Reisch drove to Vermont to visit friends for the holidays and realized as he approached the border that he forgot his passport. He had a scan of it saved on his iPad and showed it to the border officer.

“There was a slight hesitation, he didn’t really seem like he was impressed,” Reisch said, but after a few minutes’ wait, he was allowed through the border checkpoint.

The anecdote is troubling because a scanned copy of a passport “is not a secure document,” said MP Brian Masse.

“That could be altered, and could also lead to some precedents that would jeopardize [border] security,” said Masse, NDP critic for US-Canada border relations.

However, Masse added, electronic passports could be implemented in future with safety features.

In the meantime, Reisch said, he hopes his iPad scan or a similar facsimile becomes as common as using a smartphone for airplane tickets.

“I’m a huge believer in technology,” he said.

In a statement sent to CBC, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it does allow several pieces of identification at the Canadian border. The list does not include a passport scan.

To make Icewine, grapes are left to freeze on the vine until temperatures fall below -8C (17.6 F). Hard as marbles, the grapes are crushed to drip out a concentrated juice containing 35-45% sugar. With the frozen water removed, it takes five to 10 times more grapes to make a bottle of Icewine than table wine: each grape produces roughly a drop of Icewine, the reason it costs about $50 for a 375 ml bottle.

Icewine is produced in several wine-growing regions across the country; here are three places to celebrate this winter ambrosia at Icewine festivals:

Nova Scotia

Who knew Nova Scotia was producing award-winning Icewine and celebrating with the annual Nova Scotia Winter Icewine Festival from Feb. 2 to 12, 2012? In Halifax and surrounding wine-growing valleys there are 40 events including Icewine tastings and pairings with local cuisine – everything from appetizers to gelat. Sample Icewine with cheese at Domaine de Grand Pré winery and with chocolate at the Gaspereau Vineyard then finish up the evening with an Icewine martini.

Ontario

The 17^th Niagara Icewine Festival is a 10-day salute to Ontario Icewines – which make up 75% of Canada’s production – from Jan. 13-29, 2012. There are Masquerade Gala evening toasts, chestnut roasts, Icewine dinners and ornate ice bars, not to mention winery tours, carriage rides and late-night Icewine grape picking. Thirty Ontario wineries including Pillitteri, Inniskillin and Reif Estate will present more than 100 award-winning Icewines.

British Columbia

From Jan.14-22, 2012, the Winter Okanagan Wine Festival showcases the province’s award-winning Icewines made by the likes of Jackson Triggs, Mission Hill and Hainle – the vineyard that started it all back in 1978. The event includes an Icewine seminar as well as tastings where guests wander through the snowy alpine village stopping in at restaurants and hotel lobbies where more than 20 wineries have set up. Then everyone heads outside to stroll and sip while listening to live music.

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Award-winning, Montréal, QC-based freelance writer and photographer Margo Pfeiff’s work has appeared in Lonely Planet guidebooks, Reader’s Digest, GEO,enRoute, explore, Canadian Geographic, Outpost, The Walrus, up here, LosAngeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, National Post and The Globe and Mail.She is working on a book about contemporary life in Nunavut.

All that and much more is on the menu when you check into your suite-with-a-lake-view at the Hotel Quintessence in the Laurentian Mountains at the foot of Mont Tremblant, Québec’s premier ski resort. Getting there is a 90-minute drive north of Montréal  – or a direct flight from New York City or Toronto.

Just minutes from the bustling ski lifts of Tremblant’s European-styled pedestrian-friendly ski village, Quintessence is a luxury boutique twice named Condé Nast Johansens’ Most Excellent Small Hotel in North America, most recently in March 2011. It’s all about decadence as you pass through the wood paneled lobby with its grand stone fireplace and curving staircase to one of 30 luxury suites catered to by a private concierge. But, being Québec, there is a casual ambience.

The resort delivers a huge range of “quintessential” winter activities: downhill skiing and snowboarding atop Mont Tremblant; snowshoeing; or cross-country skiing on the 150-km network of trails through woods, alongside rivers and lakes and over tiny bridges.

If all that sounds like too much work, slip into a sled and let the dogs do the panting, hop a helicopter ride over the winter landscape or zoom a snowmobile through a winter playground on a guided excursion.

In the dining room and wine bar, chef Jean-François Lalandec transforms local Québec products into gourmet meals like rack of lamb stuffed with chanterelles. But he also creates deluxe après-ski comfort food like macaroni and aged cheddar with bacon, cassoulet. There’s certain to be something amid the 5,000 bottles in the wine cellar tasting room to complement whatever you’re noshing.

For relaxation and re-charging there is the hotel’s Sans Sabot spa offering massages and treatments. Nearby is the Scandinave Spa, the genuine Finnish hot-cold/indoor-outdoor experience that can include tiptoeing through snow for a refreshing dunk in the icy du Diable River. Or simply curl up in your room in front of a blazing wood-burning fireplace lit by your very own Wood Concierge.

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Award-winning, Montréal, QC-based freelance writer and photographer Margo Pfeiff’s work has appeared in Lonely Planet guidebooks, Reader’s Digest, GEO,enRoute, explore, Canadian Geographic, Outpost, The Walrus, up here, LosAngeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, National Post and The Globe and Mail. She is working on a book about contemporary life in Nunavut.

1. Poles fit for a prince

Cross-country skiing, Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta

Lake Louise is for lovers. Ski lovers, that is. You can check out tree-lined cross-country trails or fly downhill in waist-deep powder, all under gorgeous blue skies. And if you’re up for more rustic adventure, try the famous Skoki Lodge, where Prince William and theDuchess of Cambridge visited in the summer.

TIP: Bring a camera to take great snaps of deer and elk as you shush by on your Nordic skis.

Lake Louise area cross-country ski trails

The Lake Louise Ski Area

2. Get seriously soaked, Radium Hot Springs, Kootenay National Park, Alberta

You can get me into hot springs at any time of year but on cool, crisp winter days, just try to get me out. Surrounded by snow-covered trees and the icy Mount Rundle, I love to wade shoulder-deep into the soothing mineral-rich waters and just smile.

TIP: For more warmth, try Banff Upper Hot Springs in Banff National Park.

Radium Hot Springs

3. Mush ado about winter  

Dog sledding, Kluane National Park and Reserve, Yukon

Here’s one for the bucket list. A chance to mush a team of gorgeous huskies through Kluane National Park and Reserve. Contact a local dog sled tour operator for itineraries.

TIP: Canada’s highest mountain, Mount Logan (5,959 metres; 19,545 feet), is located within the park.

Uncommon Journeys Ltd 

4. Go waterfall ice climbing  

Banff, Jasper, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks, Alberta and British Columbia

If you were born with a silver pick-axe in your hands, here’s news. Some 1,000 waterfalls exist through the Canadian Rockies, making it one of the world’s premier waterfall ice climbing destinations. Experienced climbers have easy access and incredible options.

TIP:  Massey’s and Pilsner Pillar are classic climbs near the village of Field in Yoho National Park.

5. Plan a family below zero family boil-up

Winter picnicking, Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta
Bundle up the family and head out for a picnic along the lake, stopping at one of the park’s enclosed camp kitchens. Cook lunch over a wood stove, seasoned with a dose of the stunning Rocky Mountains.

TIP: Snowshoe up and over the Akamina Pass and have a picnic on the continental divide.

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

1. Snuggle up to polar bears, Wapusk National Park, Manitoba

Moose, wolves and caribou are all found in Wapusk National Park, but the polar bears get most of the ooh and ahhs. Book a tour, climb aboard a fat-tired tundra vehicle and go nose to snout with a mother bear wrestling her cubs. TIP: Best time to see polar bears is mid-October to mid-December.

www.tundrabuggy.com

www.watchee.com

2. Become an Ice Road Trekker   

Wood Buffalo National Park, Northwest Territories

If you’ve seen TVs Ice Road Truckers haul cargo from Yellowknife to the diamond mines of the Northwest Territories, you’re probably itching to get behind the wheel. No problem. Just drive from Fort McMurray through Wood Buffalo National Park to Fort Smith, on an epic ice road journey crossing rivers, muskeg and portages.

TIP: Stop at Fort Chipewyan to experience one of Alberta’s oldest Aboriginal settlements.

3. Strap on your skis, and fly

Kite skiing on Astotin Lake, Elk Island National Park, Alberta

Grab the reins for kite skiing on Astotin Lake in Elk Island National Park. It has all the rush of downhill skiing, only you control the speed. Go from double diamond to the bunny hill in an instant. Plus, no waits for the ski lift. You can even tow the kids behind you on a toboggan.

TIP: Elk Island is a Dark Sky Preserve making it a great place to stargaze and see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).

4. Dream under the dome.

Yurt stay, Forillion National Park, Québec

I love cross-country skiing except for the climbing back into my cold car part. Now you don’t have to. Book a yurt and watch the sunset from your comfy tent cottage, surrounded by sea at the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula. Imagine a cozy wood stove, hardwood floor and comfy beds. Rustic, this ain’t.

TIP: In addition to more than 40 km (25 miles) of cross-country trails, the park offers dogsledding and snowshoeing.

5. Dance on frozen water

Maligne Canyon Ice Walk, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Nature puts on her ice show at the bottom of narrow Maligne Canyon every winter. Descend 50 metres where you’ll explore natural sculptures, waves, swirls, secret ice caves and waterfalls stretching like frozen claws over the canyon walls. Book a tour, strap on your steel grippers, and you’re off!

TIP: Strap-on a headlamp and try the romantic moonlight tour.

Maligne Canyon

Jasper Adventure Centre

SunDog tours

Overlander Trekking and Tours

Walk and Talks Jasper

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre
Writers Bio: British Columbia-based freelance writer and photographer Lori McNultyjourneys the globe to connect life and landscape. Her award-winning travel and arts essays uncover striking landscapes and soulful adventure.

“Alberta is blessed with so many real and memorable experiences in one of the most spectacular backdrops in the world and we are confident that we will raise awareness of Alberta with travellers around the world with the message ‘remember to breathe’ when you visit here,” said Bruce Okabe, Chief Executive Officer of Travel Alberta.  “This message will differentiate Alberta from competing vacation destinations both in Canada and internationally and underpin our strategy to grow tourism spending in the province $1 billion by 2016.”

Tourism currently attracts more than 22 million visitors annually to Alberta who spend more than $5 billion in the province. The industry generates more than $2 billion in annual tax revenue for federal, provincial and municipal governments and employs more than 90,000 people.

“Travel Alberta has worked with our tourism industry to embrace a new approach to marketing our province – one that aligns with the Alberta brand launched two years ago,” said Jack Hayden, Minister of Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation.  “I am confident that tourism operators across the province will rally behind this new brand, helping us make a stronger impact in a crowded global marketplace.”

“Research by Travel Alberta confirms that ‘remember to breathe’ is a powerful expression of what makes this province so attractive to the travellers who are the target of our marketing programs,” Royce Chwin, Travel Alberta’s Managing Director, Global Marketing and Brand Strategy. “Travel experiences in every community throughout the province reflect that sentiment which millions of visitors enjoy every year,” he said. “The brand promise speaks to the emotional connection that surprises a first time visitor and the feelings that keep travellers coming back to their favourite places in Alberta. We know that it is an extremely attractive message for youthfully-spirited travellers.”

Alberta’s new tourism brand is the result of an 18-month process which included consultation with industry stakeholders representing all regions of the province as well as opinion research with frequent travellers in Alberta’s target tourism markets in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia/Pacific.

The first phase of the new brand will launch with Travel Alberta’s winter consumer campaigns in the United States and Canada beginning next month.  The multi-media campaigns include television commercials, print advertising, social media and a new website www.remembertobreathe.com.

“I am honoured to announce the participation of Parks Canada in the Institute for Canadian Citizenship’s Cultural Access Pass Program. This pass for new Canadian citizens will now open the doors to places that bring together the geography and history defining their new country,” said Minister Kent. “Our national parks, national historic sites, and national marine conservation areas are an encyclopedia of our national identity, waiting to be discovered and experienced.”

Through the Cultural Access Pass, new Canadian citizens and up to four of their children under 18 years of age will receive free admission to more than 100 of Park Canada’s treasured places. The pass will be valid for one year after the new citizens have been sworn in. Several Parks Canada locations will also serve as pick-up locations for the passes.

“Community citizenship ceremonies at treasured Parks Canada places already offer a unique transformative and memorable experience,” said Minister Kenney. “The Cultural Access Pass will offer many more opportunities for new Canadian citizens to experience Canada’s natural and cultural heritage firsthand. This initiative will benefit new Canadian citizens by enabling them to become more informed about Canada and more committed to the communities in which they live,” added Minister Kenney.

The Institute for Canadian Citizenship is a national non-profit organization that engages new Canadians citizens through innovative programs, campaigns and partnerships. Their initiatives are designed to ensure that new citizens are welcomed and included as equals and are aimed at creating meaningful connections among all Canadians, fostering a culture of active, engaged citizens and celebrating our shared identity as Canadians.

“Together with Parks Canada, we are creating opportunities for new citizens to access the essence of what so many define as a uniquely and truly Canadian experience,” said Gillian Hewitt Smith, Executive Director and CEO, Institute for Canadian Citizenship. “By opening the gates to our national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas, tens of thousands of new Canadian citizens who have been able to curate their cultural experiences at museums, galleries, and other attractions, can now step outside and discover the beauty of this country’s natural heritage and historical sites.”

Parks Canada works to ensure Canada’s historic and natural heritage is protected and, through a network of 42 national parks, 167 national historic sites, and four national marine conservation areas, invites Canadians and people around the world to engage in personal moments of inspiring discovery at our treasured natural and historic places.

For additional information or to register for a Cultural Access Pass see www.parkscanada.gc.ca or http://www.icc-icc.ca/

Richmond is all about food, from Pan-Asian supermarkets like Yaohan and TNT to 400 restaurants where award-winning chefs – often Hong Kong trained – are morphing the province’s fresh produce into stellar cuisine that is attracting Asian tourists. Food Central is Alexandra Road – or “Eat Street” – three city blocks crammed with 200 restaurants from Korean to Indonesian.

Asians are passionate about “Ping-Pong” so table tennis lessons taught by Olympic coaches are in demand at the Richmond Olympic Oval built as the speed skating arena for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Watch dragon boats scoot by on the Fraser River as you stroll along the dikes, or take part in Tai Chi at one of the city’s parks. Head to the pier at Steveston to join seafood-mad Asians picking up sea urchins, salmon and sable fish right off the boats. Then relax over a world-class dim sum brunch and feel like you’ve just travelled halfway around the globe.

