Published online July 15, 2026, at www.pontiacjournal.com.
BIG P GOES SOLAR AFTER 30 YEARS — Friends, neighbours and patrons gathered at George’s Regal Beagle in Chichester on Saturday, June 27, to celebrate a new milestone for the iconic Big P. George and Erla Picard hosted the evening of live music and festivities to mark the installation of solar-powered LED lights inside the 125-pound letter by friends Tom Hewing and Dan Dillabaugh.
The Big P has been a local landmark since 1996. After the Palladium, home of the Ottawa Senators, was renamed the Corel Centre, local country radio station Y105 auctioned the surplus letters from the arena’s former sign to raise money for charity, including the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Sharon Picard purchased the giant letter P for $3,200, gifted it to her brother George and had it installed at George’s Regal Beagle. While it stood at the Palladium, the towering letter was visible from Highway 417 and the surrounding Palladium Drive area in Kanata. — Peter L. Smith
Photo — George Picard (right) and his sister, Sharon Picard, stand beside the newly illuminated Big P outside George’s Regal Beagle in Chichester. (PS)
