoe could mean many different things for many different people. So for those of you that enjoy taking in picturesque moments while enjoying a fabulous meal, the most obvious choice for you would be a dinner cruise aboard the Miss Midland 30,00 Island Cruise. Through the months of July and August these cruises are offered every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. The ship departs from Midland Harbour at 5:00 pm and returns at 7:00 pm with full bellies and many pictures of beautiful Georgian Bay. While on board you will also be treated with live music, as they offer this on all of their meal cruises. Reservations are required for dinner cruises, as you can imagine how popular this wonderful experience is.
Maybe live theatre is more your style. Lucky for you, Drayton Entertainment offers great shows at the King’s Wharf Theatre through the months of June, July and August. The King’s Wharf Theatre is nestled into the historic buildings of Discovery Harbour, on the gorgeous shores of Georgian Bay. This season the upcoming shows are; Glory, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and Shear Madness. Tickets are available online for all of their upcoming shows.
Balm Beach is a busy place during the day, but after 5:00 pm the fun does not stop. Beginning with the Georgian Grill and Arcade, you can enjoy one of their delicious burgers and then challenge someone to a game of Ski-Ball or Pinball, whichever you fancy. After you have destroyed your opponent, you can then make it a double-or-nothing bet just up the road and race them at Balm Beach Go-Karts and Mini Putt. The fun does not stop at Balm Beach, even when the sun goes down, you have to check it out.
One of the most old-school but iconic summer activities has to be going to catch the newest movies at the Midland Drive-In theatre. We are fortunate enough to have one of these facilities within our region, where you can feel like a kid again and enjoy a movie on the big screen from the comfort of your own car. Stop by on any Friday or Saturday of the summer to enjoy the experience. But don’t forget about their Thursday night carload nights through July and August, where there is a flat rate per vehicle, so fill every seat belt!
One thing you can always count on in this area (weather-permitting of course) is a beautiful sunset at one of our amazing beaches. The beaches in Tiny Township are part of the longest freshwater beach in the world, and are comparable to the white sand and crystal blue waters you find down south. Walk along the boardwalk at Bluewater Beach, play some arcade games at Balm Beach or enjoy the peace and serenity at any one of the other many beaches. But they all have one thing in common, the gorgeous sunsets over Georgian Bay, these are incomparable.
Live music is always a treat and here in the Heart of Georgian Bay there is a showcase of local talent all over the place. In July and August you can find live music outdoors on Thursday, Friday and Sunday nights. Thursday nights feature Balm Beach’s ‘Busk til Dusk’ which happens right on the beach! Fridays offer music in Penetanguishene’s Parc Rotary Champlain Wendat Park and in Victoria Harbour at the Albert Street Gazebo (110 Albert St.). Then to finish off the weekend, on Sundays you can find music in Little Lake Park, Patterson Park (180 Patterson Blvd., Port McNicoll) and James Scott Memorial Park (338 Pine St., Waubaushene). With the amount of talent this area has to offer no wonder there are so many times and places you can catch a free, live music show!
These little towns definitely do not ‘shut down’ when 5:00 pm rolls around. There is so much offered that there is no way you could do it all in one evening! Which just means you’ll have to stay for a couple to take it all in!
Written by Katie Lalonde, Tourism Marketing Assistant