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Award-winning, Montréal, QC-based freelance writer and photographer Margo Pfeiff’s work has appeared in Lonely Planet guidebooks, Reader’s Digest, GEO,enRoute, explore, Canadian Geographic, Outpost, The Walrus, up here, LosAngeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, National Post and The Globe and Mail.She is working on a book about contemporary life in Nunavut.margo.pfeiff@gmail.com

But the very grand finale is an arboreal fireworks of brilliant colours that light up the forests of Ontario, Québec and the Maritime provinces. Hot on their trail from early September through October are legions of “leaf peepers”, enthusiasts who log in to autumn colour alerts to pinpoint peak times around which to plan their autumn vacations.

In Ontario, Algonquin Park is an iconic location to experience Mother Nature’s showy display, on a forest hike or a canoe journey across peaceful lakes blood-red with leafy reflections. Check out when the colours will peak, then hop the Algoma Central Railroad to travel by rail – as the Group of Seven painters did – to be inspired by the colours of the Agawa Canyon near Sault Ste. Marie.

Québec’s sugar maple trees make the province synonymous with fall colours. North of Montréal, European-styled Tremblant ski village celebrates fall with the Symphony of Colours arts and music festival from Sept. 10 to Oct. 10, set among the lakes and brilliant yellow birch and American beech forests of the Laurentian Mountains. South of Montréal, drift along on a calm, crisp autumn morning in a hot air balloon over giant pumpkin patches in the Montérégie region. In the New England-esque Eastern Townships, colours often continue until late October. Enjoy them amid the forest setting of chic Balnea Spa in Bromont or on a gourmet brunch, lunch or happy hour cruise aboard a deluxe new ship plying the forest-lined shores of Lake Memphremagog.

Fall foliage coincides with harvest time and both are celebrated on Prince Edward Island with oysters, mussels, clams, lobster, chowder and more during the Fall Flavours Festival from Sept. 2-25. The warm surrounding Gulf of St. Lawrence waters bless PEI with one of the longest fall foliage seasons in the Northeast.

In New Brunswick, take a road-trip on the Fundy Coastal Drive for vivacious reds and deep orange forests alongside some of the highest tides in the world on the Bay of Fundy. Watch for whales – it’s the season. And time your visit with a turkey dinner during Canada’s Thanksgiving Weekend on the second Monday in October.

Via Rail rolls along the rails at a leisurely pace through Eastern Canada’s fall spectacle from Toronto to Montréal en route to Halifax. From there, head out on your own by car on Nova Scotia’s Cabot Trail, one of the world’s most scenic drives, as it winds and twists along Cape Breton’s northern shore. Overnight on the Trail at the seaside, Scottish-themed Keltic Lodge overlooking maple, birch, oak and mountain ash blanketing the Highlands in red and gold. And while you’re there, take in the province’s Celtic Colours International Festival from Oct. 7 to 15 – is there a better way to celebrate fall than with fiery fiddling and foliage?

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Award-winning, Montréal, QC-based freelance writer and photographer Margo Pfeiff’s work has appeared in Lonely Planet guidebooks, Reader’s Digest, GEO,enRoute, explore, Canadian Geographic, Outpost, The Walrus, up here, LosAngeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, National Post and The Globe and Mail.She is working on a book about contemporary life in Nunavut.margo.pfeiff@gmail.com

Our national weather office crunched the numbers for our 100 largest cities and came up with Canada’s Weather Winners. Herewith, a guide to finding the perfect weather for your particular personality, sunny or otherwise.

You like a challenge

Whatever the season, Newfoundland and Labrador offers the toughest combination of weather you’ll find. St. John’s is our foggiest and windiest city, and Gander and St. John’s lead the country as the top two locations with more days of freezing rain. Sunny days are few and far between. Of course, this explains why the people are some of the friendliest and fun-loving in the country – you gotta be special to endure weather like this.

You’re a softie

Victoria and Nanaimo – both on Vancouver Island in British Columbia tie for the most comfortable weather in Canada. Not too hot in summer, not too cold in winter. They’re also a lot dryer and sunnier than most people think. Victoria gets less snow than anywhere in the country while Nanaimo boasts the clearest summer skies. No wonder people spend so much time outside here.

You like sizzling heat

Kamloops, BC boasts the highest summer temperatures with the mercury consistently climbing into the high 20sC (80sF) in July and August. One day it reached 40.6C (105F)! Locals grab a tube and float down the Thompson River on those lazy hot days. The tourism folks have a motto: ‘Playtime. Redefined’.

You don’t mind freezing your butt off!

Head north to Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories for the lowest average temperatures year-round. Yellowknifers can also boast about having the most extreme wind chill and the longest snow-cover – up to 190 days every year. On the plus side, Yellowknife has the sunniest summers in the country.

You like dancing in the rain

Prince Rupert on BC’s northwest coast is your kind of place. Once known as ‘the halibut capital of the world’, Prince Rupert is the wettest city in Canada, getting almost 2.5 metres (eight feet) of rain a year. When you’ve had enough rain, explore the rich history of the northwest coast at the world-class Museum of Northern BC.

You like to be awed

Southern Ontario is famous for hot, sticky summers; the perfect ingredients for creating thunder and lightning storms. So it’s no coincidence that Windsor, our most humid city and one of our hottest (just a 3.5-hour drive from Toronto), also has the most days of thunderstorm activity. Daggers of lightning and thunderous claps will keep you entertained on many a summer evening.

You want a taste of everything

Montreal is the quintessential Canadian city for weather. It gets an average amount of just about everything: rain, snow, heat, cold, sun and wind. But just because the weather is average doesn’t mean the city is. Montreal is one of our most exciting, most romantic and arguably our most cosmopolitan city. The mix of weather is a bonus.

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Suzanne Morphet is passionate about exploring Canada and writing about it. She knows she’d need many lifetimes to do it justice…. So with just one, she’s working hard to see and share as much as she can. Her travel stories have appeared in The Globe and Mail, up! magazine (West Jet’s in-flight magazine), Homemakers and numerous other publications. Morphet recently co-authored The Vancouver Island Book of Everything. She is based in Victoria, BC.

It’s ‘All Aboard!’ for this new train that departs Québec City for La Malbaie in the Charlevoix region of Québec.

This train has been worth the wait. For much of the 140 km route, it runs alongside the St. Lawrence River, a river so big locals refer to it as ‘la mer’. On the other side of the track are the Laurentian Mountains, beautiful at any time of year and particularly so in the fall as maple trees turn red and orange.

The train itself is an attraction. The six railcars dating from the 1950s have been stripped down and fully refurbished in a contemporary style. Each one carries 68 passengers. A multi-media presentation reveals the region’s history and culture as the natural scenery unfolds outside. The train leaves Québec City each morning and returns each evening.

The journey is a gastronomic adventure as well. The executive chef of the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu hotel in La Malbaie, Jean-Michel Breton, is in charge of creating gourmet meals. The region is well known for its abundant agricultural produce, locally made cheeses, hand-crafted ales and creative chefs, so be prepared for some amazing food.

Once at La Malbaie, you’ll want to wander through the historic Fairmont hotel or stay the night. It was originally built by the Canada Steamship Lines in 1899 and re-built in 1928 after a fire. It symbolizes the glory days of Charlevoix when well-heeled tourists arrived by steamship or train. (Yes, there were other trains before this one.)

In winter, the new train stops at the base of Le Massif for skiers to get off, and at the company’s new hotel complex in Baie-Saint-Paul.

The train, as well as the ski resort and the new hotel complex, are all the brainchild of Daniel Gauthier. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he co-founded Cirque du Soleil, Canada’s famed artistic entertainment company that started in Baie-Saint-Paul.

If you know anything about Cirque du Soleil, you’ll know not to underestimate Gauthier – or his former business partner, Guy Laliberté – who has also invested in this project. If they can re-invent the circus, imagine what they are doing with a train.

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Suzanne Morphet is passionate about exploring Canada and writing about it. She knows she’d need many lifetimes to do it justice…. So with just one, she’s working hard to see and share as much as she can. Her travel stories have appeared in The Globe and Mail, up! magazine (West Jet’s in-flight magazine), Homemakers and numerous other publications. Morphet recently co-authored The Vancouver Island Book of Everything. She is based in Victoria, BC.

As its name suggests, the Great Bear Rainforest is big, wild and wet. There are no roads through it. You need a guide with a boat. And you need food and shelter.

That’s where the Spirit Bear Lodge comes in. It overlooks the ocean in the First Nation community of Klemtu. The Kitasoo and Xai’xais people have lived on this coast for thousands of years. They’re particularly fond and protective of the rare white Spirit bears.

Photo credit : spiritbear.com

When you stay at their Spirit Bear Lodge, you’ll go out in a small boat each day to explore different river estuaries, looking for the distinctive white bears that look like polar bears, even though they’re really a genetic variation of black bears. (Spirit bears, also known as Kermode bears, are born white if both parents share a recessive mutation of a certain gene. The parents themselves can be black.)

Autumn is the best time of the year to view all the bear species. That’s when they appear along the banks of rivers to feast on salmon. In September and October thousands of salmon are fighting their way up-river, back to where they were born, before laying their eggs and dying.

 That’s if the many bears don’t catch them first. Guests of the Lodge are positioned at natural vantage points on the shorelines, ideal for intimate eye-level encounters with both Black Bears and Grizzlies. The Spirit Bears are rare and elusive and encounters with these extraordinary bears are just as special.

You don’t need to be afraid of the bears either. They’re intent on catching salmon and fattening up before winter, so they don’t pay any attention to people. You can sit safely a short distance away and watch them fish.

And because this place is so remote – Klemtu is about 600 km northwest of Vancouver – there probably won’t be anyone else around.

After a day of watching bears, you’ll go back to Spirit Bear Lodge for a hot dinner served on two enormous dining tables made from solid cedar. Gaze out the expansive windows in ‘The Great Room’ and watch for passing whales, white-sided dolphins and sea lions.

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Suzanne Morphet is passionate about exploring Canada and writing about it. She knows she’d need many lifetimes to do it justice…. So with just one, she’s working hard to see and share as much as she can. Her travel stories have appeared in The Globe and Mail, up! magazine (West Jet’s in-flight magazine), Homemakers and numerous other publications. Morphet recently co-authored The Vancouver Island Book of Everything. She is based in Victoria, BC.

In its 15^th  year, the 10-day event, Oct. 7-15, is a showcase of all things Gaelic, the cultural heritage introduced hundreds of years ago by refugees from Scotland. There’s been a recent renaissance of Gaelic culture in the region, and now even road signs appear in Gaelic and English.

The festival is unique in that it takes place in 33 communities across Cape Breton, along country roads including the scenic coastal Cabot Trail. Music and dance performances, storytelling, as well as workshops and presentations on Gaelic language and culture take place in venues from a state-of-the-art performance hall to a reconstructed 18^th-century French chapel and local community centres: impromptu ceilidhs – lively kitchen parties – are on the menu as are homemade suppers served up in local fire halls.

This year’s festival features a jam-packed calendar with almost 350 artists from Cape Breton, the United States, Ireland and Scotland performing 45 shows. One of the themes is exploring Celtic roots in Cajun and Appalachian music with the festival’s artists in residence, local Acadian songwriter Ron Bourgeois and old-time Appalachian fiddler and singer Bruce Molsky from the U.S.

Stars in this year’s line-up include local bad-boy Ashley MacIsaac, famed for his kilt-clad fiery fiddling of traditional Cape Breton and rock ‘n’ roll tunes: the Barra MacNeils, a group of six siblings who are Canada’s Celtic ambassadors: and the Louisiana-based Grammy winners BeauSoleil Quartet with Michael Doucet who mix up Cajun with Zydeco and add a dash of jazz and blues.

From Ireland, the Black Family as well as the Alan Kelly Quartet will hit the stage. From Scotland there’s Gaelic singer Kathleen MacInnes. Dancers on the roster include Nic Gariess and, from Manitoba, the Ashram Stompers, a high-energy jig and square dance troupe offering up a dash of Métis.

Bring your own guitar and join in workshops. Or sign up for outdoor events like hiking through fall colors, particularly spectacular on the Cabot Trail. Afterwards, finish off the day with hot apple cider and oatcakes at a ceilidh in the community hall.

The schedule is so packed it’s impossible to see and hear every bit of Gaelic magic. Celtic Colours may be big, but it’s also refreshingly non-commercial, a down-home celebration deeply rooted in Cape Breton’s local culture.

Celtic Colours International Festival: www.celtic-colours.com

Official Cape Breton Website: http://cbisland.com/home.html

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre
Writers Bio: Award-winning, Montréal, QC-based freelance writer and photographer Margo Pfeiff’s work has appeared in Lonely Planet guidebooks, Reader’s Digest, GEO,enRoute, explore, Canadian Geographic, Outpost, The Walrus, up here, LosAngeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, National Post and The Globe and Mail.She is working on a book about contemporary life in Nunavut.margo.pfeiff@gmail.com

Watch for the hot pink Cupcake Diner on wheels, parked in the downtown core of the city as well as at special events. Owner Natalie Ravoi tapped into her love of baking and took it to the streets, literally, and created Canada’s first mobile cupcake shop. She bakes gourmet cupcakes daily with a retro twist.

People line up for varieties like caramel apple pie, chocolate and peanut butter, the 1950s Classic (à la Hostess cupcakes), lemon meringue and raspberry white chocolate. Plus she offers gluten-free and vegan variations, too.

But before diving into dessert, there’s heartier fare to be had. You can’t miss Canada’s only grilled cheese food truck. Look for the gorilla. It’s a sign that you’ve found Gorilla Cheese, owned by Graeme Smith and Scott Austin.

Smith went to Liaison College to become a professional chef and Austin is a grass roots foodie himself. They came up with the idea for a grilled cheese truck, a perfect fit for comfort-food craving urbanites. These aren’t just any garden-variety sandwiches, but gourmet, grilled-to-order ones, made with real cheese from Jensen’s, an Ontario cheese maker based in Simcoe. They’re gooey and wonderful, served alongside tomato soup and baked beans, all made from scratch.

Roving the area called the Golden Horseshoe, stretching from Toronto to Niagara Falls, is El Gastronomo Vagabundo. It’s a joint Australia-Canada project, thanks to its owners Tamara Jensen and Adam Hynam-Smith, a professionally trained chef from Down Under.

They have been serving up tantalizing mobile eats, like heirloom tomato and watermelon salad, Asian specialties, and gourmet tacos like Thai coconut red curry and tempura salmon. Ingredients are sourced from small local producers, making this a true grass-roots operation. To catch El Gastro on the move, follow them on Twitter or Facebook. You’ll likely spot them at Flat Rock

Cellars winery in Jordan on the weekend or the St. Catharines farmer’s market.

