Grace Bowen Tribute Fund photo
Northumberland will rally at the Cobourg Community Centre (CCC) this Sunday, Sept. 14 to honour the memory of local hero Grace Bowen.
“The Town of Cobourg is proud to rename the arena in honour of Grace Bowen,” said Mayor Lucas Cleveland. “Her legacy will live on in this space as young athletes come together to play and celebrate the sport she loved.”
The young hockey player from Grafton was a proud member of the West Northumberland Girls Hockey Association (WNGHA), often playing at the CCC and other area rinks in the community. She inspired people across Northumberland and beyond – even Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds and Canadian ice hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser – before cancer claimed her life at just age nine.
Grace passed away in 2015 following a heroic battle with osteosarcoma – the same cancer that Terry Fox had – which is described as a rare and aggressive bone cancer. Her battle started when she was only eight years old, with a sore knee and was later revealed to be a broken femur caused by osteosarcoma.
It was during her 11 months of treatment at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) that Grace connected with Wickenheiser and Reynolds, touching their hearts with her “bravery, resilience and spirit.”
As previously reported, earlier this year, Grace’s parents Greg and Andrea and Reynolds made an emotional plea to Cobourg leaders, and subsequently, a special request to rename the Pond Arena at the CCC to the Grace Bowen Arena in her memory. Cobourg answered the call unanimously, and the official renaming ceremony is now set for Sunday, Sept. 14, starting at 10 a.m. (which is also the same day as the Terry Fox Run.)
This renaming ceremony builds on a special tribute already earlier this year at the CCC, as SickKids marks its 150th anniversary in 2025. The community and WNGHA also rallied in honour of Grace while hosting one of the 150 SickKids 150th birthday balloon sculptures at the centre during that tribute in April.
Officials noted that the sculpture was created to represent the power of community and highlight the relentless work that continues daily at SickKids.
The event was also about raising awareness and fundraising efforts, while also recognizing 150 significant moments in the hospital’s history, one of which includes Grace meeting Reynolds and Wickenheiser. A conservation amidst this tribute is also what prompted the renaming.
The Grace Bowen Tribute Fund for osteosarcoma research was also created to carry on Grace’s legacy and keep her memory alive, while giving back to a hospital that worked so hard to save her life, it states online.
“Grace would be so happy to help other children at SickKids.”
The tribute fund page also highlights how Grace inspired many in her short life, and speaks to the joy she brought her family and how she loved so deeply.
“Her heart was full of happiness and kindness. This amazing, passionate girl was always concerned about others and always wanting to make others feel better …”
In the town’s release, it states Reynolds continues to be in contact with Grace’s parents and it was while on a call with Greg he heard about the sculpture being placed at the CCC – it was then he suggested a name change could serve as a “pretty beautiful gesture” to honour Grace, whose “temple” was the CCC.
The Vancouver-born actor then appeared virtually as a delegation to Cobourg’s community services, protection and economic development standing committee, formally requesting the name change on April 9, 2025, with Grace’s parents and sister Mackenzie also in attendance in-person and speaking at that meeting. Council formally approved the request at its subsequent April 30 meeting.
During Reynolds’ virtual appearance, he also spoke to how Grace changed his life – and likely thousands of children’s lives. He recalled meeting her for the first time, and how her name pretty much said it all.
In her memory, her family has also continued raising much-needed funds for childhood cancer research over the years.
This Sunday’s ceremony will officially mark the changing of the arena’s name to honour the life and legacy of Grace, a remarkable local youth who embraced every aspect of the game while playing for the WNGHA, said the Town of Cobourg, in its recent release, while extending an invitation to the community.
The day will start with the renaming ceremony from 10 to 10:30 a.m. with emcee Trudy Stacey. Residents will be able to view a livestream of the ceremony on the CCC’s Bowl Arena’s score clock. Access to the building will be through the east entrance (Bowl Arena) doors only, noted the town.
At 10:30 a.m., the canteen will open and there will be a craft table for kids in the grand hall. Then, from 11 to 11:30 a.m., attendees will be able to cheer on a scrimmage game featuring Grace’s teammates, explained the town, adding that the Bowen family will drop the game puck.
The day will wrap up with a free one-hour public skate after the scrimmage at the newly-named Grace Bowen Arena from about 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
