Located about an hour north of Toronto (depending on the traffic on the 400), most people only know Barrie as a place to make a pitstop on the way to a cottage in Muskoka.
However, if you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’re one of the roughly 150,000 people who are estimated to live there.
For anyone who grew up in Barrie, regardless of whether you still live there or you left and never looked back, there are a number of things that define life in the city — and reasons why it’ll always have a special place in our hearts.
Here are 22 signs you grew up in Barrie (and if you have more iconic memories to share, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below!)
1. You miss Wednesdays at 55 Special (RIP).
2. You had your first slow dance at a Cyber Zone video dance (which you likely had to beg your parents to attend).
3. You nearly peed yourself on the bus ride to The Kee to Bala (The Kee) on a Monday.
4. You went to U19 night at The Roxx.
5. You felt like you were in an American teen move when you attended a Thursday Night Lights football game.
6. You took a photo in front of the Dream Catcher thinking it was cool.
7. You went to The Mansion Nightclub when it still picked people up in school buses.
A bus pickup for The Mansion Nightclub in Barrie, Ontario.
Lazy Eye Entertainment
8. You skipped school and went to Wasaga Beach when the temperature was over 25 degrees.
It still has some of the best sandbars in Ontario.
9. You travelled to Newmarket or even Toronto to get your Hollister and Abercrombie gear because the Georgian Mall didn't cut it.
10. You still hung out there (or had a job there), though, and bought new outfits to wear on the weekend from Off The Wall.
11. You loved the winter in elementary school because there were so many snow days.
Snow in Barrie, Ontario, Canada.
Ali Millington
12. You have to tell people you’re from Toronto when you go on vacation because what even is Barrie?
13. When you came home for Christmas from school, you’d end up seeing everyone you'd ever met at Donaleigh's or Kenzington.
14. You went skiing, boarding, or tubing at Snow Valley when you were little and thought it was an actual mountain.
15. The first bar you ever went to was The Queens Hotel (affectionately known as The Queens) — but you knew to avoid Sports Side, which was for the older crowd.
16. You have attended both Kempenfest and Ribfest at some point in your life.
17. You’ve had street meat (a hot dog) from the Five Points at least once after the bar.
18. You learned how to line dance at The Ranch.
19. You threw (or attended) birthday parties at Putting Edge.
20. You’ve been to at least one bonfire at Wilkins Beach (did everyone else call it Chicken Beach? No? Just me?)
21. You’d go to a Barrie Colts game and mostly walk laps of the arena instead of watching the hockey.
22. You heard a ton of wild (probably untrue) stories about what went on at Lackie’s Bush.
This article has been updated since it was originally published on February 15, 2017.