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Michele Sponagle (m.sponagle@sympatico.ca) is a travel writer based in Paris, ON, who has sampled hotel beds in more than 50 countries.

Time to rev up the truck, yes the same one I took on the Horn Trip last time. It’s a metallic tungsten grey SUV. Let’s see if I can pair some of those wines I tasted with local fair. The County is known for a celebration of regional cuisine, featuring regional chefs, local growers and wonderful wines. I think I’m going to do a progressive dinner tonight across The County.

So here I am at The Bloomfield Carriage House Restaurant http://www.bloomfieldcarriagehouse.com/ owned and operated by my friends Chef Scott Kapitan and Pastry Chef Jacqui Vickers. For you foodies, it’s a can’t miss place…a culmination of passion for good food and service. Scott only cooks with product abundant in the County. It is simple elegant French inspired cuisine. The converted carriage house, hence the name, is that country charm with a touch of refinement. Now sit next to the fire place during the cooler months and sitting on top is me…no just kidding, it’s one of my stone sculptures. Tonight I think I’ll enjoy the breeze of summer on the shaded patio with the duck, no the lamb, no the rabbit, no the pot de feu.

At least I know the focus is Canadian product layered over the foundations of French cuisine. Local and organic product is widely used as everything is made in house by Scott, even the charcuterie. It’s that slow food ideal, so any choice is an excellent one.

Jacqui’s breads and pastries at The Marshmallow Room Bakery are all made with organic, unbleached flour. The bakery sits right on Main Street Bloomfield. And here is a secret; along with filtered water she uses either Maldon sea salt or Sel de Guerande from Brittany. Please don’t say a word! And there are preserves, from in house made jams, chutneys and jellies both in the bakery and on-line. Scott and Jacqui are obsessed with quality, freshness and natural products from beginning to end. I am just dying here; The Marshmallow Room also sells in-house made charcuterie, such as boar or elk pâté, rillette and salami. Guess I must be in heaven!

Well let’s see… of to the  Milford Bistro  http://milfordbistro.com. And the owner Chris Pengelly is also a friend! The Bistro is in a charmingly quirky 120 year old wooden building, in a little hamlet with an old mill, a theatre, two waterfalls, a pond and a river. There are two growers of organic heirloom veggies within walking distance, a farm raising cattle and a cheese factory down the road.  The artwork in the Bistro is just as quirky and is supplied by fad: funktional art and design, from where? From Prince Edward County of course!

The Milford Bistro works hard to rise to the occasion, cooking small scale, sourcing locally and letting their menu reflect the changing seasons. Choose from The Chef’s Chicken, The Chef’s Beef or The Chef’s Lamb. Last year they won one of the coveted local Taste Awards. This year they were named tourism/hospitality business of the year. Reading words like “charming”, “unique”, “hidden gem”, “will recommend” and most of all “will be back” in their guest book makes them proud and happy. “We believe we have the most intimate, romantic restaurant around. We invite you to come and see for yourselves”, as per Chris! As an aside, it’s one of the places I celebrated my birthday this year!

If you don’t have time for a meal …well then you are in for a treat.  If you are hungry for a delicious burger made with local ingredients, you will want to stop on by the Bistro weekends at the Outdoor Burger Bar, your choice of meat! Now it’s time for this county boy, LOL, to hit the big city! Picton here I come!

Hey boys, how’s Portabella http://www.portabellaonmain.com doing? Owners Don King and Roy Pennell use fresh and local ingredients with a large selection of county wines. The local thing is a theme here, don’t ya think.  Located on Picton’s Main Street, Portabellas has a pretty relaxed atmosphere with a casual menu. Portabella is a dining favourite for locals and visitors alike. Get the pecan chicken. You can dine and wine with friends, family and your partner taking in the encaustic artwork by local artist Tanya Kirouac.  Food, wine and art…what more can you ask for from your dining experience.

So heading back west, as we headed east sorta is Copper Kettle Chocolate Company  http://www.copperkettlechocolate.ca. And guess what? It’s owned by one of my best friends, Sue Burgess. She is best known for over 30 varieties of unique chocolate bark, astonishing truffles, homemade ice cream (in season) as well as delicious chocolate and nut specialties. And no matter what she says, I came up with `the idea for the sponge toffee ice cream!

Five of Copper Kettle Chocolate Company’s chocolate barks have won awards at the Canadian Fine Food Show in Toronto. Oh BTW, the white chocolate caramel corn is divine plus there are always oodles and oodles of samples. Copper Kettle Chocolate Company is located in the charming town of Picton, Ontario, close to wineries, great restaurants, galleries and the largest freshwater sand dunes in the world, Sandbanks Provincial Park.

Almost across the street is The Pastry House http://www.pastryhouse.ca. Yes we have more than one bakery in The County. It is a small artisan bakery run by Peter Grendel. Here you will find a fine selection of cakes, pastries, cookies, buns, rolls and breads, all baked in house Peter does not use any artificial colours flavours or preservatives.

Enjoy a cup of fresh coffee or tea with a pastry from the large selection or take back a treat for your friends or partner to enjoy at the inn, bed and breakfast or campground during your stay in Prince Edward County. Whatever the occasion you will find something, a slice of sacher torte anyone?

Enough about eating, what about making it and eating it, too at From The Farm Cooking School http://fromthefarm.ca. Experience the joy of cooking seasonally in Prince Edward County, Ontario – Canada’s newest culinary destination. From the Farm Cooking School is the ultimate field to table culinary experience. Oh and yes, owner Cynthia, a personal chef and food writer is also a friend. What can I say, it’s a small community! She offers cooking classes that highlight the art of seasonal country cooking and traditions from around the world.  Sessions are conducted at her restored 1830’s farmhouse, Willow Hill north of where I live, in Hillier Township.

Start your morning by taking a food tour to meet the farmers and local producers. Cynthia will guide you through the local food scene and highlights of the region. You’ll be able to hand pick your ingredients for your class and purchase some goodies to take home. If time is tight, Cynthia will shop and have the items ready for your arrival.  After completing your menu, you can enjoy your culinary creation in dining room or outside in the scenic screened-in porch. The day will capture your heart and your senses.

I have learnt something about myself this evening. With few exceptions, I guess I really like meat! That raps it up for now. Here I go bombing down the gravel road, with hare trying to stare me down as I pass by. One quick right and into the driveway I go, home to The Bunker, my house. Cool there are three deer just grazing. Their white tails up and off they go! Lady Gaga must have scared them off, I shouldn’t have been blaring the CD player with the windows down!

Writers Bio: Brought to you by Out in The County www.outinthecounty.com your GL travel source to Prince Edward County managed by partners Michael Deyell and Dean Munroe.  Please consider joining our Out in The County facebook page to stay informed at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Out-in-The-County/223674571008370 

Originally occupied by First Nations communities, the Bay saw its first explorers, missionaries and traders arrive around the 1600s. French explorer Samuel de Champlain charted the area, with his maps lasting as reference to westbound explorers for nearly two centuries. The next two centuries saw such newcomers as military personnel, fishermen, loggers and homesteaders inhabiting the land. Slowly the area became spotted with villages, many growing to town or city status.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL SIZED MAP (PDF)

Each group had its own trials and tribulations: battling the land, waters, weather, or each other. Land roads were inadequate or non-existent, and water routes were often blocked by ice in the winter. The waters were often rough, with the only saving grace being the existence of abundant natural harbours.

Today, many denizens proclaim that the Georgian Bay area sparkles with the best recreational pursuits: skiing, golfing, cruising, heritage sites, events and festivals. Roam the rim of the Georgian Bay and see what brought many to its shores, and what lures the thousands of vacationers who flock to the territory during all four of its distinct seasons.

Sights and places to discover

The stopovers are countless in the Georgian Bay area. Here’s a quick overview starting south of the Bay.

Owen Sound

The first to footprint the sandy shores of Owen Sound, a southern Georgian Bay location, was the Petun Indians, members of the Huron association. The Iroquois engaged them in warfare for decades. Rather than face genocide, the Hurons eventually retreated from the area. Later, the Ojibway tribes of Lake Superior in turn ousted the Iroquois.

After Champlain mapped the area in the 1600s, settlers began to arrive. It is highly likely that they took moments from their toil to enjoy the scenery of what is now known as the Niagara Escarpment. The Niagara Escarpment is an eco-system that supports hundreds of plant and wildlife species, and has been deemed a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (which entails the preservation of crucial ecological features even if the area is developed).

One lad who later became enthralled by the distinctive vegetation and turquoise waters was Tom Thomson. Thomson influenced, and was influenced by, the famous Group of Seven. The Group of Seven were an early 1920s Toronto-based group whose paintings expressed a true love for the Canadian wilderness. His works, as well as several of his contemporaries and modern painters, remain in the Tom Thomson Art Gallery.

Scottish, Irish and English first populated Owen Sound in the 1840s. A taste of their culture lives on through the Owen Sound Celtic Festival, held for three days each September. Dancing, food and historical re-enactments are all part of the revelry.

Generation upon generation thrived in Owen Sound. Amongst the population rose a young man who later became a Canadian hero. William Avery ‘Billy’ Bishop, went on to be a World War I and II fighting ace, and tangled with the dreaded Red Baron. A stop at the Billy Bishop Museum will educate visitors of his life and other highlights of Canadian aviation history.

Today, Owen Sound is the largest town in the area, with a population of 21,000 permanent residents. Because of the close proximity to Lake Huron and the Georgian Bay, the communities around the Bay usually experience cooler temperatures in the summer and milder winter temperatures. In Owen Sound the daily maximum temperature in the height of summer is 22 C (72 F) and winter lows of no less than -12 C (10 F). However, as is the case with most of Ontario’s areas, be prepared for atypical weather conditions.

Collingwood

Proceeding east for 64 kms (40 miles), one will come to the Town of Collingwood, with a population of over 16,000 people.

Outside of town is evidence of glacial ice, dating back millions of years. Explorers of the Scenic Caves Nature Preserve can tread through the various limestone splits and caverns, and even squeeze through the 14-inch-wide passage known as ‘Fat Man’s Misery’. Between 1400 and 1600, the Huron Indian Village of Ekarenniondi stood at this site. Visitors may still touch the worshipping rock of this tribe.

While the Hurons lived in long houses constructed of poles and elm bark, spending much of their time engrossed in hunting, fishing and growing corn for their meals, the same cannot be said for today’s travellers and residents. Many people are drawn to the area for its luxurious resorts and recreational activities. Blue Mountain Resort is at the back door of Ontario’s highest mountain, Blue Mountain, and is populated by alpine ski enthusiasts in the winter. Golfing at Cranberry Golf Resort is prime, especially due to the resort’s dedication to protecting and enhancing wildlife in the area (Canada’s only fully certified Audubon Sanctuary, promoting ecology).

French explorer Samual de Champlain surveyed Collingwood in the 1600s. These days, another man of infamy strolls the town one weekend each July, and can be seen everywhere! The Collingwood Elvis Festival brings both amateur and professional impersonators of ‘The King’ to the area for competitions, concerts and general hound-dogging.

In the early 1800s, many black Americans slipped the shackles of slavery and escaped to such places as Collingwood and its neighboring community of Owen Sound via the ‘Underground Railroad’. The railroad was a network of former slaves and sympathizers who assisted the fugitives to gain freedom. The bittersweet stories of these early settlers can be learned at the Sheffield Park Black History and Cultural Museum.

Collingwood became a noteworthy port and railhead, as it was the receiving point for grain from Thunder Bay and the Prairies, as well as the departure point for Western settlers and goods. Shipbuilding became quite industrious. Today, boaters hear the call of the cool, enchanting waters and contentedly anchor at one of the Georgian Bay’s numerous marinas.

Wasaga Beach

What made the Wasaga Beach area displeasing to early settlers – sandy land that was unsuitable for farming – is today’s biggest lure. The longest fresh water beach in the world (a remarkable14 kms/9mils) entices many. Wasaga Beach’s population hovers slightly above 12,000 people, with a visitor count of approximately two million each year. The end of the most popular season is appropriately marked with the Memories of Summer Fireworks during the Labour Day weekend.

The beach of this central town is also historically significant, as it was the fly off location for the first plane to make an overseas flight from Canada: the length of the beach made it the perfect runway.

Rather than trying to tame the terrain of Wasaga Beach as the early settlers did, visitors today embrace its ruggedness, which provides many recreational pursuits. The trails in Wasaga Beach Provincial Park are ideal for hiking, cross-country skiing and cycling. A stop at the Blueberry Nordic Centre can serve as a warm-up or as an information point. And the Nottawasaga River is perfect for fishing and canoeing.

While in the park, stop at Nancy Island, where the Americans sank the Schooner Nancy, the last British ship on the Great Lakes, during a battle in 1814. The sunken hull formed an obstruction in the river, which eventually formed the island. A museum on the island contains other remnants of the Nancy as well as battle artifacts. Far from the cries of combat, visitors to the island can now hear the alluring sounds of live Big Band, Swing and Jazz bands. Jazz in the Park is a series of 10 free concerts on scheduled evenings in July.

Penetanguishene

Continuing north up the Bay’s shore is the small town of Penetanguishene (population 5,000). Penetanguishene holds the title of the oldest town in Ontario, when as early as 800 AD Aboriginals built semi-permanent villages in the area. In 1793, the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe recognized the military potential of the area, and began promoting development. It was in the early 1800s that the British naval and military base Discovery Harbour was built.

For a marine experience, visitors may board the M.S. Georgian Queen. A live commentator cites stories of the past while pointing out the magnificent scenery of the day. Sailors of both private and rented vessels will admire the Pentanguishene’s lovely and protected harbours.

Midland

Approximately five km (three miles) from Pentangushene is the town of Midland, with a population of over 14,000 people. Samuel de Champlain brought the first Jesuit missionaries to the Midland area in the 1600s, intent on saving Huron souls. The mission Sainte-Marie among the Hurons became Ontario’s first European community, experiencing settlement, war, disease, and finally abandonment. The site continues to attract tourists, as costumed interpreters give live history lessons about the Sainte-Marie.

In the 1800s, the area boomed with industry and railroad expansion. Those who were gifted tracts of land for their government or military services also increased the number of inhabitants. The town was dubbed the ‘Chicago of the North’, as it was thought to be the place a fortune could be made. Millions weren’t accumulated but nonetheless, the area began to attract a wealth of artists and naturalists. The town is home to over 30 outdoor murals, including North America’s largest outdoor historic mural, situated over Midland Harbour. Close to Midland is the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre, whose residents include a myriad of bird and wildlife species, including trumpeter swans.

