For many Bobcaygeon residents, their village was placed on the map all thanks to Gord Downie.
A vigil was held Wednesday evening where around 50 people gathered for a candlelight vigil to pay their respects to the Tragically Hip frontman who died of brain cancer on Tuesday night.
“It still hits everybody, especially in this area, hard. The entire business of Bobcaygeon benefited from it,” said Bobcaygeon resident Adam Matthews.
“I travel the world a lot in the winter, and everywhere I go they know Bobcaygeon, and they know Gord Downie and the Hip,” he said.
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In 1999, The Tragically Hip released the Juno winning song Bobcaygeon, a cryptic song about a stressed out person from Toronto who longs for the tranquil and stress-free weekends in the rural village about 50 kilometres north of Peterborough.
Downie sang: “It was in Bobcaygeon, I saw the constellations reveal themselves, one star at a time.”
Downie has never definitively explained why he chose Bobcaygeon for the song other than once stating in an interview: “It rhymed with constellation…sort of.”
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In 2011, The Tragically Hip chose to host a large outdoor concert in Bobcaygeon. The event was held on a farmer’s field near Pigeon Lake attracting more than 25,000 fans.
Last August, Bolton street in Bobcaygeon was shut down as thousands gathered for an outdoor viewing of the Hip’s Man Machine Poem’ concert broadcasting live from Kingston.
Some residents from Bobcaygeon say they hope one day a street will be named after the Tragically Hip as a final thank-you for Downie and the band’s contributions.
Video Credits: Jamie Henderson/YouTube, dunc2013/YouTube