July 19, 2024
July 1th is the 201st day of the year. There are 165 days remaining until the end of the year.
The province is offering free admission to all provincial parks today. 
July 19th is Healthy Parks Healthy People Day — part of a global movement to promote the health benefits of spending time outdoors.
The Ontario Provincial Park one-day visitor day permit allows you to enjoy the park facilities until 10 p.m. tonight. Additional charges for facilities not included in day use such as camping, equipment rentals.
Click here for more information and to reserve your pass.
The Chatham-Kent Beach Bus is back this weekend.
“Route S1” (aka Beach Bus) will operate Saturday.
It’s the second time it’ll run this Summer, the last date is August 3rd.
The bus arrives and depart from the Chatham Downtown Transfer Terminal at 100 Wellington Street West. Making stops at St. Clair College, Pain Court, Grande Pointe, Mitchell’s Bay, Charing Cross, Blenheim, and Erieau.
Departure Times to Mitchell’s Bay:
Morning: 9:00 am and 11:30 am
Mid-day: 3:00 pm
Afternoon: 5:30 pm
Departure Times to Erieau
Morning: 10:00 am
Mid-day: 12:30 pm
Afternoon: 4:00 pm and 6:30 pm
Schedule and fare information is available here.
The Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers are back on the field tonight after the MLB All Star Break.
The Detroit Tigers make their only visit to the Rogers Centre in Toronto this weekend.
Heads up if you’re headed to a game this weekend, The Honda Indy is this weekend. Festivities kick off today with the main race happening on Sunday. That means a large stretch of Lake Shore Boulevard West and surrounding streets will be closed adding to a headache that is Toronto traffic. Toronto police are encouraging anyone attending the Honda Indy to take public transit.
Speaking of All Star Games, The Chatham-Kent Barnstormers will be well represented at the IBL All-Star Game in Welland this weekend.
Third baseman Robert Mackie and outfielder Spencer Marcus were named starters for the South Team, while first baseman Seth Strong, catcher Mitsuki Fukuda, and Aden Ryan were named reserves. The All-Star selections were determined through a combination of fan and media votes
They’ll take the field for the All-Star Showdown at Welland Stadium on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Strong will also take part in the 2024 Rawlings Home Run Derby. The three-round, single-elimination home run competition gets underway at 2 p.m. ahead of the All-Star Game and can be streamed here. The first pitch for the North-South all-star game is set for 6:05 p.m. Saturday.
Blenheim CherryFest began yesterday. 
The Canadian National Cherry Pit Spit trophy will be awarded on Saturday afternoon. The Pit Spit tryouts are today from noon-2 p.m. and the competition takes place at 1 tomorrow. Anyone is welcome to come out and give it a shot.
For a full schedule of events go to the Cherry Fest Facebook page
The Canadian National Pit Spit Championship was brought to Canada in 1983 by several local (CK) farmers and citizens. It has been held in various locations in CK ever since!