Honey Harbour

From Honey Harbour, many cottagers navigate by boat to their properties in the 30,000 Islands. The area also has an abundance of rental cottages, resorts and marinas to serve as home base for exploring the waters. A water taxi service provides transportation to Canada’s only island park, the Georgian Bay Islands National Park. Fishing and boating are popular summer activities, while those who are more adventurous often snowshoe or cross-country ski over the frozen water in winter.

Parry Sound

Progressing up to the northern region of Ontario is Parry Sound. This community has seen much toil and action in its colourful past. Today it is a recreational hot spot. A myriad of water activities, cultural sites and events and impressive parks beckons many to the area. Read WorldWeb Travel Guide’s article Parry Sound Town & City Review.

Killarney

Hundreds of years ago, Canada’s voyageurs set up a fur trading post to ease their canoe journeys. Water travel was the only method of transportation to Killarney, as there was no road access until 1962 to this northern post, located almost five hours away from Toronto. Both passengers and freight entered the “Shibaonaning’, the Ojibway name for ‘canoe channel’ by steamships.

Today, sailboats and power yachts float the pristine waters, but for pleasure rather than necessity. The small village of Killarney triples in size during the summer, as it boasts the ‘crown jewel’ of Ontario’s parks – Killarney Provincial Park. Sapphire lakes, ridges filled with jack pines, the snow capped white quartzite La Cloche Mountains and pink granite shorelines have captivated artists, adventure seekers and nature appreciators.

30,000 Islands, including Manitoulin Island

One of the most mentioned highlights in the Georgian Bay is the 30,000 Islands, which includes Manitoulin Island, the world’s largest island contained within a freshwater lake. Boaters find the area a paradise, as the picturesque islands with their numerous secluded bays, inlets and coves, as well as the countless towns, marinas and resorts, provide the back drop and services required to make it in the ranks of top sailing waters. After crossing the swing bridge of Little Current which links Manitoulin Island to the mainland, travel to Bridal Veil Falls. The hiking and cascading waterfall is well worth the trip.

For more information click here

When it comes to making significant decisions regarding insurance products and services, 63% of Canadians don’t go to an insurance provider, but instead ask their friends, family or colleagues for advice (25%), rely on searching the Internet (33%), or simply go with their gut (4%).

“Doing your own research online and asking friends for advice about insurance is certainly a good starting point, but if you rely solely on these sources, then you may encounter some issues down the track,” says Henry Blumenthal, Vice President & Chief Underwriter, TD Insurance. “A reliable source can clarify any mistruths and ensure you understand your coverage to avoid any costly headaches in the event that something unexpected happens.”

Myth: Red cars are more expensive to insure

Many Canadians think auto insurance premiums are more expensive for red (29%) and two-door (54%) cars. And almost half (48%) think that if you’re in an auto accident your insurance rates won’t go up if you don’t file a claim. None of these statements are true.

“Most people may not know it, but the insurance industry is colour-blind. It doesn’t matter if your car is blue, red, striped or chequered, your insurance rate for that make, model, and age of the vehicle will be the same,” says Blumenthal. “There are so many factors that make up the formula for auto insurance premiums. For example, a mom who lives in the city centre and drives to work each day may actually be more expensive to insure than a 28-year-old man who lives in a suburb and catches the bus to work.”

Myth: If you file a claim through home insurance for stolen or damaged items due to fire or water damage, you will be reimbursed for replacing the items in your home at today’s prices

Sixty-three percent of Canadians wrongly believe they will be reimbursed at today’s prices if they file a home insurance claim for stolen or damaged items.

“A standard home policy only covers you for the value of your contents, less depreciation. For example, if you purchased a television five years ago for $500, you might only get $100 for it if it were destroyed in a fire even if it costs $600 to replace that same TV today,” says Blumenthal. “If you want a higher form of protection you should choose to add the Replacement Value option to your contents coverage, which will ensure the contents of your home are insured for the amount it costs to replace them today.”

Myth: You only need travel insurance if you’re vacationing outside of Canada

One quarter of Canadian adults (28%) think that you only need travel insurance if you travel outside of Canada, and almost half (48%) have travelled outside of their home province without it.

“Getting sick or injured while on vacation isn’t only bad timing, it’s very expensive. Provincial medical coverage won’t provide comprehensive coverage if you’re outside of your home province, so it’s important that you ensure you’re covered even when you’re travelling domestically,” says Minor. “And when it comes to international travel, many Canadians don’t realize that the average out-of-country in-hospital bill can cost up to $10,000 per day, and the average emergency room visit is $1,000.”

Top features Canadian travellers shouldn’t budge on in their travel insurance policies include 24/7 assistance, more than $1 million of emergency medical coverage, and expense coverage if you need to be flown home for medical care.

Located on the southern tip of New Brunswick, the seaside village of St. Andrews has been a healthy retreat in summer for more than a century. People come to stop and smell the flowers at Kingsbrae Garden and walk Water Street, where two- and three-storey clapboard buildings from the 19th century are now home to shops, restaurants and bars. Most of all, visitors venture to St. Andrews to experience the 16-m (52-ft) tidal shift on the Bay of Fundy, the highest tide in the world. By all means, get out on the water via guided boat tour or sea kayak to discover the bevy of sea life, from the arched back of the minke whale to the equine snout of the gray seal to the harbor porpoises jumping in tandem to the eagles flying overhead.

Back on terra firma, spend the night at the Kingsbrae Arms, a Relais & Chateaux property that was once the country home of the very family that created the neighboring Kingsbrae Garden. Chef Guillaume Delaune has no regular menu. His select group of fishermen and farmers meet him daily to deliver locally caught halibut, lobster, scallops, wild mushrooms, organically grown greens and blueberries. One bite of the tender pan-roasted halibut and you’ll realize that St. Andrews is now a luxurious retreat, one that continues to stimulate all five senses.

Getting here

Kingsbrae Garden, 220 King St., 1-866-566-8687, kingsbraegarden.com

Whale Watching Cruise, Quoddy Link Marine, 6 King St., 1-877-688-2600,quoddylinkmarine.com

Kingsbrae Arms, 219 King St., 506-529-1897, kingsbrae.com

Tourism New Brunswick, 1-800-561-0123, www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca Steve Jermanok’s frustration at gardening has only taught him to appreciate even more the splendor of a well-manicured garden. He blogs daily at ActiveTravels.com.

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre by Steve Jermanok

Photo: Genevieve Parise

The “Park Dreams Contest” asks people to share in 50 words or less a dream experience they’ve already had or wish for in any one of Canada’s 42 national parks. The topic is wide, and CPAWS is looking for dreams ranging from the wildest excursion to the most stunning view. There will be a two-week voting period after the closing date to help determine which 100 dreams will make it onto Canada’s first national parks bucket list.

The top-voted dream will win the grand prize trip for two to the Nahanni and the two runners up will receive great prize packages including a Mountain Equipment Co-Op shopping spree, Parks Canada Family Discovery Passes, great gear by CPAWS and a year’s subscription to Explore Magazine. All participants will also be eligible for great weekly prizes! Watch out for the 24 hours “takeover”-24 additional prizes to win!

“This is an opportunity for Canadians to share their dream experiences in our national parks.  We encourage everyone who has ever been to a national park, or dreams of getting to one, to share their ideas. We have amazing natural treasures in our parks and this is a year to celebrate them,” says CPAWS National Executive Director, Éric Hébert-Daly.

Watch out for the 24hours Takeover July 22^nd! Win a customized overnight getaway with six of your friends in your favorite national park! Enter your park dream on July 22nd and qualify for the 24Hours Takeover prize pack (valued at over $1000)! Experience your park like never before with custom activities, a tour by Parks Canada staff and much more!

“More applications and higher expectations mean that Citizenship and Immigration Canada needs a more responsive and flexible processing system,” said Minister Kenney.  “To achieve that, the Department is providing applicants and staff with the right tools to deliver on those expectations.”

Citizens of certain countries require a visa to come to Canada temporarily. Currently, the maximum validity period of a multiple-entry visa is five years. However, increasingly, countries are issuing passports which are valid for ten years. In light of this, CIC is changing its policy for visa issuance. Where applicants apply for multiple-entry visas, they may now be issued to the maximum validity according to the length of the passport validity (up to ten years, minus one month).

This practice, already recommended for parents and grandparents with sponsorships in process, may now be extended to other clientele, such as business visitors.

As Canada is becoming a preferred destination for visitors and business travellers alike, CIC continues to balance the need to facilitate this travel while responsibly managing our borders. We will increasingly focus attention on applications with the greatest potential for threat and vulnerability, while streamlining low risk cases. Further limitations on validity may apply on a case-by-case basis.

The ten-year visa will be an option available to more low-risk travellers who are citizens of visa-required countries. As of Monday, the technical changes needed to issue it were in place.

“Travellers spent $1 trillion on tourism globally in 2010 — that’s $3 billion dollars a day or $2 million a minute. We want more than our fair share of that revenue,” says Michele McKenzie, the president and CEO of the Canadian Tourism Commission.

McKenzie recently announced the launch of “Signature Experiences Collection” at a tourism conference in Banff, Alta. It’s a compilation of 48 Canadian tourism enterprises from coast to coast to coast. It will be marketed in 11 countries and initially be rolled out in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Australia.

“Tourism is one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world and it’s become a very high stakes game and one in which countries are competing to win and Canada is competing to win,” McKenzie says.

“Winning countries are those that offer exotic experiences, a strong tourism brand, great infrastructure and effective collaboration between government and tourism partners.”

Canada’s Rocky Mountains, skiing and history aren’t enough to attract the international visitors flush with cash, although some tried and true events such as the Calgary Stampede, ice wine tours, Niagara Falls in Ontario and winery tours in British Columbia still make the grade.

Also on the list are the Grand Festival of Winter and the Ice Hotel in Quebec; iceberg viewing in Newfoundland and Labrador; the Plain of the Six Glaciers Tea House Ride in Alberta; dogsled adventures in the Northwest Territories, and a cowboy adventure in Saskatchewan.

“Simply having a positive image as a country does not translate into a compelling reason to visit,” says McKenzie.

“Our challenge was to inspire our customers with a Canada that offered more than spectacular scenery but to offer tourism experiences that rival those of even our most exotic competitors.”

The recession has taken a toll on the travel sector, says Kevin Stanton, owner and operator of Brewster Adventures in Banff. He says the program is needed to win international markets. The concept appears to be working.

“We sent some guests out on an overnight trip and halfway through their trip, a wild horse colt decided to join the people. That horse went all the way to their overnight camp and came back,” he said.

“Those international people will never forget that. It was an experience of a lifetime for them.”

The initiative should encourage the rest of the world to visit Canada, said Maxime Bernier, minister of state for small business and tourism. Bernier admits to having visited only one of the 48 experiences in the campaign — the Ice Hotel in Quebec City.

Canada has benefited from the publicity surrounding the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and more recently the visit by Prince William and Kate, he said.

“It’s something very special and also it was free all across the world in different markets like in the United Kingdom,” said Bernier.

“Experiences like that can also bring other international travellers here.”

An official with the Calgary Stampede estimates that international visitors have dropped off 5 to 10 per cent the past couple of years, but senses that things are beginning to turn around.

Lindsay Galloway said the publicity that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge gave to the Stampede, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2012, is priceless.

Prince William and his bride, Kate, wore western garb, including the famous white cowboy hats, while riding a stagecoach. They also took part in the Stampede parade.

“The coverage we’re receiving around the world is unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable. It’s great for the Stampede, it’s great for Alberta and the country,” he said.

“Them wearing cowboy hats is a lasting image around the world that will just serve our city so well.”

The Coca-Cola Happiness Monitor explored not only when we are feeling our best, but what contributes to our overall happiness. Lakes, oceans, campfires and the Rocky Mountains are our nation’s emblems of summer. And when these summer staples are paired with family vacations, weekend getaways with friends, Canadians bliss out.

“The study told us that Canadians have a lot to say on the topic of happiness and as a nation, we share many common points of view. Our stunning landscape and natural scenery, outdoor recreation and family and friends are all contributors to our collective happiness,” said Nicola Kettlitz, President, Coca-Cola Ltd.

The Happiness Monitor

The Happiness Monitor survey canvassed 5,000 Canadians 16 years and older. Respondents were asked about all things “happiness”, including social networks, active living, work and the influence of Canadian icons and landscapes in their lives.

Nearly all Canadians are happiest when surrounded by water, which is good news for a country flanked by three oceans, permeated by lakes, rivers and streams and stewarding the largest supply of fresh water in the world. Whether it’s kayaking, canoeing, swimming or surfing, Canadians from coast to coast will spend the lazy days of summer lounging on the dock or riding the waves.

• 96 per cent prefer spending time on a lake
• 93 per cent of Canadians prefer the cool breeze of the ocean air

Summer is the best time to enjoy our nation’s vast landscape and iconic natural wonders.

From a Cabot Trail bike tour to an Algonquin canoe trip, Canadians won’t miss an opportunity to experience the dance of the Northern Lights, the grandeur of Niagara Falls and the majesty of the Rocky Mountains.

• 92 per cent said the Rocky Mountains are the Canadian icon that makes them the happiest

Spending time with family and friends during the summer months is the first thing on Canadians minds. The Happiness Monitor discovered the number-one contributing factor to personal happiness is family or a significant other at 71 per cent.

• 87 per cent of Canadians are happiest on a vacation with a spouse or significant other
• 82 per cent enjoy trips with their friends
• 76 per cent state that vacation time with their children makes them the happiest

Despite the challenge of long, cold winters, owners Pierre Pellerin and Christine Deschesnes defied conventional wisdom – and conquered their own inexperience – to slowly nurture their dream of planting a bit of Provence on 100 acres of land they purchased near the Québec-Vermont border. After a false start in 2002 (the first winter killed off all but 10,000 plants), Bleu Lavande now boasts over 300,000 true lavender plants under cultivation, all grown without chemicals or pesticides, making it the second-biggest operation of its kind in North America.

A farmstead boutique opened in 2004, and there are now many Bleu Lavande shops across the province, including several in the Montreal area. But even if it’s a bit out of the way, there is a lot more in store for visitors to the original location. You’ll find the brand’s full range of lavender-based products, from lotions, soaps and cleaning products, to lavender cooking ingredients, chocolates and honey, as well as candles, linen water and even potted English and Munstead lavender plants (the latter’s petals are edible).

During warm months, there are also lots of unique activities, including guided tours of the farm and distillery offering insight on lavender oil’s calming effects and antiseptic properties, catered picnics featuring local products, and relaxing open-air massages overlooking the tranquil sea of purple blooms. Each summer, there’s also a three-day Lavender Fair, with cooking workshops, live music, painting exhibitions and more.

