Everything is in a constant state of change. When left unattended, things are almost certain to degrade. Positive change can come with effort, though, and sustained development.

In Simcoe, the aspirations of the community have outgrown the dated atmosphere and decaying built environment. There are lots of young entrepreneurs, artists, and cultural leaders who want the town to grow, but have to face many empty storefronts, bland scenery, minimal nightlife, and very little foot traffic. When I started with young & free press two years ago, the mission was to get more people interested in imagining the future of Simcoe. This is truly ‘step one’, as we need to have community members willing to make the effort to inspire change.

How had the town fallen so far? What was needed to re-establish Simcoe as the heart of Norfolk County? Why was there no ‘city-building’ agenda?

Exploring Simcoe, we immediately recognized the feeling of abandonment. Every block had vacant buildings. The streets were littered with trash and deserted shopping carts. At night, the street lights barely illuminated the sidewalks. This was hardly an inviting place. Obviously, there was very little for visitors to do, especially for teenagers like me. All a teenager can do downtown is walk around aimlessly since there is nothing happening most of the time. Thankfully, The Strand is still there for the occasional movie, providing some means of escape. The Norfolk County Fair is fun, too, but that’s only one week of the year and not really in the downtown. Basically, my friends and I would hike up to the Queensway to McDonald’s because at least there are toys in Happy Meals.

For any young person who goes away to college or university, why come back to the area? Beyond reconnecting with family and friends, the only answer, really, is to help make things better. This is easier said than done, and requires a major commitment. Besides, there are other places so much further ahead.

Back to our process at young & free … while exploring, we interacted with locals at street level to understand what people from different walks of life wanted. The answer is essentially the same for everyone: downtown should be fun, a place for business and leisure, the heart of the community. Most adults told us that they would go downtown if they needed to visit the bank, or for the occasional breakfast at Ferrera or dinner at The Blue Elephant or a coffee at Joy’s Bakery Café. These are all fine places that help to elevate the downtown.

We received interesting feedback from seasonal farm workers, too. Thousands of temporary labourers come to Norfolk County each year to boost the agriculture sector, and many of the farms really could not run otherwise. The seasonal workers are a major part of the Simcoe community, and add significantly to the dynamic downtown for at least six months a year. Do they feel welcome in the downtown? When so far away from home – most of the workers come from Jamaica, Mexico, Trinidad and various other places – there is a need to feel like you fit in and have places to go. There are some neat spots that cater to the seasonal workers, like Taste of Latin and JK’s Restaurant, and these establishments add a lot to the atmosphere.

Andrew Gunn & Maddie King of *young & free press* at Taste of Latin in downtown Simcoe.

From our own experience, then, we decided that teenagers, adults, and seasonal workers want the same things: reasons to walk and explore more of the downtown, and art and cultural activity to beautify and activate the area. So, what to do?

As we started to imagine next steps, we were hit with the pandemic, just like the rest of the world. Although this public health emergency halted many of our plans, we embraced the opportunity to think of ways to continue under the circumstances. We focussed on outdoor spaces to create spots where people could gather to eat, drink and hang out while still social distancing. We decided to experiment at two sites in summer 2020: first, on a portion of Kent Street, we collaborated with the Downtown Simcoe BIA and the municipality to install picnic tables, Muskoka chairs and ping-pong tables to create an environment where people could gather, plus local business owner and artist Suzanne Earls had local artists produce works for this outdoor space; second, we set up similar amenities on the lawn at the Norfolk Arts Centre on Lynwood Avenue, and the BIA invited musicians to perform there.

Ultimately, the feedback was that both spaces were compelling, although some vandalism and other unwanted activities on Kent Street pushed the BIA to concentrate on the Arts Centre location. So, we came up with ways to add depth and beauty to the site, including hiring five artists to paint new picnic tables on-site. Steph Boutari, Cassie Roberts, Kyle Joedicke, Nikki Campbell, and Ann-Marie Cheung developed designs inspired by the surrounding agricultural community, and the tables added to the impact of the space.

Andrew Gunn & Hayden Miller-Cluckie of *young & free press* highlight one of five painted picnic tables at the Norfolk Arts Centre. This one was painted by artist Ann-Marie Cheung.

Beyond the Arts Centre, we wanted to give people reasons to explore the downtown, and gradually we assembled the funding required to add murals to select buildings. This was a quick way to improve the rather bland scenery downtown. To make a mural happen, three things need to come together: funding, a location, and the right artist and design. We started our mural project on Peel Street, where business owners and husband-and-wife team Tom Heeman and Susan Judd had recently purchased two buildings. Both Tom and Susan are from strawberry-growing family farms, and loved the idea of having a mural to reflect these roots. We engaged artist Meaghan Claire Kehoe to paint a strawberry scene, which now provides a beautiful visual on the street and emphasizes the extraordinary agricultural productivity in Norfolk County. The location extended the visual environment started previously in a nearby alley, where artists had been invited to paint, establishing the beginnings of a ‘mural walk’ in the downtown.

Emily Stage & Hayden Miller-Cluckie of *young & free press* on Peel Street in downtown Simcoe. In the background, artist Meaghan Claire Kehoe works on a new mural.

Artist Meaghan Claire Kehoe along with Andrew Gunn of *young & free press* standing in front of the new ‘Strawberry Mural’ at 4 Peel Street in downtown Simcoe.

The next spot was Riversyde 83. We collaborated with Virginia Lucas and Eric Haverkamp, who have been leading the redevelopment of the former LCBO store into a new ‘food hub’ for the community. The goal of Riversyde 83 is to provide a place where ‘food, friends, wellness and local converge’ … Virginia and Eric liked the work by Meaghan Claire Kehoe, and so we lined up the artist to paint her second mural in Simcoe. The artwork illustrates some of the crops grown in Norfolk County and sits immediately above the on-site garden.

