Cornwall Ontario – After living here in the River City for fourteen years I still get mystified at the tragic load of cow poop that some perpetrate on the public?
Sadly because of a culture of exclusion and bullying, I call it the “Ed Lumley” factor, it leads to the demise of potentially good ideas simply because some of those that think they are mightier than they really are aren’t.
I personally would rather be a small piece of something awesome than the leader of a big steaming turd like Sebastien “Mani” Manigat who just announced that his epic failures have officially failed. I mean when you end up with a sinkhole at your event some might consider that a sign….
I would hope that one day that someone could figure out how anyone on this planet could suggest that they wanted to bring people together by excluding and boycotting the largest newspaper in the city they wanted to bring people together?
It looks like “Mani” went wah wah after the city wisely decided to not give him a bucket of cash, especially when they’re looking at cutting pizza @ pop at committee meetings, but thus is the embarrassing hot mess you get when you run things as too many do at city hall.
For a few years now Ms “Flipper” Clement (pictured above on the left) has been steering biz to her favorite hen party hole, NAV CAN. Nav in turn, boycotts this newspaper. It seems Ms Clement isn’t a fan, but then if you want to work in politics hiding and being thin skinned really isn’t a recipe for success. It’s also odd because there really isn’t anything wrong with the Best Western and Ramada who pump more cash into city coffers than NAV CAN does.
Likewise, bringing a councilor onto your team is about as ripe cheese as it gets and Justin Towndale should have known better. He’s now backed a failed Liberal leadership candidate provincially, a failed MP candidate locally, and now this hot mess. Poor Mr. Towndale may have to actually get a real job one day, unless he considers his gig with the Glens one? (The Glen’s also boycott this newspaper)
Mani’s release:
Dear Seaway Foodies,
It is with a heavy heart that I announce today that Seaway Food Festival, and its related events, will be ceasing its operation as I move on to pursue new opportunities.
Four years ago I started this venture with one mission: to bring the community together to indulge in our area’s finest culinary experiences. With the encouragement of my friends and family, the tireless work of our local restaurants, and your willingness to engage with our events, it is my firm belief that we, together, have accomplished that goal.
The reality is that there is no singular event that led to the decision to sunset the Seaway Food Festival initiatives. Along with my colleagues, I spent recent months exploring different ways in which we could continue the Seaway Food Festival, Summer Beer Fest, and Cornwall Restaurant Week in some form. Unfortunately, the realities of our circumstances would not allow us to continue to deliver these events we have all come to love at the level of quality we all have come to expect.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the restaurants, breweries, and other vendors with whom we collaborated with to produce unforgettable festivals. A big thank you as well to our numerous sponsors and partners who supported us along the way. In addition, it goes without saying, I am immensely indebted to Laura Ellam, Matthew Girgis, Justin Towndale, and Chantal Tranchemontagne who joined me last year and helped Seaway Food Festival attain new heights. I couldn’t have asked for a better team.
And to you, the Seaway Foodies, I owe you my gratitude. Without your openness, enthusiasm, encouragement, and sense of adventure, none of this would have been possible. As I look back to the last four years we spent together, I am extremely proud of the events we created and am humbled by your continued support.
So with that said, here’s to the amazing dishes we ate, the copious amounts of local beer we drank, and the incredible poutines we devoured. Here’s to the memorable rain-soaked dance party in Lamoureux Park, the burger week photoshoots with Jay, the patio nights with Dom and Ahmad, and the endless foodie conversations with Christian and Dave. And last but not least, here’s to the laughs we shared under the Summer Beer Fest tents, the memories we created over wine filled restaurant week diners, and to the many new and dear friends we made along the way. Cheers!
Sebastien “Mani” Manigat
Director & Founder of Seaway Food Festival
The realities of our circumstances? Say what Mani? You failed to run a proper event, then tried to get it banked by the government, and then quit. That should look great on your linked in page amigo.
Note to future promoters and poor souls that want to try and make magic happen in Cornwall and the region.
Be nice to all media, but you should really be nice to the ones with the biggest audience. One would think that would be common sense, but this is Justin Towndale territory so perhaps….
And when some silly politician that can’t hack it in the real economy tries to influence you or tell you how to run your endeavor, get a cheque first before you swallow that happy pill because you really don’t want to “Manigat” yourself.
We really are friendly here at CFN. We media sponsor events, have a great history of success doing so, including Lift Off’s greatest year ever (until allegedly bags o cash went poof!) and deliver the audience (over 15 million human page views in 2017) in a very user friendly and supportive manner that other media can’t match locally.
If good people work together great things can happen, even here in Cornwall!
Weird to say the least. But not unexpected.
I see your favourite word, “silly”, made its way into the article a few times.
It was such a silly circus Hugger. Not a good silly, but a tragic silly….