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Winter days with little sun and endlessly bright summer days characterize this tiny city of approximately 20,000 people. Yellowknife’s unrivaled landscapes beckon outdoor enthusiasts, while the legendary Northern Lights attract hundreds of nature lovers and photographers. The area is also a great place to discover northern Canadian history, with several historic attractions depicting the stories of Aboriginal and European settlements. With all the amenities of a big city, Yellowknife captures a rare energy, with growth and vitality contributing to its appeal.

History

Yellowknife was first settled in 1935, when two prospectors canoed down the Yellowknife River via Great Slave Lake and found gold deposits. A tent city sprung up immediately, with a contagious gold fever attracting a future generation of residents as well as big business. Gold production continued to dominate the local economic field throughout the 1940s and the town continued to grow. Overcrowding led to a serious strain on infrastructure and a new town site began construction in 1947. Old Town sits on a peninsula that extends out to Yellowknife Bay and is primarily residential, with several older businesses remaining in their original locations. New Town houses the downtown core, with office buildings and government institutions. Yellowknife became the territorial capital in 1967, giving it an economic boost when the Comissioner and staff relocated to the town. It was officially incorporated as a city in 1970. The name Yellowknife represents the copper blades of the knives carried by local First Nations settlers, the Dene people.

The gold industry wound down during the 1990s and today, the gold mines are no longer operating, but the region’s rich mineral deposits still contribute to its thriving economic base. Government activity is also significant, with a prominent legislative sector. Tourism is a major employer, with visitors from all over the world coming to experience the climate, culture and traditional lifestyle.

Geography

The city is located in the Canadian Shield region, 512 km (318 mi) south of the Arctic Circle. It borders the mouth of Great Slave Lake, with the Yellowknife River winding northward. Its geographic location is fairly isolated from the nearest big cities, with Edmonton, Alberta about 1,000 km (621 mi) south and Whitehorse in the Yukon Territories approximately 1,100 km (683 mi) southwest. 

Yellowknife’s isolation contributes to its culture, unlike any other in Canada. Recreation plays a large role in the lives of locals, with the weather and terrain perfect for hockey, cross-country skiing, curling and skating, while wilderness adventure companies revel in their role of showing visitors the untamed beauty of their homeland.

Culture and Arts

The Arts

The city’s emerging art scene contributes to its distinct personality. The Northern Arts and Cultural Center hosts theatrical productions from local, national and international groups, such as the renowned Montreal Symphony Orchestra, while the Birchwood Gallery proudly displays pieces by local and Canadian artisans. Paintings of the local landscape, Inuit stone carvings, handmade baskets, caribou-skin accessories and parkas are some souvenirs that capture the mystic land’s spirit.

Events

Several of Yellowknife’s annual events involve cultural celebrations and attract visitors from places like Canada, United States, and even Japan. Folk on the Rocks takes place during the third weekend in July on the shores of Long Lake. This weekend-long music festival has been a tradition since 1980 and also features a food fair with traditional cuisine as well as Art on the Rocks, where visitors can purchase locally made crafts. The Midnight Classic Golf Tournament occurs normally in June, when the sun stays up for 24 hours. The tee-off is at midnight, then players compete for as long as they last in this marathon golfing event. The historic Yellowknife Golf Club is the venue for the tournament and curious ravens and black bears are a trademark of this 18-hole sand course.



Cuisine

Yellowknife’s regional cuisine is a reflection of the climate, flora and fauna, as well as the people. Caribou is a traditional ingredient, showing up in everything from soups to meatloaf to jerky. Fresh caught fish is also a staple, along with traditional bannock and musk-ox chops. These ingredients often show up in game fondues and hot soups and chowders. The Wildcat Cafe captures the spirit of the gold rush in a log cabin that was constructed in 1937. It served the growing community during the 1940s but was forced to close in 1951 due to competition in the New Town area. Thanks to diligent protests, the building was renovated and reopened in 1979 as a fully functioning restaurant. It is now a major tourist attraction and earned a heritage designation in 1992. The menu is a showcase of regional cuisine, with dishes like muskaboo stew (musk-ox and caribou), smoked northern char fettuccine and the ever-popular buffalo burgers. The Gold Range Bar is legendary in northern Canada and attracts the rowdy locals and adventurous tourists. A series of exaggerated stories and whispered urban myths are circulated about the bar, which is constantly full with musical performances and plenty of beer. This is as close as one gets to a wild west saloon and the local patrons are proud of their watering hole.

The Yellowknife Climate

Yellowknife’s climate is categorized as semi-arid subarctic, with long cold and dry winters that leave frost on the ground until springtime. Because Yellowknife is in the rain shadow of western mountain ranges, the city can expect less than 300 mm (12 in) of annual rainfall. Its location at Great Slave Lake, gives the city a unusually long frost-free growing season of about 100 days during the relatively short summer. April is the driest month and August is the wettest. January temperatures range from -22°C to -30°C (-9°F to -24°F) and July warms up at 12°C to 21°C (54°F to 70°F).

Getting Around

The Yellowknife Airport is the busiest in the region, with service to Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver via Air Canada. Several northern carriers provide flights to surrounding destinations such as Cambridge Bay, Hay River and Snare Lake.

Yellowknife Transit provides city bus service, with three regular and two express routes, with stops throughout the city. There is no service on Sundays and statutory holidays and buses run from 6:30am to 7:15pm Monday through Friday with limited Saturday service. Frontier Coachlines provides service in and out of the city and connects with Greyhound lines at Hay River.

The Yellowknife Highway (Hwy 3) joins the Mackenzie Highway and winds around Great Slave Lake into Yellowknife from the west. The Ingram Trail (Hwy 4) joins Hwy 3 at the northeast corner of town before winding northward. Both are all-weather roads open year round and maintained by the government.

The most famous road in town is Ragged Ass Road, located in the northeast corner of Yellowknife. The road was named by Lou Rocher and is a joking expression of his fruitless summer working in Yellowknife. Several friends fashioned a sign that was officially adopted by the city. It became a popular street name and the sign was frequently stolen, until it was welded onto a post. Canadian rock legend Tom Cochrane named an album after the road. Replica signs are sold to tourists in many of the city’s shops.

The Mackenzie River can also be used for transportation in and out of Yellowknife. It is the longest river in Canada and can be navigated by ferry between mid-May and late December. When the ice is solid, late December to mid-April, an ice road is used to cross the river and allows for a unique transportation method.

Main Attractions

The city’s diamond industry is a major tourist attraction. Although the actual mines are located 300 km (186 mi) northwest of the city, a visitor’s center is located in town. At Diavik Diamonds, guests can bask in the glow of the locally-mined rocks. Diamond cutting and polishing demonstrations are held in order to entertain and educate guests. Brilliant diamond souvenirs can also be purchased at this specialty attraction.

For a dose of northern Canadian history, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Center provides a source of information in a scenic lakeside location.

The First Nations people who shaped the community are celebrated here, with cultural displays like a moose skin boat, landscape paintings, archives and clothing.

For the youngest explorers, John A’s Paleo Emporium is a must-see, with child-friendly paleontology exhibits. Fossils, bones and dinosaur toys are some major attractions, displayed in an educational fashion.

Yellowknife is surrounded by a seemingly endless stretch of rolling tundra and untouched landscape.

Venturing outside the city is worthwhile and plentiful guided tours are available for visitors to experience the secluded natural wonderland. Aurora Village, located half an hour outside town, within the Aurora Oval is the world’s premier Northern Lights viewing spot. Outdoor activities include ice fishing, snow shoeing, snowmobiling, dog sledding and caribou viewing. At night, visitors can experience the most spectacular natural light show in the world, sheltered by a community of tepees and warmed up by hot drinks and traditional snacks.

In 2010 the Stampede took extreme up one more notch: adding an event called “Cowboy Up,” which is based on a popular Western trend called the Extreme Cowboy Race™.

Photo Credit: Calgary Stampede

Cowboy Up adds to a two-week schedule that’s already loaded with extremes:

• Extremely exciting rodeo with a million dollars in prize money on one Sunday alone.
• Extremely fancy boots and hats Calgarians pull out the closet each year.
• Extremely popular mini-doughnuts on the midway (get your own bag, once you taste them you won’t want to share!)
• Extremely dazzling nightly fireworks (following an always over-the-top song ‘n dance show).
• Perhaps greatest of all, the extreme-adrenaline chuckwagon races – an event rarely seen outside Alberta.

For fans of the rodeo and all-things western, Cowboy Up adds perfectly to what the Stampede started out to be 99 years ago: a big, fancy, rodeo where cowboys from the surrounding Prairie ranches could show their stuff and maybe earn a bit of prize money. Locals and visitors alike love the annual show; in 2010 over 1.1 million people passed through the Stampede’s gates.

Cowboy Up takes place inside the Saddledome Arena (it actually looks like a saddle), and involves cowboys/girls working their horses through a variety of Western tasks and obstacles. The course changes from race to race; possibilities for the 14 obstacles include horseback archery, leading a blindfolded horse, backing the horse uphill, and even events that require the rider to stand on the saddle or navigate water obstacles, all in eight minutes.

While Cowboy Up showcases many cowboy skills, the rodeo – and especially the chuckwagon races – is still the true heart of the Calgary Stampede.

Chuckwagon races are based on the history of cowboy camping, where a campsite would have a “chuck wagon” for their kitchen. In the race, horseback cowboys called “outriders” must toss camp equipment into the wagon before the wagon can begin racing a figure eight and a full lap of the racetrack – with the outriders completing the course too. It’s truly extreme, and rules have been changed this year to make it safer for the athletes and animals. The crowd goes wild for these races, and the stands tend to sell out.

“Cowboy Up” Extreme Cowboy Race, July 9, 10, & 11 at 3:00 p.m.

Calgary Travel Information, www.visitcalgary.com

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Writer Randall Shirley lives in Vancouver, BC, a place he thinks is paradise. Nevertheless, the travel bug causes him to leave often, penning works for The Boston Globe, The Calgary Herald, The South China Morning Post, and more. Shirley edits the Canadian gay and lesbian travel magazine Out In Canada and frequently appears as “resident globetrotter” on Vancouver’s Shaw TV Studio 4. Rare accomplishment: He’s one of a rare group: those who have visited all 13 Canadian provinces and territories.

Thanks to a recent ruling from City Hall there are now 17 new spots to nosh while you stroll the city’s walkable downtown. I started with a yummy bowl of tortilla soup at Arturo’s Mexican to Go, just outside my hotel near the waterfront, but was soon lured to the nearby dim sum truck for some shrimp dumplings. You can have a big pulled pork sandwich from the shiny silver truck outside the Vancouver Art Gallery, get a Korean bulgogi and kimchi taco at Cartel or saunter down to the Financial District for fried rice balls and Asian Duck Confit Salad at the spiffy red Roaming Dragon, with a creative menu devised by local chef Don Letendre.

For hardcore locavores there’s Fresh Local Wild – a street cart that specializes in serving wild mushrooms, seaweed, salmon and other local stuff (some that Chef Josh Wolf even forages himself).Panda Fresh Bakery bakes a perfect croissant in a yellow school bus in Yaletown. Or just stop for the old standby, a gourmet tube steak at JapaDog, the granddaddy of Vancouver’s street food scene.

Check out the street food blog vancouverstreeteats.ca/ for maps and updates.

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Cinda Chavich is the former food editor and senior feature writer for the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun. Specializing in cuisine, cultural history, eco-travel, lifestyle and trends, Chavich contributes to The Globe and Mail, CBC radio, Avenue (Calgary), Chatelaine, Canadian Geographic, Westworld, up!, Wine Access, Food Service & Hospitality and Alberta Parent, as well as American publications Wine Spectator, Cooking Light and Relish. From cod tongues in Newfoundland to truffles in northern Italy, Chavich is keen to explore the unique corners of Canada. www.tastereport.com.

The public had four months to vote for their favourite in three award categories: great streets, great neighbourhoods and great public spaces. A panel of professional planners then selected the top three winners in each category.

The Forks beat out Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto and Pippy Park in St. John’s in the great spaces category.

The Forks: One of Winnipeg’s most beloved meeting spots

“The Forks” in Downtown Winnipeg has a rich history of early Aboriginal settlement, immigration, the advent of the railway, the fur trade, and the coming of the industrial age. This place is one of Winnipeg’s most important landmarks, having archaeological digs that prove Aboriginal groups were active here thousands of years ago, plus one of the key sites of early railroad development on the Prairies (5 rail yards dominated the site). The government promoted immigration & settlement and Winnipeg as we know it today was known as the “Gateway to the West” in earlier times.

Nestled in the heart of downtown, The Forks is one of Winnipeg’s most beloved and pre-eminent meeting spots, at the junction of the Assiniboine River where it meets the mighty Red.

The Forks possesses a rich 6000-year old history. Early Aboriginal peoples traded at The Forks, followed by European fur traders, Métis buffalo hunters, Scottish settlers, riverboat workers, railway pioneers and tens of thousands of immigrants.

Today, framed by the banks of the two rivers, The Forks is Winnipeg’s number one tourist destination with more than four million visitors annually. The Forks features something for everyone including parks, promenades, gardens and sculptures alongside shops, restaurants and a multitude of attractions.

The 54-acre site has received international awards for design excellence and worldwide attention as a model for urban renewal and waterfront development. Winter, spring, summer or fall, The Forks is must for a stunning array of dining experiences, incomparable shopping, a constantly changing slate of entertainment and events, and many unique attractions that encompass the site’s natural, historic and man-made features.

