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Downtown BIA confident cancellation was right call continued from p.1 executive director Sharlene Plewman. "Unfortunately, we can't control the weather. We wish we could. There was just no way (the event) could go on with the way it was." The annual outdoor festival, which runs from 6 p.m. to midnight, did begin and after the first bout of rain early on, organizers kept it going. However, a second wave of rain came shortly after, and organizers pulled the plug. "Even after the second bout of rain came through, there was a bit of a dry reprieve but within 10 minutes another bout of even more severe rain came through. With lightning, there was just no way we could be out having an event on the street and not be looking out for people's safety," Plewman said. The BIA does not know if the event will be rescheduled. "We haven't been able to strategize that yet," Plewman said. "That will be this week. We'll have to regroup and see if it's something we can redo and if we do, how so." Plewman said there were no injuries. Furthermore, the street was reopened as usual and ready for business Saturday morning. The BIA, which organizes the event, suffered no damages either. However, Plewman admits other participants may have experienced damage as some tents were blown over. She did say this was a loss for the downtown merchants. "This is typically a successful night for them, 3 | Wednesday, July 24, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com The BIA was certainly affected in terms of us wanting this to be a successful night for our downtown merchants... but we feel we made the right decision in terms of keeping people safe for the evening. The community spirit here is strong and we will figure out some way to rally, but we'd just like to encourage people to come out and shop in downtown Oakville. Downtown Oakville BIA executive director Athan Koumoundouros runs down Lakeshore Road downtown Oakville in Friday evening's storm. | photo by Eric Riehl ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog) Sharlene Plewman in terms of sales," Plewman said. "The BIA was certainly affected in terms of us wanting this to be a successful night for our downtown merchants. Realizing that with having to cancel, it certainly affected things, but we feel we made the right decision in terms of keeping people safe for the evening." The next major downtown festival will be the Downtown Oakville Jazz Festival, Aug. 9-10. Plewman encourages people to visit downtown Oakville anytime. "The community spirit here is strong and we will figure out some way to rally, but we'd just like to encourage people to come out and shop in downtown Oakville," she said. Listen Up Canada, Oakville Swim Academy, Salvation Army Recycling, Real Estate, Sport Chek, Oakville United Taxi, Atmosphere, National Sports, Home Depot, Sears Helping You Make Smart Decisions About Your Money Voted Number 1 Financial Planner 10 Years inside today's Editorial Sports Beaver www.insideHALTON.com MBA, CFP, R.F.P., CIM, FCSI Certified Financial Planner Peter Watson SINCE 1991 6 17 Artscene Classified 14 20 *All flyers not necessarily delivered to all homes For home delivery & customer service call 905-631-6095, 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington New subscriptions call 905-631-6095 or subscribe online @ www.oakvillebeaver.com 220 Randall Street · Downtown Oakville Phone: 905.842.2100 www.peterwatsoninvestments.com Don't Compromise on Driver Training UPCOMING COURSES · 20 hours in class · 10 hours online · 10 hours in car (automatic) OR · 12 hours in car (manual) · MTO Approved Beginner Driver Education Program Provider July 29,30,31 August 1 Mon,Tues,Wed,Thurs 9:30am to 3:30pm August 6,7,8,9 Tues,Wed,Thurs,Fri 9:30am to 3:30pm August 19,20,21,22 Mon,Tues,Wed,Thurs 9:30am to 3:30pm www.drivewiseoakville.com 905-845-7200