Once Riversyde 83 opens, this will be a staple in the local food scene, and a potential hang-out spot for high-schoolers at lunch. Having a beautiful mural gives a reason for people to feel drawn to the site. Shortly after Meaghan completed her mural, the Riversyde 83 team brought in a local artist, Gary Walker, to paint another attractive piece on the opposite side of the building.

Andrew Gunn & Hayden Miller-Cluckie of *young & free press* at Riversyde 83 in downtown Simcoe.

Our final addition to the collection of murals in Simcoe is located on Kent Street. We decided that, since Meaghan had painted two pieces already, there was value in making this a trilogy of sorts to really tell a story. The first mural featured strawberries, the second a whole range of fruits and vegetables and hands helping to harvest the produce and prepare the food, so naturally the third should hint at the seasonal workers and the sense of celebration that comes from enjoying nights out during the growing season. As mentioned, thousands of foreign workers travel to Norfolk County each year, adding to the diversity of the community and aiding economic growth tremendously. We wanted to involve a representative of the local seasonal workers to give input into the artwork. Felena Pereira, who is from Trinidad and works at Schuyler Farms, contributed her thoughts as we tried to find the right direction for the artwork downtown. Lanny Horne, a local business owner, offered one of the walls of his building. Funding support came through the Healthy Communities Initiative, as well as through the Norfolk Community Foundation, Schuyler Farms, and other private sponsors. The result is a stunning mural that transforms the visual environment on the street; additionally, the property next door is a municipal parking lot, opening up the possibility of events on-site with the mural as an awesome backdrop. Concerts, outdoor movie nights, food truck days … lots of potential!

Took a village to put together the new mural by artist Meaghan Claire Kehoe on Kent Street South in downtown Simcoe … Left to right: Hayden Miller-Cluckie, David Lopes, Robert Judd, Lanny Horne, Felena Periera, Meaghan Claire Kehoe, Brett Schuyler, Joe Botscheller, Maddie King & Andrew Gunn.

The mural on Kent Street was truly a full circle moment, as we felt like, through the pandemic, we had added artwork and amenities that could spark future development. Throughout the process, we worked with the Downtown Simcoe BIA, and felt very grateful to the members of that organization who supported laying this foundation for cultural renewal. Now, we see local groups putting on pop-up events and evening markets in the downtown, and a few properties have been purchased with plans for new businesses and residences.

Our contribution was simple: we helped to bring a little life back to the downtown, a few sparks, and we hope that this can continue, specifically after the municipal election this fall when things tend to reset with new leadership. There are now murals and spaces in downtown Simcoe that can be used for events. This is the beginning of a contemporary, liveable environment, but there is so much still to do. We need Norfolk County council members to commit to city-building, steadily investing in ‘complete streets’ that can attract more investment and cultural activity.

On a personal note, I recognize that I was able to contribute to the process through young & free press, and my hope is that the community can find more ways to involve teenagers in the decision-making process. We have good ideas. We want the community to succeed. We would like to imagine Norfolk County as a place where we could return one day to live and work. This little bit of progress that we made could be for nothing, though, if there is not a commitment by local leaders to building the town, the community, in modern ways.

If I could encourage the next Norfolk County council to do two things to make life better for local teenagers (and for everyone, really), this is what I would suggest: focus on reinventing old, worn-out spaces, and make it easier for residents and tourists to engage and explore.

Many of the buildings in downtown Simcoe are old and rough-around-the-edges. Several are owned by the County, and the next council should focus on reimagining these buildings and repurposing them as a way to kick-start economic development. The old Seniors’ Centre on Pond Street is a perfect example. The structure is rotting away, but I imagine the property could become a residential and commercial hub with green space, little shops, apartments, and a lively atmosphere. Teenagers need spaces to have fun and explore. Turning a historic building into a market with food, shops, seating, and cultural amenities will draw people back into the downtown. The County has invited proposals from developers for the Pond Street property, but nothing seems to have happened. More than just this site needs rejuvenating. I hope the next council will have a vision for the redevelopment of the downtown and allocate meaningful funding toward this goal.

Hayden Miller-Cluckie, Emily Stage & Maddie King of *young & free press* on Pond Street in downtown Simcoe. The building on the right is the former Seniors’ Centre. Owned by the municipality, this property — and others in the area — could be reinvented to help stimulate local economic and cultural growth.

Along with redevelopment, the next council should implement systems to guide people to the sites and shops in downtown Simcoe. Why not add bike paths throughout the downtown off the Lynn Valley Trail? Install more bike racks, a few bike-repair stations, a ‘Downtown Simcoe Bike Route Map’, and bike lanes to encourage people to tour around at a leisurely pace and really see all that the town offers. Taking this idea one step further, the council could consider introducing a bike share program in the downtown. Perhaps there could be Friday Night Lights bike tours, similar to what happens in Windsor … for Simcoe, this would be an interesting way to amplify ‘town nights’ for the seasonal workers. Teenagers are always looking for something to do, too, and if there were bikes or scooters to check out, we would be more likely to come downtown and end up stopping for a coffee at Joy’s. Also, downtown Simcoe needs an ice cream shop!

Regardless of the results of the election, the next council has a lot of work to do. A new council should always mean change. Things never improve by maintaining the status quo. Contributions made by our team at young & free and the community alike may have set some foundations for change, but the next council must take real action to build up Simcoe. Basically, leadership is essential. Simcoe can succeed, and it can be a place that my generation wants to come back to, but this will require innovation, collaboration, and commitment.