• The Forks sits at the birthplace of the City, at the confluence of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers. The Forks is an amalgam of public facilities (indoor and outdoor) mixed with commercial and retail spaces within a pedestrian prioritized site.
• The Forks is landlocked by the two intertwining rivers and the rail line along its Western boundary. To compensate for these boundaries a series of penetrations through the rail line and bridges over the two rivers have connected The Forks to downtown Winnipeg’s Main Street to the West, St. Boniface to the East and South, and The Exchange District National Historic Site to the North.
• Buildings are centered around a number of exterior spaces of different sizes and capacity for use. The original Canopy area creates a congregational space for theatre in the round, small performances and serves as a plaza to the boat basin, the Forks Market and the Johnston Terminal.
• The Forks Festival site, now more commonly know as Scotiabank Stage, which is activated as the central performance/celebration space in Winnipeg for all major celebrations is bordered by the Manitoba Theatre for Young People, The Inn at the Forks, The Plaza @ The Forks (Skateboard Park), the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (opening tbd), and The Forks National Historic Site.
• As a pedestrian priority site, The Forks has placed a high priority on ensuring an ease of access for all people. The site is the central focus of all Active Transportation pathway systems in Winnipeg allowing all users to connect to the Forks by foot, bike, skateboard, etc…  Additionally, a waterbus system through the summer months provides a unique experience for visitors to the site, that is replaced with the Guinnes world record holding longest Ice Skating Trail through the winter months connecting many neighbourhoods to The Forks.  Sitting immediately adjacent to the VIA train station, visitors travelling across Canada stop at the Forks through the historic rail station.
• Every major event that occurs at the Forks (Canada Day celebrations, barge festival, skateboard contests, skating trails, dancing under the canopy, etc…) is offered free of charge to all spectators.  At this centralized location all Winnipegers have equal access and ease of access to the site at all times of the year.
• The Forks has placed a high priority on animating the site through all seasons and at all times of the day.  From its Arctic Glacier Winter Park that features tobogganing, snowboarding, cross country skiing and ice skating along the world’s Longest Ice Skating Trail – Winnipegers and visitors are treated to an exciting and dynamic winter environment that accommodates all users from beginners to experts. Programming throughout the year is critical, from ice hockey and jam pail curling tournaments in the winter to skateboard competitions, musical performances on the main stage, fireworks, The Winnipeg Children’s Festival, and much much more, the Forks is an active space at all times of the year.
• At its origin, The Forks was predominantly marshland along the two rivers in early development of Winnipeg this site was cut off from the City by the Rail line and used primarily as a rail hub. The site’s grade was artificially raised to accommodate the needs of the rail industry and up until the late 1980’s became an unused rail yard.  As a brownfield development, The Forks has seen the retrofit of the four remaining buildings on the site into the Main Market building, the Johnston Terminal (commercial and retail spaces), the A Channel building, and the Manitoba Children’s Museum. The protection of the riverbank by Parks Canada as the Forks National Historic Site continues to enhance the natural environment.  The Prairie Garden, the Peace Meeting Interpretive Site, the South Point redevelopment and the site development for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights have all reclaimed former gravel spaces with the reintroduction of native plant species as both a spiritual and educational effort.
• Additionally, the recent Target Zero campaign has the Forks site looking at alternative energy sources and a complete reduction of waste into waste harvesters and bio-fuel based maintenance vehicles as an effort to reduce the imprint of the site on the rest of the City of Winnipeg.

For more information about “The Forks” visit the official website

Canadian residents took 1.8 million overnight trips to the United States in April, up 4.5% from March. This advance was in large part attributable to an increase in overnight car travel, which rose 6.4% to 1.1 million trips. Overnight plane travel rose 2.2% from March to 622,000 trips in April.

Travel by Canadian residents to overseas countries reached 766,000 trips in April, up 3.1% from March. In the other direction, the number of trips by overseas residents to Canada was up 0.8% to 1.9 million in April. The number of trips taken by American residents to Canada increased 0.6% in April to 1.6 million. Same-day car travel by American residents to Canada increased 1.5% from March to 556,000 trips. This was the first monthly increase since August 2010.

In addition, overnight car travel rose 2.5% from March to 545,000 trips in April. Overnight plane travel declined 3.6% to 284,000 trips.

The number of trips by overseas residents increased 1.9% to 369,000 in April. The number of trips taken by residents of Japan rebounded 27.3% in April following a 26.7% decline in March. Travel by residents of South Korea increased 15.2% while the number of trips by Mexican residents to Canada declined 14.3%.

But what is it that makes a family vacation so great? Reasons range from special attention given to each family member, to activities you all do together that bring you closer. Wherever you choose to travel, here are five ingredients that are sure to make your trip memorable for everyone.

1. Get active together. Choose an adventure the whole family can enjoy during your trip. Maybe it’s seeing the area you’re visiting by bicycle or horseback. Or perhaps there’s a theme park nearby where you can all enjoy a thrill. Taking a unique class offered by the resort where you are staying or a nearby activity center can also be a great way to bond. Choosing a resort with family activities is a good idea if you like the simplicity of having everything in one place.

2. Give everyone the star treatment. Before you leave, make sure to ask all family members what types of things they’d like to do during your vacation and plan so everyone is considered. Try to stay somewhere that goes out of its way to make all family members feel welcome.

3. Get outside. One of the best ways to enjoy a beautiful destination is to explore its natural areas. Taking a hike with the whole family can expose your children to the wonders of the outdoors, and they’re sure to enjoy a natural experience that is different to what they would see at home. Also, a day at the beach is sure to be a hit with everyone.

4. Make time for alone time. If you’re spending a whole week together, each family member will want some time for themselves to explore their own interests. Allow time for afternoon relaxation and consider designating one day for individual activity.

5. Make meals special. Vacation is a great time to try new foods together. Whether you’re grilling at your cabin, or dining at a family-friendly establishment, encourage family members to branch out from their normal eating habits. If your vacation is long enough, let each family member have a night to pick what the family should do for dinner.

Family vacations are truly memorable when each family member feels special and enjoys not only the shared activities, but has the choice to participate in individual activities that fit their interests. Whether that’s being outdoors, adventuring into a new culinary territory or taking a few minutes to oneself, family vacations are most appreciated when the destination offers activities to fit everyone’s interests. Making sure each person feels included in this summer’s vacation ensures everyone will have stories to tell for years to come.

Original article ARAContent

Eating an oyster from the waters around Vancouver Island is a way to taste the mysteries of the Pacific Ocean in a single bite. Oysters owe much of their particular qualities – flavor, size, color, shell shape – to the salinity level and depth of the water in which they are raised. Interestingly, though each of the 12 varieties of oyster from Vancouver Island has its own very distinct qualities, they all originate from the same seed, further underlining the importance of water depth and salinity in their flavor profile.

Photo credit: BC Shellfish Festival

Consider the Kusshi. Named after the Japanese word for “ultimate” or “precious,” this perfect bivalve is now one of the most sought-after oysters in the world. Raised by only one shellfish grower, Keith Reid of Stellar Bay Shellfish in Vancouver Island’s Comox Valley region, this small (just over five cm [two in]) oyster is raised in deep trays, and an aggressive tumbling process after harvest smooths any frills off the unusually deep cup of its midnight-purple shell, making it easy to shuck without any breakage. The taste? A perfect balance of ultra-clean brackishness and a fresh, almost floral flavor, with a meaty mouthfeel due to the slight stress tumbling.

Chef Robert Clark of Vancouver’s C Restaurant, a global reference point for shellfish cuisine, calls the Kusshi a “little package of joyous oyster meat.” Clark often includes the Kusshi and its larger version, the Stellar Bay Gold, on his restaurant’s prized tasting menus. But as co-founder of the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program, Clark loves Kusshi and other Vancouver Island oysters for their sustainability as well as their unbeatable flavor. “What I love about B.C. shellfish is that they’re a very well-monitored food source. Every oyster I serve is tagged, so I know where, when and how it was grown. Each Kusshi came from Keith, I can be sure of that.”

Oysters are fascinating as well as delicious; a visit to an oyster lease is a great way to understand the ocean as a living organism and better appreciate how these tasty bivalves spend their lives before we squirt them with lemon and down them with mignonette. The B.C. Shellfish Growers Association has mapped out a tour of Vancouver Island’s 12 oyster harvests, including five in close proximity to one another in gorgeous Comox Valley: The leases where Mac’s Beach, Fanny Bay, Kusshi, Komo Gway and Chef’s Creek oysters are harvested are within a few minutes’ drive from each other, and many, including Stellar Bay, offer tours for the public.

The B.C. Shellfish Festival in mid-June, which includes a chowder contest, an oyster-shucking contest and an open-air Chef’s Dinner, is also a great occasion to sample B.C. oysters and other shellfish, including clams, geoduck, sea cucumbers, mussels, urchins and other delicacies particular to Vancouver Island’s waters. Chef Clark of C is planning a dish consisting of one perfect, still-living Qualicum Bay scallop on the half-shell passed under the broiler and covered in piping-hot dashi seaweed broth.

“It’s a dish that fits the mood and fits the occasion,” he says. “We have access to the best shellfish in the world, so I want to take the product into account and showcase its delicateness and sweetness – I want to play with it as little as possible.”

Getting here

B.C. Shellfish Festival, June 17–18, 2011, Comox, 250-890-7561, bcshellfishfestival.ca
Stellar Bay Seafood, 7400 West Island Hwy., Bowser, 250-757-9304, stellarbay.ca
BC Ferries, 1-888-BC-FERRY (1-888-223-3779), bcferries.com
Comox Valley Tourism, 1-888-357-4471, discovercomoxvalley.com
Tourism British Columbia, 1-800-HELLO-BC (1-800-435-5622), hellobc.com

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Melora Koepke is a British Columbia-born travel writer now based in Montreal. This story made her homesick.

Washington, D.C.

A top five fireworks list is not complete without including the nation’s capital. Attracting more than half a million people each year, Washington, D.C., is a beautiful backdrop for the Fourth of July celebrations. The all-day event starts with a parade down Constitution Avenue between Seventh and 17th streets featuring marching bands, military personnel, and some special VIPs. Festivities start on the National Mall at 10 a.m., and all visitors are required to enter through a security checkpoint. The U.S. Navy Band performs a free concert near the Washington Monument, and the National Symphony Orchestra performs on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building. Starting at dark, fireworks launch from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and can be seen throughout the National Mall area. Check out Away.com’s Top 10 4th of July Fireworks Viewpoints for spectacular views of the display.

Philadelphia

If you want to celebrate America’s independence for more than one day, then head to Philadelphia. The Wawa Welcome America festivities stretch from June 24 through July 4 and include live performances, historical presentations, Taste of Philadelphia featuring foods from the area’s top restaurants, multiple fireworks shows, and other events such as Philly at the Movies, Wawa Hoagie day, photo exhibits, the All-You-Can-Eat Ice Cream Festival, and of course, a parade. The grand finale fireworks conclude the 11-day celebration on July 4. Most activities are free; if that’s not patriotic fun, than what is?

New York City

Online travel company Orbitz named New York City in their Top Ten Summer Destinations for 2011; so head to the Big Apple to see the famous annual Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks show that will go on in style this year over the Hudson River. The digitally synchronized show starts at 9 p.m. and is expected to include more than 40,000 fireworks lasting a full 25 minutes for the millions of spectators. For prime viewing spots check out local restaurants, the Empire State Building or an NY Waterway Cruise. Before the fantastic show, take the orange or yellow subway line out to Coney Island to watch the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest that has been a patriotic tradition since 1916.

Edgartown/Martha’s Vineyard

During summer, thousands of people flock to Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard, escaping their regular lives and reveling in the beauty of the island. July 4 can be a busy weekend on the island, full of cookouts and fun in the sun, but don’t forget about the annual parade and fireworks. The parade starts at 5 p.m. heading down Main Street and Pease’s Point Way. After the antique cars and bands pass by, claim your spot near the Memorial Warf to watch the fireworks display that begins at dusk over the Edgartown Harbor.

San Francisco

The Waterfront Celebration for the Fourth of July can be found on Pier 39 and the Fisherman’s Warf. Starting at noon on Pier 39, live entertainment and other activities for visitors begin. But when the sun goes down, stop your dancing and look up at the magnificent fireworks display over the bay, put on by the city of San Francisco. Another grand way to see the fireworks is on a bay cruise that showcases the evening skyline before stopping to give guests the prime viewing spot.

Bonus: Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe’s Lights On the Lake is the largest light show in the West. Fireworks are launched off barges near the South Shore and can be seen from anywhere on the lake.

Original article ARAContent

Highlights of the makeover include a playful Rubik’s Cube entrance (think Toronto’s ROM Crystal for kids) and 12 new galleries based on the theme of building blocks. Each play zone offers learn-while-you-play opportunities such as a table that simulates an earthquake, complete with tumbling blocks. Many also offer Prairie-inspired experiences such as stepping inside a giant Milk Machine cow to learn about modern dairy farming or chilling out in a reading cocoon within a peaceful faux marsh. The ultramodern Arts & Exhibition Centre will host the latest in travelling exhibits, performers and theatre productions.

Although the museum promotes a love of learning, there will be plenty of opportunities to get silly. A much-anticipated play zone is Lasagna Lookout, a pasta-themed structure where visitors can dodge meatballs and crawl through a fettuccine tunnel.

Outdoors, kids can go wild at the nearby Variety Heritage Adventure Park, opening this summer. Situated on lands once occupied by Fort Gibraltar, a North West Company trading post, this new Parks Canada site offers birch bark canoes, splash pads, York boats and other interactive play structures designed to bring Manitoba’s heritage to life.

All these renovations won’t disrupt the museum’s winning formula of imagination and make-believe. The beloved CN diesel locomotive No. 9161 and vintage passenger coach will continue to be the heart of the museum, letting visitors journey to wherever their imagination wants to go.

www.travelmanitoba.com

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Michele Peterson – I am a columnist for Fifty-five Plus magazine, Ontario’s leading publication for older active adults and author the Daytripper as well as Travel Bug columns (news on Canadian, Ontario and international destinations)with readers in Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto. I am also a frequent contributor to Buffalo area publications such as the Buffalo News, Buffalo Spree as well as the Toronto Star, Via, Dreamscapes, Air Canada onAir, the Globe and Mail, Spa Life and 2: Couples Magazine and others as well as the Manitoba section of the Travel Industry Guide to Canada. My focus is eco-destinations, culinary, outdoor adventure such as canoeing, hiking and cycling, as well as spas.

Most of the people who have heard of the Stampede will immediately think of cowboys riding crazy horses round an arena until they get thrown off. Well, yes this is part of the stampede, but there is also so much more.

The Calgary Stampede dates back to 1912 when the first rodeo took place with a prize of $20,000 at stake. This, at the time made it the richest rodeo competition in North America and over 100,000 people came to watch. A few years later in 1923 the rodeo was combined for the first time with the Calgary Exhibition and has done so ever since. The event takes place over ten days and attendance is over one million.

The Stampede takes place at the 137 acre Stampede Park, just east of downtown Calgary. The opening ceremony consists of a parade led by the Calgary Stampede Showband who march 4.5 km through downtown Calgary. The parade usually attracts around 400,000 people alone. In addition, the television audience is around two million.

So, what can you expect if you decide to attend the Stampede?

Music: There are many music related shows on during the Stampede. The three main music venues are the Coca Cola Stage, Nashville North and Saddledome. Every day each stage hosts a number of different acts, so make sure you know who your favorites are and where they will be so you don’t miss anything.

Rides & games: The Midway is the location of the many rides available at the Stampede. Last year there were over 35 major rides and 22 kids rides as well as lots of smaller rides to keep everyone entertained. There are also lots of games to play such as beer smashing, duck pond and ring toss.

You can pay per ride or purchase money saving Midway Magic Pass Credits. Each ride requires a different number of credits to ride. You can also purchase day passes, so you pay a one- off price and can ride all day.

