The beach was packed, the lines were long, and motel rooms were hard to find, as the exodus from the city to Wasaga Beach was in full swing on Sunday.
Nancy McLauchlan of Saga Resort has been turning people away all day. She says 75 per cent of the rooms were booked more than a month ago, and this week the last spots were taken. She's seeing that trend reflected in summer bookings too.
“Our bookings for the summer are looking better than last year already, so if we get good weather, hopefully we're going to be full.”
A big draw for the long weekend was the Electric Elements Festival. Last year about 7,000 people attended and this year the event is even more popular.
“This is our second year, and we are expecting about 10,000 people, so it's a big jump from last year,” says Tom Traikos, event organizer.
Another factor that made the beach a more attractive option was the rejuvenated bar scene. For the first time since last year, some bars that had been shut down were back in operation.
“We're going to hit up Bananas after Electric Elements is done we still need a party after,” one partier said.
Local residents were also happy to see the doors open again.
“We can come to the beach and sit and have a nice drink and have some food, it's very good for the community,” says Judy Hurd, Wasaga Beach resident.
Not all the bars along Beach Area One are open yet because the town is still trying to find a tenant for their newly acquired properties, but the mayor is confident that will happen soon.
“You can rest assured that council and town staff are doing everything they can to get all these buildings leased, we're in good shape right now,” says Brian Smith. “I think we've only got about 10 left to go.”
Many business owners CTV Barrie spoke with on Sunday hope crowds will continue and that this weekend is just a taste of what's to come for the rest of the summer.
