It you’ve been hankering for a dam tour, your time is about to come. On Friday, July 28, the Mattawa Museum in partnership with First Student Bus Lines and Ontario Power Generation are providing a free tour of the Otto Holden Dam.
Space is tight. Only 44 lucky folks will be able to witness the dam in all its glory. Here’s how to ensure your spot.
Get yourself to the Ontario Power Generation tent outside of the museum on Friday July 28 – the day of the tour – between 9 a.m. and noon. Odds are the seats will go quickly, so noon might be cutting it a little close. This is a dam tour, people, not a day to sleep in.
The first 44 people will get to go, simple as that. There will no online sales or pre-orders. You’ll have to be there in person.
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The tour is free for those lucky 44, thanks to Ontario Power Generation and First Student Bus Lines. Hop on the bus at 12 p.m. at the Museum, and once filled, the bus will leave the property at 12:30. After a half hour of intense anticipation, passengers will reach the dam around 1 p.m.
Then thou shalt behold the Otto Holden Dam. You’ll get a good look at it too, as the tour is an hour and a half. Kids are welcome but must be nine or older. However, for those with electronic medical devices, such as a pacemaker for your heart, you should avoid this tour as there is equipment on site that produce magnetic fields. Not great for pacemakers. Yes, the dam is a sight to behold, but certainly not worth your life for the tour.
Also, a certain level of fitness and mobility is needed for this one. It’s a walking tour, with stairs, and heights will be scaled as well to take in those dam views. Organizers note that participants should be physically fit and wear closed toe flat bottom soled footwear.
At times you will be walking over grating and potentially wet surfaces as well.
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The bus returns to the Museum by 3 p.m. For those saddened by the end of the tour, the Museum has you covered, as there is a brand-new exhibit about the dam and Ontario Power Generation on display.
All are welcome to that, so if you can’t be one of the lucky 44, the new exhibit will definitely scratch your dam itch.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
