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North Bay, Ontario 
Reviewer: Marcus Kohn | See all reviews by Marcus Kohn
Section: Hippie Havens | Category: Place | Area: Canada | Topic: Hippiedom
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North Bay is a small (population 55,000) tourist/university-college city about 3 hours due North of Toronto, it is built along the shore of a large and warm (in summer that is) shallow lake called Lake Nipissing.There are many beautiful old buildings along the Main st. housing all sorts of locally owned shops and restaurants. Many artists and musicians call North Bay home. There are several head shops in the downtown area as well as many independent bookshops and music stores. There are lots of old and new hippies scattered around the area both in town and in the surrounding "bush". There's a restaurant downtown called Greco's and it seems like some sort of unofficial hippie employment agency since lots of young and older local hippies work there and when someone leaves, there's always another hippie there to take their place. There are local drum circles at the beautiful waterfront park to celebrate the changing of the seasons and it's an all around cool laid back kind of town.
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Visitor Comments about North Bay, Ontario
Posted by KCK on 2007-11-14 12:13:08
My Score:
Comment: Some friends of mine recently opened a really cool new store on Fraser St. in downtown North Bay called the Hibou Boutique, it specializes in locally designed original handmade fashions and in environmentally friendly products of all sorts. It''s also NB''s first "bring your own bag" store! Anyone who frequents this website should definitely want to check it out if they''re in North Bay.
By the way, those people who commented and said that there are no hippies in NB must be walking around with blinders on! lol
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Posted by Jules on 2007-11-10 02:00:49
My Score:
Comment: Plenty of hippies in North Bay, and there''s plenty happening if you know where to look. Some good places to start are www.northbayscene.com and www.solventmagazine.com
By the way, rents and housing prices are rising because demand exceeds supply, which is usually a sign of a place being sought after because it''s a good place to live. Despite rising cots, NB is still a very affordable place to live.
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Posted by GTP on 2007-10-31 19:12:27
My Score:
Comment: An interestion note re The Willow Branch someone mentioned. It has actually folded up, and the owner (Pauline Boudreault) has dissapeared taking several local artists works with her.
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Posted by Caliced Jeff on 2007-10-16 17:37:03
My Score:
Comment: As if this guy has you beliving were a hippy place! I assure you this is no hippy haven or maybe the suthor isnt truly sure what the definition of hippy is. I eat at grecos now and then at all locations and I cant say I have seen one hippy worh their. North bay is like any other place but truly lacks a lot of things that could make it better. For instance the shallow lake after every storm has the life guards still employed their warning you not to swim as you could possibly get a throat infection.
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Posted by Peabody on 2007-10-08 14:33:48
My Score:
Comment: Don''t be fooled. There is nothing genuine or interesting about North Bay. True, there once was a hippy thing happening, but same thing was happening everywhere. Real estate and rents are too expensive; no jobs; nothing happening. NORTH BAY SUCKS THE BOG ONE!!!!!
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Posted by Sarah on 2007-07-16 06:22:41
My Score:
Comment: I want to live in North Bay, it calls me all the way down here in southern ontario.
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Posted by Tobin on 2007-02-24 11:34:17
My Score:
Comment: Greco''s on Algonquin is fairly vegetarian friendly, and if you ask them they can sometimes substitute some of their ingredients to make an item Vegan friendly, also Dave''s Green Papaya, Momma Poon''s and several other Asian/Chinese places have vegetarian options on their menus. The Magic Kettle or the Willow Branch might be ok if you''re looking for more of a lunch type place.
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Posted by Earthcitizen on 2007-01-27 09:02:23
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Comment: Does anyone know of any vegetarian/vegan friendly restaurants in North Bay?
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Posted by Jesse from the Bay on 2006-12-01 00:16:53
My Score:
Comment: Hi All,
I think it''s awesome how North Bay is regarded as a "hippy" place. If hippies are into enjoying the outdoors and not stressing out about time or what other people think then I would have to agree with that designation. Being born and raised in North Bay I have enjoyed the laid back pace of the city, but I truly must say that my best times of playing guitar and enjoying myself, a cup of tea, and a nice big joint are back at my cottage just past the Commanda area. It''s cool to see that people realize why Northern Ontario has the potential to "live" in, and by "live" I don''t mean work, buy designer clothes and worry about how other people see you. Thank you all for calling my town a genuine place, it truly is.
