Downtown Windsor, Ontario

As much as this post is about prompting YOU to give me your thoughts about Red Bull weekend, I want to share my take.

Aside from the fact that I was busy tending to my own business all weekend, I did manage to wander for short bursts into other areas of the downtown. The freedom to roam the streets without cars is always fascinatingly uplifting.

Due to my inability to steal away from the activities on University Avenue, I’d like to direct you to a beautiful photo gallery provided by Windsorite.ca

Starting on the Friday night, downtown workers meandered through the bustling patio construction, closed streets, and foot traffic to get themselves home. Stage construction was fast and furious. Cables snaking in the corners of curbs led to stage platforms full of sound equipment. Large bright orange and yellow barriers closed the streets from automobile traffic. Countless umbrellas, promotional flags, and downtown regulars began filling the empty space that cars normally take up.

By seven o’clock, sound-checks were being performed on stages in several locations. Thirty minutes later, local musicians were belting out tunes. By ten, the rain was falling. In the true entrepreneurial spirit, downtown venue owners were making their spaces available to the several musicians that were unable to make their outdoor debuts. Over the course of two days and three nights of closed streets and hosed-down hopes, downtown made the best possible adjustments to the weather obstacles. Crash Karma played inside of Pepper’s Bar & Grill while stunning storms pounded the downtown pavement. Dozens of performers found makeshift homes in other venues, while patios sat mostly vacant. As soon as skies cleared each night, the patios were inhabited by anyone that braved the onslaught of rain.

A celebratory George Manury, moments after performing on the outdoor stage on University Avenue.

The days found the skies full of thunder-heads and racing planes. The nights found acrobatics replaced with high winds and wetness. But everyone did everything possible to rise above the circumstances. Nowhere was it more evident that Windsor would have its day in the sun than on Sunday.

Driving down Riverside Drive on Sunday afternoon, I casually looked into the sky above the Detroit River. I thought I was watching a safety helicopter, surveying the races…until it turned ninety degrees skyward and climbed hundreds of feet (nose up) and eventually looped backward into a huge arching flip. My heart actually raced for a moment, as I thought I was watching a catastrophe in the making. But this was one fraction of the amazing spectacle of the Red Bull Air Races. I sat in traffic on Riverside Drive for about five minutes with my eyes glued to the stunt-helicopter (which I never knew existed) as it twisted, flipped, climbed, and dove. It made me wish I’d had time this weekend away from my business to see more of this aerial madness.

Getting closer to the core, hundreds of people carried lawn chairs and pushed strollers toward the river. With my windows down in the car, I heard friends shouting toward one another, laughing and waving. I saw a little boy crossing the street, oblivious to anything outside of his excitement for the airplanes, playing within his imagination. He had a toy airplane in his hand, arm outstretched, dreaming his way into the cockpit of one of the racing planes. It was the indelible image I hold with me now that the races have passed. An hour later, back at my downtown business, I watched planes in formation between the gaps in the buildings. Jaws dropped all around me as eyes stayed skyward in the car-less streets. I thought of that boy, craning my neck to find more planes. We were returned to our fascinated state of mind. For fits and starts this weekend, we were kids.

I hope we get to experience this Red Bull Air Race event again for years to come.

As much as the businesses had at stake this week in the downtown, this city is at its grandest when citizens of Windsor are drawn to our greatest physical asset (the Detroit River) to dream big. Arts, fireworks, races, and festivals funnel all of us to a common interest that allows for a display of what downtown really has to offer. In my view, it’s the job of the business community to go whole-hog and welcome our regular and wildly infrequent visitors when we do get them in the core. Going out of the boundaries we usually know, and stay within, is the key to imparting our expertise and hospitality to strangers of downtown.

My hope is that we take pride in our perseverance for this event and move on. Let’s catapult out of our comfort zones as business owners, workers, and residents (and into supreme ambassadors) for the next big-draw event in the downtown to make everyone in Windsor feel at home within the hub of the city.

What was your favourite thing about Red Bull weekend? Comment below!

Photo at the top of this post is of Milk Coffee Bar patio as Red Rows performed live on Sunday evening.