Norfolk Insider
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September 11th 2025

September 11th 2025

Bradley Mottashed
September 11, 2025

🌟✨ Hello Norfolk! ✨🌟

From historic tales that send shivers down your spine 🚢🔥, to laugh-out-loud stories from our own neighbours 😂👴, and weekends packed with live music, festivals, and community fun 🎶🌽🎆 — The Insider has it all.

This week, we’re turning the spotlight on you 🎤💡. Writers, poets, photographers, storytellers — Norfolk is full of voices waiting to be heard, and we’re opening the door wide. Plus, we’ve got unforgettable history, hilarious local wisdom, and a stacked lineup of happenings that’ll keep your calendar full. 📅🙌

So grab a coffee ☕, settle in, and let’s dive into what makes Norfolk shine. 🌞❤️

-Brad

Ps. If you want to contribute, partner, suggest something, or just make a new friend, reach out to me HERE

CONTRIBUTE

✍️ Calling All Creatives! 🎨📝📸🎶

Do you have a story to tell 📖, a poem to share ✒️, or an eye for capturing life in Norfolk 📷🌳? The Insider is opening its doors to citizen journalists, writers, poets, and creatives of all kinds 🌟.

Whether it’s local history 🏡, community news 📰, a personal essay 💭, or a snapshot of everyday life 🌞— we’d love to feature your voice 🎤. This is your chance to share your creativity with thousands of readers across Norfolk County 🌍❤️.

If you’d like to contribute, send us a note 📩 and let’s get your work out into the community! 🌟🙌

NORFOLK HISTORY

🚢🔥 The Burning of the Atlantic

In August 1852, the passenger steamer Atlantic caught fire after colliding with the steamer Ogdensburg off Long Point, with more than 500 people on board — many of them Norwegian immigrants heading west 🌍. Within minutes, flames raced through the wooden decks 🔥. Lifeboats were scarce 🚣, and panic overtook the ship as desperate passengers leapt into Lake Erie 🌊, clinging to wreckage or trying to swim for shore.

Local settlers rushed to the beaches 🏖️ to rescue survivors, but the loss was staggering. As many as 300 lives were lost ⚰️, making it one of the worst disasters in Great Lakes history. For days afterward, bodies washed up along Norfolk’s shoreline, leaving the community shaken 💔 and cementing Long Point’s reputation as the “Graveyard of the Great Lakes.” ⚓

The tragedy was the subject of a documentary on the show “The Sea Hunters” which you can watch here:

FUNNY

Local writer (and Insider reader) ✍️ Allan Eizinas reached out after hearing we were looking for contributors. He shared a witty 😄, laugh-out-loud 🤭, embellished account of aging in Norfolk 👴—too good not to pass along.

Thanks, Allan 🎩, for letting us in on the fun! 🎉

I am an 81 yr old who lives a very dull life disturbed occasionally by reminders of my age. A few days ago I passed my mandatory retest at 80 yrs for the Ontario drivers licence for the next two years. I shared the details of this experience with my family and decided to also share the particulars at the Wednesday weekly meetings with my fellow members of the "tall story" round table at our local Legion of which I have been a proud member for over 50 years. There is a sculpture of a 10 inch bull in the middle of the table. This group usually consists of about 7 octogenarians and a couple of really old guys.

Most at the table had also successfully gone through the licence renewal process, some a number of times. Julius recounted that a few years ago he arrived for his test and told to take the elevator to the third floor. He joined a queue of obviously old fellow participants lined up outside a locked storage room door waiting for the elevator which never came. Eventually they were led to the proper site.

I also shared my difficulty with finding my dentures in the morning. I was assured to not worry about this common occurrence because there was a constantly replenished supply to be found at any one of our four funeral homes. Apparently, these were also guaranteed sources for free glasses, hearing aids and new shoes if you knew the right people and timed it right. Our local nursing home was also identified as a bountiful source for dentures.

I got an email from one of my grandchildren stating "Gramps, there is something special about the following phrase: WAS IT A CAT I SAW. Look at it backwards!". I printed the phrase out in large letters and then looked at it in the mirror - gibberish! Scrambled mess. This grandson is not the sharpest knife in the drawer and I just wrote it off as an attempt to punk me.

Went to bed after another dull day but also considering my new found possible sources of free personal products.

