The City of Windsor is hosting a pair of public information sessions today, looking for feedback from the public on what to do with the Jackson Park Bandshell.
The in-person meetings will take place between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Optimist Community Centre on Ypres Avenue.
People will have an opportunity to provide input and share their vision for the bandshell's future, as well, an online public survey is also be available to complete until Sunday, June 23.
Back in November 2023, a narrow vote by city council allowed a plan to move forward to consult the public and study the project with the cost expected to be around $100,000.
Ward 9 councillor Kieran McKenzie says his hope is that there's a tremendous turnout at both sessions because they're looking to hear what people want to see done with the bandshell.
"Some amazing things have happened in the bandshell, and in that part of the park there's a significant amount of cultural capital that's been built up in that space. And unfortunately what we've been utilizing for the last decade plus is an outdoor storage yard. There's a number of folks that have expressed some very significant concerns, and reasonable concerns, about the current utilization of that space," he said.
McKenzie says he's hearing from folks in the arts community that they're looking for spaces and venues to perform that aren't designed to draw in thousands.
He says they've got areas like the in the city already, like Festival Plaza, but there isn't a small to medium sized event stage in any city parks.
"What I'm looking for is to fill another need of event space in one of our parks, and I think that there's a community of folks that think that this is an important piece of our arts and culture puzzle that's currently missing. This is an opportunity to take something that has an important historical legacy, and still has some viability with it."
He says this could be an opportunity to fill the cultural gap and need in the community while also respecting the history that's happened there.
A report based on feedback received at the two sessions will come back to city council, and McKenzie is encouraging people to attend and make sure their voice is heard.
"It'll be brought back to council with recommendations in terms of how it is that we can go forward. The next step for council to consider would be to engage a consultant to take a technical look at the space to identify the challenges that would be associated with restoring it to any of the things we would determine would potentially be a use," he said.
The land in front of the band shell is owned by the Greater Essex County District School Board.