Entertainment: You can also find lots of other entertainment available throughout the Stampede duration. Past events have included BMX riding, skateboarding shows, exhibits, dog shows, auctions and many more.

Rodeo: Of course there is the rodeo and this consists of six major events:

Bareback: Physically very demanding as the cowboy holds onto a handhold and is disqualified for touching the animal or equipment with the other hand. The ride lasts eight seconds, if they haven’t been bucked off before then.

Bull Riding: This is the most dangerous event and the rider is strapped to the bull by a special handhold. Like the bareback the rides lasts eight seconds and riders are disqualified for touching the bull with the free hand.

Ladies Barrel Racing: This is the only event for ladies at the Stampede. Riders circle three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern and the ride is timed. Barrels can be touched but a five second penalty is incurred if a barrel is knocked over.

Saddle Bronc: The rider moves his feet from the horse’s neck in a full arc toward the back of the saddle in time with the bronc’s action. The rider needs to hold on for eight seconds and cannot touch the animal or equipment with his free hand.

Steer Wrestling: The steer wrestler starts behind a barrier and gives the steer a head start of ten seconds, otherwise penalties are incurred. There are many rules relating to this event which are too numerous to list here.

Tie-Down Roping: This is the most technical event and like the steer wrestling a ten second head start for the animal is required. After roping the tie-down animal, the cowboy must run down his rope and ay the animal down by hand. If the tie- down animal is down when he reaches it, he must allow the tie-down animal to get up then lay it down. Again there are many rules, too numerous to list relating to this event.

Other events which taking place include:

Novice Bareback: The same rules apply as per the bareback event but this is for riders under 20 years of age.

Novice Saddle Bronc: The same rules apply as per the saddle bronc event but this is for riders under 20 years of age.

Junior Steer Riding: This event is for kids aged between 10 and 14 years. One half of the score is awarded for the contestant’s ability to ride and the other half is for the stock’s ability to buck. The cowboys are allowed to ride with one hand or two. If they elect to ride with only one – they must abide by the rules for bull riding – whereby they will be disqualified for slapping the animal, themselves or double grabbing with both hands during the eight seconds.

Wild Pony Racing: Teams of three youngsters ages 8 to 12 try to tame a wild pony long enough to get a rider aboard for a two jump ride. The team with the fastest time wins.

Chuckwagon: The chuckwagon races are very exciting and adrenalin pumping. A team of four horses are hitched to a chuckwagon and race round a series of barrels at breakneck speed. Four wagons take part in each race, so that means 36 horses and 144 hooves all taking place in less than a minute.

Fireworks: The fireworks show is a spectacular event involving some of the world’s best pyrotechnic display teams. The show can be seen not only from the Stampede arena itself but from most of downtown Calgary.

Food & Drink

Like all good events there are lots of places to get food and drink. You can enjoy anything from full service menus at Mavericks Dining Room and Lounge to hot dogs from the stand.

There are food and drink locations throughout the Stampede in every area so you will never be too far from a quick snack or full meal. Choose from buffets, full service lounges, concession stands and of course beer gardens amongst others.

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased at the gate, but it is advisable to purchase tickets well before the event.

Grab your tickets by clicking on this link

The 2011 show takes place July 8 -17 details can be found here

With an eclectic mix of restaurants, pubs, and cafes, there is something for every taste bud. Community and city-wide festivals and events fill the streets nearly every week of the year, offering exhilarating options from world class music, theatre, comedy, gaming and sport. Whether it’s a hotel, an enchanting inn or cozy Bed & Breakfast, Charlottetown is your home away from home.

As could be expected for the capital of Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.), Canada’s smallest province in size and population, Charlottetown is a tiny, scenic city. Yet, as if a microcosm of the Island, Charlottetown is as vibrant and diverse as P.E.I. itself. A major player in Canadian history, Charlottetown has many historical monuments and museums. The city also possesses a thriving arts community, and a variety of shops and restaurants that can cater to any taste. Centrally situated on the south coast of the Island, Charlottetown has a sheltered harbour, a view of the Northumberland Strait, many green spaces, and beautiful architecture, much of it from the 19th century. Cliffs protect the city’s seaside entrance, while the Hillsborough watershed has resulted in surrounding plains and marshlands.

History

Charlottetown was originally founded when its protected position at the junction of two rivers close to the Hillsborough Bay was considered an ideal area for settlement by a British crown surveyor in 1764. Named after England’s Queen Charlotte, the area was quickly designated as the capital of what is now Prince Edward Island. As the centre of government on P.E.I., Charlottetown soon became the dominant town and voice of the province. Even today, the city is still the cultural and political heart of the island.

Charlottetown’s influence has not just extended to provincial affairs, however. Known as the birthplace of Confederation, Charlottetown played host to a meeting of prominent politicians in 1864. The Charlottetown Conference, which discussed the unification of several provinces, was a success, and in 1867, the Dominion of Canada was founded. In 1992, all eyes in Canada turned to Charlottetown again when the Charlottetown Accord, which would have granted Canada’s provinces more autonomy and given Quebec special status, was drafted here by the federal government. The highly unpopular accord was defeated in a countrywide referendum and lead to an election that saw the reigning party defeated.

Getting there and traveling around

Although known in myth for receiving large amounts of snow, Prince Edward Island in fact boasts some of the gentlest temperatures in Canada. Never too hot in the summer, never too cold in winter, Charlottetown’s temperature is moderated by its oceanside location. Temperatures range from -3°C to -11°C (26°F to 11°F) in winter, and average in the 20s and occasionally the low 30s (70s to 90s) during the summer. While July and August are the driest months, rain is frequent in the Atlantic provinces, so packing an umbrella is often useful.

There is very little public transportation on Prince Edward Island and Charlottetown is no exception, as its transit service only runs from approximately 9:30am to 2:30pm, Monday through Friday. No great skill is required when driving in Charlottetown as the streets are rarely crowded and parking is plentiful and cheap. Do keep in mind, however, that the city has several areas that are car-free; it’s far easier to just walk, especially since most places of interest are located within close distance of each other and the city is safe even at night.

To get to Charlottetown from outside of P.E.I., there are several different options available. The Confederation Bridge joining P.E.I. to New Brunswick provides a dramatic route for motor vehicles, and is approximately 56 km (35 mi) away from Charlottetown. From Nova Scotia, take the Northumberland Car Ferry to Wood Islands, P.E.I. or fly in from Halifax. There are also regular flights through Air Canada from Toronto, Ontario, and there are several discount providers that also offer flights from cities including Toronto, Montreal,Quebec and Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A., during the summer months. The Charlottetown Airport is located approximately 8 km (5 mi) from the city.

Accommodation

Accommodations in Charlottetown vary extensively, and many are only open during the incredibly busy summer. As such, it’s useful to book a room before arriving. From massive four-star chain hotels to tiny, shared-bathroom bed and breakfasts, Charlottetown has every type of accommodation, and many have harbour view rooms or are located in the city’s original buildings. Rates in Charlottetown are relatively inexpensive, and there is something to fit every budget and taste, although prices fluctuate wildly between seasons and even within the same category of lodging. Accommodations are located throughout the city, including residential areas, with the majority clustered around downtown Charlottetown and the TransCanada Highway.

Events & festivals

During its lifetime, Charlottetown has raised the ability to celebrate to an art form. This is a city of celebrations, and it seems that only a few weeks can go by before another ceilidh (dance or party) or festival occurs to the delight of locals and visitors. There is always anevent of some type occurring, especially during the summer months.

At the end of summer, the Festival of the Fathers occurs, which celebrates the Charlottetown Conference with re-enactments, interactive historical events, an historic gala ball and a pub crawl. The Festival of Lights meanwhile, is a three-day, four-night celebration of Canada Day, which includes top musicians from Canada and throughout the world, a massive fireworks display, a midway and a children’s village. There is also the P.E.I International Shellfish Festival, which is not to be missed by those who love seafood. The three day event, which includes local music, chowder competitions and oyster-shucking championships, is considered the largest kitchen party on the Island. Recently, the Jack Frost Children’s WinterFest has joined the Charlottetown lineup of festivals. This event features a massive ice castle, ice sculpting competitions, children’s stage and music shows.

The most famous of all these festivals, parties and celebrations is the Charlottetown Festival, a two-month long celebration of the performing arts. Located in and around theConfederation Centre of the Arts, the festival is best known for its yearly run of Anne of Green Gables: The Musical. This play tells the heartwarming story of P.E.I.’s most famous resident, red-haired Anne Shirley, and attracts thousands of visitors to the Island each summer.

Historical Attractions

As a capital city, Charlottetown has plenty of attractions. Exploring the city’s past at its many historical sites could take days; Founder’s Hall, Province House, Fanningbank,Beaconsfield House and many other buildings in the area each represent aspects of P.E.I.’s history. Province House, where the Charlottetown Conference was held and the current legislature sits is especially interesting. Guided tours and re-enactments of the conference occur throughout the summer. Founder’s Hall is a new attraction that is situated in a 1906 railway depot and is home to an interactive, multi-media self-guided tour of Canadian history since confederation, with special emphasis on P.E.I.’s role.

For those who like their architecture, there are many historical examples, from Victorian, lemon-yellow Beaconsfield House, to gothic St. Dustan’s Basilica, to the mid 19th-century grandeur of Province House. There are also several squares (Hillsborough, Kings, Rochford and Connaught) that were part of the original city where many fine mansions (some of them now bed and breakfasts) can be found.

Exploring on Foot

The city is laid out easily for walking. Between the original city’s boundaries of Euston and Water Streets are major thoroughfares where most of Charlottetown’s attractions and entertainment can be found. A large proportion of these streets lead to the harbour, where a boardwalk runs through several parks and past many of Charlottetown’s best and favourite shops and restaurants, including those of the popular Peake’s Wharf. Walking tours of the city are also available through Founder’s Hall, which provides a costumed guide to show visitors the sights and impart knowledge (and gossip) about Charlottetown’s early days.

Shopping

Although not to be compared with New York City, Paris, London or even Toronto, Charlottetown has the market covered when it comes to one-of-a-kind cottage-industry styleshops. From organic, P.E.I.-ingredient-made soaps and P.E.I. Dirt Shirts to stained glass windows and handmade furniture, Charlottetown’s shops can sate the crafter within while providing a wealth of souvenirs and gifts to take home. A large proportion of these smaller stores can be found around the harbour and on Queens Street and Victoria Row, while more traditional shops and chains are well represented at Charlottetown’s malls,Confederation Court Mall, and the Charlottetown Mall. P.E.I.’s ten percent Provincial Sales Tax (PST) applies to all non-essential goods (clothing, food and shoes are exempt), and is applied at the till along with the Canada-wide seven percent Government Sales Tax (GST).

The Arts

Charlottetown’s arts community, although not large, is well represented at many venues in town. Galleries specializing in the art of P.E.I. abound, and local paintings, crafts and prints are to be found throughout the city, including at the P.E.I. Gallery in the Guild, an artist-owned print gallery which offers visitors introductory lessons and access to the workrooms.

There are always plays occurring in Charlottetown; while most of these can be found throughout the year at the Confederation Centre of the Arts, two dinner theatres, a comedy sketch troupe and an outdoor Shakespearian theatre also operate during the summer. Several movie theatres reside in Charlottetown, including one that specializes in local, independent and art films, and live music and local bands can always be found in one of the city’s many bars and clubs.

P.E.I. writers are also well represented in Charlottetown. Several bookstores specialize in local authors and hold readings, discussion groups and signings around these authors’ works.

Outdoor Activities

Charlottetown has an abundance of natural attractions both within and just outside the city that provide plenty of recreational opportunities. There are many parks and green spaceswhere trails as well as tennis, basketball and volleyball courts can be found. Water sports are very popular in Charlottetown, and it is easy to experience sea kayaking, scuba diving or sailing in the area due to the large number of shops offering instruction and equipment. Several golf courses are located just outside of Charlottetown as is Confederation Trail, which provides ample opportunities for walking, birdwatching, bicycling or snowmobiling as it winds past the city. There are also several outdoors tour organizations operating out of Charlottetown, and fishing and hunting trips and tours of the area by boat, airplane andbicycle are all available. Seal watching is also a popular activity, and many boat tours out of the harbour offer visitors a chance to see seals at play in their natural habitat.

Dining

There is a wide range of dining options available in Charlottetown that cater to a variety of tastes. From mom and pop diners to seafood bars, fine dining rooms to a cornucopia of ethnic eateries, Charlottetown offers every type of dining experience. Food can also be found at many bars, and also at a number of the city’s independent coffee shops. The majority of restaurants are found in Old Charlottetown, with a large proportion either located on University Avenue or down by the harbour.

Nightlife

Charlottetown has a decent nightlife, and as benefits the home of the University of Prince Edward Island, Holland College and several commercial colleges, there are a slew of barsand restaurants that stay open until all hours of the morning. Favourite bars for locals are the Olde Dublin Pub, where live Irish music, sing-alongs and plenty of Guinness may be found, and Peake’ s Quay, a restaurant and bar that transforms into a club complete with drink specials and the occasional live act during summer. Two other highly popular locales are Myron’s and Breakers, the first a dance club that sees a number of top musical acts, and the latter a billiards and drinks place where university students can be found. A weekly entertainment during the summer is the Friday Night Ceilidhs at Irish Hall, where locals and visitors gather to listen and dance to traditional Gaelic music.

For more information visit the main city website

For tourism information click here

If you are planning on touring the Sunshine Coast you will probably be starting your journey from the Vancouver area, so will need to take a ferry from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver across to Langdale. The journey will take approximately 40 minutes and will cost around $10 per adult depending on the time of year. Make sure your camera is handy as you sail between islands such a Howe Sound and Bowen Island.

Once you reach Langdale you drive south along Highway 101 to Gibsons which is known as the “Gateway to the Sunshine Coast.” It is also known as the location of the TV series The Beachcombers. Although filming no longer takes place some of the places seen in the series are still there to see such as Molly’s Reach restaurant and the pier. Although not a huge tourist destination it is perhaps worth spending a little time here to explore the harbour front and take in the views.

The town is home to around 4,000 people and has recently undergone a revitalization which included the downtown area and the harbour as well as creating the Winegarden Waterfront Park which opened in 2001. This area includes ponds, play areas, walkways, boardwalks, wetlands, watercourse and is wheelchair accessible with beautiful views over the coast.

Once back on the 101, your next stop will be Roberts Creek, a quaint town which has become a haven for artists and craftspeople. It is known as the “Gumboot Capital of the World” a symbol adopted by the Gumboot Acoustic Society and the Gumboot Garden Cafe.