HAPPENINGS

Thursday September 11th

🤝 Delhi Legion General Meeting | Delhi Legion | 7pm - 9pm | Bring membership card

🧼 Non Toxic Cleaners Class | Generations Marketplace | 6pm | Learn to make safe cleaning products | Register

🍗 Wing Night | Simcoe Army, Navy, Air Force Club | 4pm - 7pm | Dine In/Take Out/Phone for Pick Up before 6:30pm (519-426-9768). 1lb Wings with a generous portion of fries, onion rings or 1/2 & 1/2 for $14.00. 1lb Wings $12.00, Sides $4.00. Bar is open regular hours | More **CORRECTION - THIS EVENT IS THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 18tH

Friday September 12th

📽️ Free Movie: How to Train Your Dragon | Delhi Soccer Club | 8:30pm | Cash BBQ and concession starting at 6pm | More

🤣Stand up Comedy | Capitol 33 | Laugh with Martin Philips | Tickets

⛳️Mini Putt Classic and BBQ | Arbortown Mini Golf | 4:30pm or 6pm | A Port Dover Foundation event | Register

⛲️Festival Of Fountains Show | Whistling Gardens | 22 acres of paradise | Musical fountain show at nightfall | More

Saturday September 13th

🛹 Axtion Sports Jam for Child and Youth Mental Health | Waterford Skatepark | 9:30am - 3:30pm | Skateboarding, BMX, and scooter showcases | Register

🚗 Summer Showdown 16 | Norfolk Fairgrounds | 10am - 5pm | Car show, driving competition, audio competition, camping | More

🎸 Whole Lotta Love: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin | Capitol 33 | 7pm | Tickets

🎆Fall at the Fields | Delhi Soccer Club | 10am - 1am | Full market with vendors, amazing race, touch a truck, 4H Club, cornhole, BBQ, live music | More

🍳Men’s Breakfast | St. Peter's Lutheran Church Simcoe | 9am - 11am | Man up, and enjoy breakfast and conversations | More

💪Tough Mudder | Gopher Dunes | 2 day event | Get muddy | Register

🌽 CORNStalk 2025 | Meuse Brewery | 3:30pm - 10pm | All you can eat corn, live music, corn eating contest | Tickets

⛲️Festival Of Fountains Show | Whistling Gardens | 22 acres of paradise | Musical fountain show at nightfall | More

🍾 Bottle & Can Drive | Delhi German Home Parking Lot | 10am | The Kin Club of Delhi is having a bottle drive! They are looking for your empty bottles, and cans! All proceeds from the bottle drive go right back into our community! | More

Sunday September 14th

🎷Latin Jazz Ensemble | Red Fox Farms | 3pm - 5pm | Ruben Vazquez leads the RCM Latin Jazz Ensemble in the beautifully restored barn at Red Fox Farm for jazz standards played Latin-style, cha cha cha, cumbia and ballads. You may even be moved to dance! | Tickets

🛶 Sunday Safari Paddles | Newfie Nautical Tours | 9:30am | Discover wildlife on Black Creek | Register

💪Tough Mudder | Gopher Dunes | 2 day event | Get muddy | Register

🐶Pug Dog Meetup | Hounds of Erie Winery | 12pm - 2pm | One free drink and a treat flight for your furry friend | Register

Monday September 15th

🚗 Show and Shine | Silver Lake Park | 4pm - Dusk | Classic cars, music, food

🛶 Free Summer Social Paddles | Newfie Nautical Tours | 6pm | Register

🥫Canning Class | Cashmere & Cobwebs | 4pm - 7pm | Learn to make and jar jams | Register

Tuesday September 16th

Wednesday September 17th

🎯 Summer Darts | Delhi Legion | 7pm -11pm | Make friends and score points

COMING UP

The Port Dover and Woodhouse Agricultural Society are a very active group of almost 300 members involved in various horticultural activities. They maintain the community gardens in Port Dover, including a garden which provides harvest for the local food bank.

LIVE MUSIC

Friday September 12th

Saturday September 13th

Sunday September 14th

🎶 Frisky Beaver | Spilly and Marns | 1pm
🎶 Port Dover Legion | J. Atlee Band | 2pm

Tuesday September 16th

🎶Lounge 33 | Felicia McMinn | 7pm

Wednesday September 17th

🎶 211 Main | Felicia McMinn | 8pm

WEATHER

Thursday High 23°C 🌡️ Low 14°C 🌤️
Friday High 23°C 🌡️ Low 14°C 🌤️
🌡️ View current weather HERE
🚗 Check out local gas prices HERE

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