Open Streets Windsor “The Big 8” Kilometre Edition Celebrates Community, Culture, Wellness & Rosalie Trombley!
Be part of something truly unforgettable!
Open Streets Windsor returns this September with a special edition to honour a true pioneer in radio broadcasting while connecting our diverse neighbourhoods and people across the community. This year, the popular outdoor event offers a slightly updated route, a special theme, and spin-off activities that all take place Sunday, September 17, 2023, at various times and locations throughout the day.
Event Highlights:
Open Streets Windsor “The Big 8” Kilometre Edition
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
From Sandwich Town in the West to Ford City in the East.
Since 2016, thousands have witnessed this free community event that offers an eight-kilometre route, spanning numerous neighbourhoods from the west end of the city to the east, temporarily closed to cars and open for people to walk or ride along with a variety of activities and programming to choose from. This year’s route includes Sandwich Street, University Avenue West, Riverside Drive downtown, Wyandotte Street East, and Drouillard Road.
In addition to providing a space for people to walk, cycle, roller blade, and more along the route, eight unique hubs will also include some great activities and entertainment. Hubs are designated for community partners, including individuals, businesses and organizations, to carry out activities that promote health, physical activity, arts and culture. Activities are free and encourage participation from people of all ages and abilities. The City will also host special entertainment at each hub to honour Big 8 radio pioneer Rosalie Trombley’s contributions to the performing arts. Tribute performers have been invited to apply to bring their act, including covers of some of the songs made famous with Rosalie’s help, to the event route. A limited number of artist honorariums will be available as part of this one-time initiative.
Also new this year, participants are encouraged to collect eight unique and complimentary vintage badges, one at each hub, featuring artistic renderings of some of Windsor’s iconic places, people and stories. These badges will be available while supplies last. Visit OpenStreetsWindsor.ca for details on this year’s path, and up-to-date information on programming and entertainment as it becomes available.
Unveiling of the Rosalie Trombley Commemorative Sculpture
10:30 a.m.
Corner of Riverside Drive East and McDougall Street.
With the Open Streets Windsor route open and folks exploring the city, members of Rosalie Trombley’s family, artist Donna Jean Mayne, sponsors, partners, media, and other very special guests will join Mayor Dilkens and City Councillors in the morning for the official unveiling of the Rosalie Trombley Commemorative Sculpture. The sculpture is funded by the City of Windsor with generous support from St. Clair College. The interpretive panel and corresponding tribute website are funded by the City in partnership with AM800 CKLW-Bell Media.
Grand Opening of the Rosalie Trombley Commemorative Exhibition
2:30 p.m.
Chimczuk Museum, 401 Riverside Drive West.
Over at Museum Windsor’s Chimczuk Museum location, the temporary Rosalie Trombley Commemorative Exhibition will have a ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony in the afternoon. Remarks from family, dignitaries, and special guests will kick things off as the exhibition opens to the public. The Trombley family has been working hand-in-hand with the exhibition developers to provide an experience that will include biographical information, stories of Rosalie’s life, musician features, records, audio recordings, fashion, vintage items and artifacts from the Big 8, awards, tributes and more. Along with the grand opening, admission to the Chimczuk Museum will be free on this day. The exhibition is researched, designed, created and installed by Chris Renaud and the team at HCA Mindbox.
Screening of “Radio Revolution: The Rise and Fall of the Big 8”
6:00 p.m.
The Capitol Theatre’s Kelly Theatre, 121 University Avenue West.
Presented in partnership with WIFF (Windsor International Film Festival), and screening at the Capitol Theatre’s intimate Kelly Theatre, Michael McNamara’s 2004 documentary covers nearly every aspect of the iconic radio station’s blaze of glory, from the technological wizardry behind its amplified “boom thump” signal to the ways CKLW furthered the careers of artists like Alice Cooper, The Guess Who, and Tony Orlando. This screening will be first-come, first-seated and available free of charge.
“The Big 8 CKLW” Remembers Rosalie
8:00 p.m.
The Capitol Theatre’s Pentastar Theatre, 121 University Avenue West.
The historic Capitol Theatre will be the backdrop for an evening of stories and music to remember Rosalie Trombley. Join special guests Ted Richards, Pat Holiday, Les Garland, and others for a unique trip into the musical past of Windsor, Detroit, Canada and the United States through the lens of the life of Rosalie Trombley as told by some of those who remember her best.
Quotes:
“It’s very exciting to be approaching the unveiling of a sculpture that has been about two years in the making. City Council approved funding for Donna Mayne’s commemorative sculpture of Rosalie Trombley, and welcomed support from St. Clair College, because Rosalie is one of Windsor’s most famous and influential women. She was personally responsible for boosting the careers of several seminal musical artists. This sculpture will add to Windsor’s extensive public art collection, which is filled with pieces that help create spaces and focal points that help define and celebrate our community, our history, and our stories. I look forward to seeing this sculpture unveiled as part of our popular annual Open Streets Windsor event, and I thank the artist, the Trombley family, St. Clair College, AM800 CKLW – Bell Media, and everyone who is part of this tremendous celebration.”
- Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens
“Motor City Community Credit Union is proud to once again be the title sponsor for Open Streets Windsor 2023. Over the past 83 years, we have lived the value of local by supporting our community and the businesses within it. At Motor City Community Credit Union, our members and their needs come first; we are by their side to support them on their journey. These relationships form the basis of who we are and who we will continue to be. We are local; we work local; we hire local; and we support local. Open Streets Windsor is just another way in which we show our support and dedication to the community we call home.”
- Marion Zeller, Vice President Marketing and Community Engagement, Motor City Community Credit Union
“St. Clair College has, for decades, recognized Rosalie Trombley’s importance to the entertainment industry of both this region and all of North America. During her lifetime, we presented her with an honorary diploma – which also led her to act as a wonderful guest speaker at one of our convocation ceremonies. We also staged a tribute dinner in her honour, which helped to fund a permanent scholarship in her name for music theatre students. Our decision to help fund the creation of a sculpture to further emphasize Rosalie’s remarkable achievements demonstrates the esteem in which we hold her memory.”
- Patti France, President, St. Clair College
“AM800 and Bell Media are honoured to be connected to such a dynamic powerhouse in the radio industry as Rosalie Trombley. She had the golden ear, handpicking the next music rock stars, and was a pioneer and legend in her own right. We are thrilled to partner with the City of Windsor on this project, sponsoring a portion of the interpretive panel and website, honouring the one and only Rosalie Trombley.”
- Melissa Schultz, Program and News Director, AM800 CKLW - Bell Media
“The Trombley family would like to thank the City of Windsor, St. Clair College, AM800 CKLW – Bell Media, artist Donna Jean Mayne and everyone involved for their generosity and willingness to commemorate our mother in such a significant way. We feel honoured by the community coming together to celebrate her achievements, and we look forward to not only the unveiling of the sculpture, but the activities planned that showcase Rosalie’s talents and the incredible era and impact of the Big 8.”
- Tim Trombley, Director of Entertainment, Caesars Windsor, on behalf of Rosalie Trombley’s Family
“I am honoured to have played a role in memorializing the life of Rosalie Trombley, whose unparalleled gift for identifying hit songs not only introduced the world to now legendary artists but helped define a momentous cultural awakening. As a single mom caught in a male-dominated radio business, her rise to international power-broker status came from her ability to keep her head on the pulse of a tumultuous generation and, in doing so, helped shatter gender barriers and influence social narratives. I am grateful to the City of Windsor, St. Clair College, AM800 CKLW – Bell Media, the Trombley Family, and Windsor’s Arts, Culture & Heritage Fund for supporting this project and the upcoming celebrations, and look forward to seeing Rosalie’s influence be recognized permanently as part of Windsor’s landscape.”
- Donna Jean Mayne, Creator of the Rosalie Trombley Commemorative Sculpture
“It has been an honour for myself and HCA Mindbox to work with Tim Trombley, his brother Todd and sister Diane, the City, the Museum Windsor team, many partners and some of Rosalie’s CKLW colleagues to research her life and gather the stories, memories, artifacts, images, awards and more that will help to share that story with the public. Through our work on historical exhibitions for Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, Willistead Manor, the Town of Essex and many other projects, we are proud to tell the stories of some of the rich history of our region, and bring them to life in visually interesting, compelling ways. I’m excited to see the Rosalie Trombley Commemorative Exhibition open to the public next month at the Chimczuk Museum, as we all celebrate the life and times of ‘the girl with the golden ear.’”
- Chris Renaud, HCA Mindbox
“There is much to celebrate in Windsor today. Rosalie Trombley is one of the most iconic musical influences in North America and a tastemaker for 20th Century music. The City of Windsor has a beautiful suite of celebrations in honour of Rosalie, and WIFF could not be happier to be a part of them.”
- Vincent Georgie, Executive Director & Chief Programmer, WIFF Windsor International Film Festival
“The DNA of a destination is based on all of the attributes which provide for a sense of place – the culture, heritage, festivals, events, and sites. Open Streets Windsor is a spectacular opportunity to celebrate the essence of who we are as we showcase the strength and resilience of our communities and proudly call out to our districts and all they have to offer. Recognizing that the pillars of our community also become proud ambassadors in bringing residents together, it is extremely fitting to celebrate and commemorate one of radio’s top pioneers and programmers, Rosalie Trombley, during this time. With the unveiling of a sculpture that immortalizes her, combined with events at the Chimczuk Museum and Capitol Theatre that cherish the impact she had not only on our city but the music world as a whole, we look forward to welcoming this year’s Open Streets Windsor aptly named ‘The Big 8’ Kilometre Edition.”
- Gordon Orr, Chief Executive Officer, Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island
Thank you to our Rosalie Trombley Community Celebration sponsors, St. Clair College (commemorative sculpture), and AM800 CKLW-Bell Media (interpretive panel).
Thank you to our Open Streets Windsor title sponsor, Motor City Community Credit Union, as well as our media sponsors, AM800 CKLW, windsoriteDOTca News, The Windsor Star and YourTV.
For more information, visit OpenStreetsWindsor.ca or contact 311.