Happy Monday, St. Catharines. 🗑️
The flood bins just got bigger. The window just got shorter. Saturday, Aug. 15, they're gone. Details below, don't wait.
Also in today's issue: the Lions' season ended in Brampton, Henley wrapped with home gold, and Wednesday's a scheduling traffic jam.
Full week ahead. Let's do this properly.
In today's edition:
🗑️ Flood recovery bins, exact locations and dates
🦁 The run ends. The respect doesn't.
🚣 Henley 142 is in the books
📅 Your week ahead (Wednesday is a triple-header)
We need your help.
Two new things start next week. Every Monday, we feature one local restaurant. Every Wednesday, we feature one local service business, think shops, salons, contractors, anyone who does real work in this city. Both get shared FREE. No cost. No catch. Just us helping a neighbour get seen.
Here's where you come in.
You know this city better than we do. You know the restaurant nobody talks about but should. You know the electrician who always shows up on time. The salon that never disappoints. The small shop that deserves more traffic.
Send us a name and an introduction. Just hit reply with who they are, and if you can, a quick heads up to the owner that we'll be reaching out. That one intro makes it so much easier for us to get them featured. We'll do the rest, we'll visit, ask a few questions, write it up, and make them look great in front of thousands of neighbours.
That's it. That's the ask.
Back to the news. 👇
🗑️ Flood Recovery: Bins Have Exact Locations Now
Credit: City of St. Catharines
The flood cleanup support that's been running since early August just got more specific. Large bins for flood-related garbage are now set up at two named locations:
🏒 Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre
🏒 Bill Burgoyne Arena
Both are open Monday, Aug. 10 through Saturday, Aug. 15, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you've still got flood-damaged material sitting around, this is your window to get rid of it without a landfill trip.
The rest of the recovery supports remain active too: boosted bag limits with regular collection, free tipping fees at select Niagara landfills, and the Vulnerable Assistance Registry for anyone who can't do the heavy lifting themselves.
💛 Today's Issue Is Brought To You By Garden City Digest's Own Marketing Shop
Quick honesty moment.
This newsletter runs on me — Goodness — and the local marketing shop I use to help St. Catharines businesses get found on Google.
New homes are going up. New businesses are opening. But plenty of good local businesses are still hard to find online: their Google Business Profile is incomplete, their website does not turn visits into calls, or they are invisible when someone searches for what they sell.
That's what I fix.
If you own a local business — or know one that needs more calls, quote requests, or bookings — reply with "help." I'll send back a free, no-pressure visibility check with the first things I would fix.
🦁 The Run Ends. The Respect Doesn't.
Credit: St Catharines Standard
Saturday in Brampton: Honey Badgers 91, River Lions 81. The Eastern Conference Final. The end of the season, and the end of the three-peat dream.
Sean East II and Trentyn Flowers were too much on the night. Sometimes you run into a hot team. That's playoff basketball.
But zoom out for a second, because this season deserves it:
They entered the playoffs as a 4 seed everyone had written off after a sub-.500 year.
Then they walked into Scarborough, the winningest regular-season team in CEBL history, and ended their season. Khalil Ahmad's deep game-winning three made TSN's Must See reel with the call: "All hail the king!" If you watch one highlight this year, watch that one.
This core won back-to-back championships in 2024 and 2025 and took the defence all the way to the conference final with a retooled roster.
No CEBL team has ever won three straight. The Lions came two wins from the Finals anyway.
The CEBL Finals go on without us: Brampton vs. Winnipeg, best-of-three, starting Wednesday. Watch if you can stomach it. (We'll be watching. Grudgingly. Xavier Moon vs. Sean East is genuinely great basketball.)
To the players, coaches and staff: thank you for three unforgettable summers. See you in May. The Meridian will be loud.
🚣 Henley 142 Is in the Books
Credit: St. Catharines Standard
Six days of racing on Martindale Pond wrapped up this weekend. The 142nd Royal Canadian Henley brought thousands of athletes from across North America to our water, and this year, the home team stole the show.
St. Catharines Rowing Club won three Henley Gold medals, leading the local medal count on their own course:
U19 Women's Double: Shanelle Burcher and Sandra McNally won the club's first gold of the regatta, edging Potomac Boat Club by just over a second, 7:23.34 to 7:24.35
PR3 Women's Single: Abbygayle Durliat took gold in 8:31.69, with teammate Mia Biancaniello grabbing silver right behind her.
64kg Men's Single: 19-year-old Jackson Schwandt captured his first Henley gold, finishing ahead of Kingston Rowing Club.
Three golds, one home course, one very proud rowing club. If you caught any of the finals this weekend, you watched three St. Catharines athletes win on the water where their club has trained since 1903.
📅 Your Week Ahead (Aug. 10 to 16)
TODAY, MONDAY 🌦️ 27°C, 45% showers — Indoor Monday. The Museum and Welland Canals Centre is open 9 to 5, and ships don't care about rain.
TUESDAY ⛅ 27°C — No market (see correction above!). Patio night instead: Dispatch, OddBird, or Trust Beer Bar.
WEDNESDAY 🌧️ 27°C, 65% rain — The triple-header, weather permitting:
🚒 Hot Summer Nights at Village Gate Park, 6 to 8 p.m.
🎶 Summer Concerts in the Park at Montebello, 6 p.m. to dusk. Confirmed act: The Vaudevillian with Sleepy Jean.
🏀 CEBL Finals Game 1: Brampton vs. Winnipeg. Watch on TSN / CBC Gem / CEBL+. Rain-proof by definition.
THURSDAY 🌤️ 26°C — Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (New hours in your head yet? 8 on Thursdays.)
FRIDAY ☀️ 24°C — Weekend guide lands here. Cooler air arrives; summer's first hint of fall.
SATURDAY ⛅ 23°C — Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sweater weather at the stalls. Peak harvest continues.
SUNDAY ☀️ 25°C — Looks like the pick of the weekend.
📌 NEXT WEEK: 💰 CCB payment lands Thursday, Aug. 20. 🎶 Final scheduled Montebello concert Aug. 19. 🚒 Rescheduled Lock 3 Hot Summer Nights Aug. 26.
⚡ Quick Hits
🗑️ Flood recovery bins now open at Seymour-Hannah and Bill Burgoyne Arena, Aug. 10 to 15, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (see above for full details)
🏗️ GM lands: the draft plan remains open for public comment before it heads to council. If you didn't make the open house, EngageSTC is your window.
🅿️ Free 2-hour downtown parking rolls on through Aug. 31. Use it while it lasts.
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Thanks for reading, St. Catharines. Heads high. See you Wednesday. 👋
— Goodness, Garden City Digest
P.S. Last week, a reader's question put the Henley Regatta in this newsletter. Keep the replies coming. 700+ sets of eyes beat one every time.