Cheers,
Jesse
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Posted by Pogo from long ago on 2006-11-13 18:11:46
My Score:
Comment: Long ago there was a hippie movement that seems to still be here some place. I think that none of us really changed as much as the things around us have changed. Hippie stuff becomes dated but it is still real, we are still here and we are just not as much in the news. anyway pogo from long ago still thinks like a hippie and lives a more comfortable stable life style now that is all. Peace from the bush where all is quiet and nice. North Bay is nice
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Posted by Dusty on 2005-09-26 20:22:42
My Score:
Comment: I lived in North bay, try Kirkland lake. It''s crazy over here.
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Posted by JonnyGreenTeeth on 2005-06-10 03:32:11
My Score:
Comment: For anyone interested in the North Bay local music scene, please visit this brand new forum. www.northbaymusicforum.4t.com |
Posted by Ken on 2005-05-11 09:53:11
My Score:
Comment: The Commanda area just southwest of North Bay (not far from Powassan) still has the remnants of a hippie commune that settled in the area back in the day. Lots of the kids of the remaining commune members are in their late teens, 20''s and 30''s now and have migrated into North Bay and settled into the city''s music and arts community.
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Posted by Eskimo on 2005-04-20 03:06:53
My Score:
Comment: Sweet, I never knew.
You can check out alot of the little towns from Huntsville to North Bay along Highway 11 (and a few off the beaten trail), it''s an unofficial "Stoner Strip," there''s plenty of hippies tucked away in these places.
The Best places to check out are:
Kearney (east of emsdale)
Burk''s Falls
Sundridge
South River
Powassan
*Don''t know where it is? find a map, make the trip.*
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Posted by Motleyman on 2005-01-23 22:59:49
My Score:
Comment: North Bay is a communal melting pot where you find what you are looking for. If you are a "Chronic" - you know "Chronics". If you are a "Gino" - you hang with "Gino''s". North Bay''s younger population is hardcore generation X while our older folks are hardcore Oldschool. We have rich fukers and welfare cases - but everyone shops at the same damn stores - and, I believe, 70% of them smoke pot. While I would not consider North Bay a "Hippie Haven" as the likes of Nelson, B.C etc I would say that is does have more than it''s share of people with what would be considered an alternate lifestyle.
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Posted by Softee on 2005-01-19 09:05:08
My Score:
Comment: North Bay is the centre of the universe, man. Check out this photo-tour: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=2145544#post2145544
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Posted by alannah howell on 2005-01-18 03:43:17
My Score: 
Comment: hi i used to live in North Bay for 4 years its awsome and it is full of hippies stoners or not whatever the people there are not crazy thats how we north bay people like it crazy wierd and fun and i miss the Heritage fair its fun. so fuck all you people who think north bay sucks screw you
much love peace out
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Posted by Emily on 2004-08-26 09:18:30
My Score:
Comment: Hey Amanda, I also live in North Bay and i''d have to say that lots of those "alternative" looking people that you referred to may not dress like your stereotypical hippies, but they do think like hippies. What i mean by that is that they are really left-wing, artistic and creative type people who are often vegetarian, pot smoking, peacenick enviromentalists who play in a band in the local underground music scene, put out zines and get all worked up about political issues.
North Bay is full of these "modern day" alterna-hippies.
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Posted by Heidi on 2004-08-19 08:35:33
My Score:
Comment: I live in Canmore Alberta which is a small "hippiefied" mountain town. You wouldn''t believe how many people from North Bay that i''ve met in this town over the years. There were so many people from North Bay "crashing" in Canmore that it felt like they were taking over the town. Many of them have since moved back to North Bay, so i totally believe that North Bay has more than its fair share of hippies.
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Posted by Amanda Fallis on 2004-05-29 21:13:56
My Score: 
Comment: Ummm well I don''t know what you are talking about hippies in North Bay yeh I live here there is not lots of hippies here there is alot of like alternitive people people that do not dress and act the way most large city folk do but your write up was kinda neet reading about how other people see the city
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