Whilst here, apart from visiting the town itself you will want to take a look at Roberts Creek Provincial Park located a couple of kilometres north of the town. The park covers an area of 40 hectares with cedar forests. The park has several trails as well as campsites and is wheelchair accessible. The beach area offers excellent picnic facilities where you can watch the ocean and if you are lucky see seals and whales pass by.

The next place you will come to is Sechelt which itself is not an especially stunning location, however just north of the town is Porpoise Bay Provincial Park which is definitely worth a visit. The park has easy to walk trails and access to Angus Creek known for its salmon population. The park covers an area of 4 hectares and includes campsites, playgrounds, picnic areas and facilities such as toilets and showers.

Once you have taken in the beauty of Porpoise you can continue north to Halfmoon Bay. This bay is protected from the open sea by Thormanby Island making it a peaceful location to watch the world go by. Here you will find a pretty coastline, harbours and wooded shores. This area is known for its arts and crafts and is home to several galleries as well as many home studios that locals open to the public.

The next location on your trip will be the equally romantically named Secret Cove which has become a popular summer destination for tourists. The town offers some of the best fishing available along the coast and this alone attracts many visitors and locals alike.

Smuggler’s Cove Marine Park is also located here and is another favorite. There are several hiking trails which are easy to navigate as well as campsites and other facilities.

Back on the road and your next stop will be the area known as Pender Harbour, if you can find it! This area consists of many islands and three communities: Madeira Park, Garden Bay and Irvines Landing. Even the locals have trouble getting their bearings in this area as it forms a complex maze of inlets, coves, lakes, islands and reefs. There are freshwater lakes and salt water coves and where one begins and another ends is open to much guess work.

The harbour is home to many boats and yachts which are moored here and the deep clear waters are world renowned for excellent diving and underwater photography opportunities. This is a great location for kayaking and other water sports as much of the water is sheltered making it ideal for leisurely boating.

If you visit during May be sure to plan your visit round Victoria Day when the area celebrates May Day with games, activities, crafts, music and an outdoor barbecue. Fun for all is guaranteed.

Okay, so if you did manage to find Pender Harbour you can now return to Highway 101 which now travels inland and heads towards Earl’s Cove. Here you will need your sea legs again as another ferry journey is in order. You will need to get on the ferry to Saltery Bay which crosses the Jervis Inlet and takes around 50 minutes and again costs around $10 per adult. .

You will not need or want to stop at Saltery Bay as it really is just a ferry terminal. Instead you will get back on the road and continue northwest to Powell River. This is an area made up of several communities including Cranberry, Wildwood, Lang Bay and the largest, Westview.

Westview is the main destination for travellers as it offers the most amenities with hotels, restaurants and stores. If you visit during August you may experience the Blackberry Festival which has nothing to do with personal electronic devices but more to do with those lovely berries we pick from the many bushes located here. The festival coincides with the peak of the blackberry season and is a week-long party featuring music, dancing, crafts and a street party.

From Powell River you can also take ferry trips to Texada Island or across to Vancouver Island to the town of Comox.

The area north of Powell River leads up to Lund which is the last destination on  Highway 101 and the gateway to Desolation Sound. The most famous landmark here is the Lund Hotel which overlooks the ocean. Lund is used by tourists as a staging point for trips to the northern British Columbia coast, Savary Island and Desolation Sound.

Desolation Sound Marine Park is known around the world’s premier sailing area. It offers stunningly beautiful scenery with bays, coves and waterways that attract boaters and paddlers worldwide.

There are lots of camping opportunities along the coast as well as activities such as kayaking, canoeing and backpacking. If you don’t have your own equipment, there are plenty of places where you can rent everything you need for a few hours or a few days.

The Sunshine coast not only offers tourists an excellent place to visit, but it also offers an excellent way of life for those who choose to live here.

Many of the communities, particularly those to the south are close enough to commute to Vancouver if you have a job in the city. You can get the best of both worlds by living in relative isolation, but still have all the amenities you need close by or be a short hop to the city.

Spring may still mean skiing for some, but for most Canadians it means it’s time to haul out our bikes and go for a ride. For those in Alberta, returning to the saddle means getting to pedal the spiffy, new and mellow Banff Legacy Trail — a testament to last year’s 125^thanniversary of Banff National Park and this year’s centennial of Canada’s national park system.

Last year’s lack of interpretive plaques, signage and distance markers will be not be an issue when the Trail officially opens by the end of this spring, promises Judy Glowinski, Product Development Specialist for Banff National Park. That’s when you’ll be able to stop and read the history of Canada’s first national park as well as learn about the environmentally friendly initiatives used to build this three-m (10-ft)-wide pathway. You’ll discover:

www.travelalberta.com

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: After a false start as an entertainment writer, Debra Cummings (“Deb”) spent six months kicking around southeast Asia—trekking up mountains and mastering the multiple meanings of the head-wobble in India—before returning to Calgary, AB, to take up the travel beat. That was 20 years ago. Since then, she’s worked as a newspaper features writer and travel editor, covered travel for CBC Radio and spent a year “voluntouring” around the planet with her husband and two children.

Pastoral scenes cut with winding roads hugging gentle hills reveal panoramic vistas of Lake Ontario and fields of corn, wheat, cattle, sheep or grapes.  Included are the historic allure of streetscapes, heritage buildings, quiet harbours and vineyards.  It is a must for artists, nature lovers and anyone seeking “a beautiful island adventure”.

Only 2 hours east of Toronto, 4 hours west of Montreal and 8.5 hours northwest of New York, Prince Edward County is home to over 3 dozen wineries and vineyards, countless exciting art galleries and artists’ working studios, fine and casual dining, jazz and other musical festivals and numerous tempting sweet and cheese shops.

From the inlet beach and sand dunes of Sandbanks and North Beach Provincial Parks that make up part of the over 800km of coastline to the weather beaten red barns and quaint Victorian residences The County is attracting a bevy of gay entrepreneurs carving out a simpler life and opening businesses.  The County is seeing an infusion of urban dwellers.  And we all know what happens when gay individuals arrive?  They sprinkle a bit of fairy dust around and voila home!

For the love of art! So what does Prince Edward County offer?  Well there are amazing finds and wonderful shopping in Bloomfield for the art lover! A great destination is f a d, run by partners Michael and Dean, recently featured on BUMP of OutTV and Logo.  f a d (funktional ART AND DESIGN) showcases over 50 of Canada’s top fine craft artisans in porcelain, hand blown glass, jewellery and much more. Around the corner is the fine art gallery f a d (Fine ART AND DESIGN) There are usually art demonstrations onsite, so do be sure to visit when in Bloomfield, you might just learn what encaustic is by Canada’s renowned encaustic artist Tanya Kirouac or run into internationally recognized stone sculptor, Dean Munroe.

At Love Nest Studio and Gallery you will find two fine artists whose works are deeply inspired by nature. Fibre artist and photographer, Tara Wilkinson features unique sculptural fibre art nests, greeting cards, photo prints and more in her charming restored chicken coop Gallery.  In a rustic, century-old barn gallery, encaustic sculptural painter Andrew Csafordi’s beautiful textured beeswax paintings reach out beyond the board to stir the imagination.

Round The Bend Gallery features the work of painter and multi-artist Andrew Innes, as well as an exciting collection of Canadian art glass.  Andrew Innes paints for the joy and excitement of it. His paintings are a personal response to natural beauty observed.

At Ricarro Jewellery you should expect to explore a wide variety of unique jewellery inspired by life and nature, each created by hand one at a time. From the gallery, you can watch Carol Burrell at work in the studio. At certain times, a tour and a demonstration of the jewellery making process will be given.

Looking for that special piece for your home, look no further, Gilles Charette has created G3 Living – a destination for unique furnishings and accessories imbued with Glamour and Gracious style. In a word, Gratifying.

Enjoy wine? You’ll appreciate the self guided wine tours in one of the award winning regional wineries. Vineyards are amazing places that have entranced people for centuries. Poets have written wistful and profound verses about them. Still, no one has ever captured a vineyard’s magic in words, or music, or even pictures. There are 7 stops we recommend:

Clink! Clink! Do I hear a toast coming from owner’s Sally and Rob Peck of Sugarbush Vineyards. Theirs is a small family owned and operated vineyard and winery, the garagiste winery of Prince Edward County. Garagiste:\GA-razh-EEST\ n. fr.  A passionate winemaker who creates limited production premium wine in a garage-sized winery, specializing in small lot, artisanal wines made entirely from our estate-grown grapes.  All of their vintages were produced entirely from grapes hand harvested from their vineyard.

Next on your wine tour is Black Prince Winery, located on a ten acre vineyard that grows Chardonnay, Cab Franc and some hybrids.  In 2009, Geoff Webb of Black Prince launched Chardonnay Terroir – the first County wine aged in County-grown and coopered local oak barrels, and a follow-up to a gold medal for the 2007 Chardonnay Reserve.

Continuing on the tour be sure to visit Huff Estates Winery, a modern facility created by Lanny Huff with one thing in mind, producing high quality wines. Complete with a moat-surrounded patio, kitchen for light lunches, floor to ceiling windows and even a heli-pad, this is unlike any other winery in the area and offers a unique experience for all.

Next, The Grange of Prince Edward Vineyard Estate and Winery, a family-run agri-business by Robert and Caroline Granger.  With 60 acres under vine, the farm is home to 6 distinct vineyard blocks; plantings include Pinot Gris, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, and enough Pinot Noir to make it one of the larger vineyards in Canada.

Onwards, Sandbanks Estate Winery is a family owned winery situated along the picturesque shores of Lake Ontario, in the heart of beautiful Prince Edward County. Catherine Langlois invites you to enjoy wine tasting in their charming boutique, explore the estate or sit back and relax in their inviting vineyard setting.

Your last two stops are Keint-He Winery, where every bottle of wine made by winemaker Geoff Heinricks is made from 100% hillier grapes. What sets Keint-He apart further is that they are one winery with three distinct vineyards, each possessing its own unique terroir.  Organically grown, their Pinot grapes prosper in harmony with their environment, not in spite of it. Keint-He has applied the Burgundian model of viticulture to the County microclimate.  Last but not least is Harwood Estates Vineyards, where all three vineyards are all tended by hand. Their Pinot Noir, Pinot St. Laurent and Pinot Gris are owners Kerry Wicks and John Rode’s favourites with French style cuisine.  For lighter fare, Harwood’s vivacious Friends Rose with its strawberry pallet is a great choice. Harwood’s Tasting Room is right inside the solar-powered winery where their fine Prince Edward County wines are available.

Regional cuisine! June 21, 2008 ‘Gastronomic Capital of Ontario’ honours go to Prince Edward County, says the Toronto Globe and Mail.  There is over a dozen fine dining restaurants to frequent amongst another 40 or so casual restaurants and cafes.  Some great recommendations are The Bloomfield Carriage House Restaurant whose menu reflects French foundations while focusing upon Canadian product.  Chef Scott Kapitan and Pastry chef Jacqui Vickers started this journey to express their passion for good food and service.  Quality of product is abundant in the County of Prince Edward and it is put to good use at The Carriage House.

The Milford Bistro works hard to rise to the occasion, cooking small scale, sourcing locally and letting their menu reflect the changing seasons. One of the most intimate, romantic restaurants in Prince Edward County. This year, Chris has created an Outdoor Burger Bar for cyclists, families and anyone hungry for a delicious burger made with local ingredients, located right next to the Bistro.

Looking for a hidden gem, at Portabella, partners Don and Roy have created a relaxed atmosphere and casual menu for your enjoyment.  Using fresh and local ingredients and offering a large selection of county wines, portabella now in its sixth season is a dining favorite of locals and visitors alike.

If you are dying for chocolate or home-made ice cream….stop into Copper Kettle Chocolate Company in Picton, say hi to Sue and try a few samples.  No dieters please!  Try the sponge toffee ice cream.  Copper Kettle Chocolate Company is best known for over 30 varieties of unique chocolate bark, astonishing truffles as well as delicious chocolate and nut specialties.  Five of the chocolate barks have won awards at the acclaimed Canadian Fine Food Show in Toronto.  However the best is the SHOTS!  They’re chocolate shells filled to the brim with ice wine.  Definitely for grown-ups.

The Pastry House is a small artisan bakery where you will find a fine selection of cakes, pastries, cookies, buns, rolls and breads.  Their products are made from the best ingredients available. They do not use any artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.

Relax and enjoy the county

Come and experience the joy of cooking seasonally in Prince Edward County  – Canada’s newest culinary destination.  From the Farm Cooking School is the ultimate field to table culinary experience.  From meeting local farmers to preparing traditional favorites in Cynthia’s state-of-the-art chef’s home kitchen— the day will capture your heart and your senses.

You will never be bored in Prince Edward County, there is sailing, boating, fishing, cycling, antiquing, bird watching, windsurfing, kayaking, hiking trails, camping and let’s not forget shopping.

If that’s not your thing, how about a day at the spa? A great way to relax is to visit Ria and Rod’s  Little Organic Day Spa offering thalassotherapy, ancient therapies using raw, organic, Canadian, indigenous-based ingredients and products.  Your private urban retreat for ocean therapies, treatments and all that encompasses mind, body, balance for both men and women.  Treat yourself today, you deserve it!

Need a place to stay? We offer bed and breakfasts, inns or vacation rentals.

Bells and Whistles Family Inn offers the casual and fun atmosphere of a rural setting on 3 acres where you can sit by the pool or relax by a fire at night gazing at the stars. Child care services are offered for those who would like to take a wine tour or a romantic dinner out.

Gilead Schoolhouse, once a one room schoolhouse for many decades, has been converted into a comfortable three bedroom rental home and retains much of the original charm and character. This lovely property is bordered by old split log fences and is surrounded by open fields ensuring quiet and privacy.

The 21 suite Inn at Huff Estates is a luxurious accommodation, very contemporary in design but has a country feel as the rooms either overlook the vineyard or the garden feature.  All rooms feature a private pergola patio for guests to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery.  The Inn offers Deluxe Rooms, Premiere Suites and a Winemaker’s Suite.

Relax in comfort at Loyalist Lofts in their newly renovated historical loft vacation rental apartments.  Steps from your door you’ll enjoy fine restaurants, casual cafes, film, live music, theatre, local art galleries, parks, gourmet take-out, and fine grocery outlets.

At the end of your visit if you find you have fallen in love with Prince Edward County, connect with James and Lynn of REMAX Hallmark or Jason at Century 21 Lanthorn, two great real-estate companies that are more than happy to help you find your little PEC oasis.

Michael and Dean of  f a d  have created Out in The County to provide recommendations for the gay and lesbian (GL) traveler on GL-owned and GL-friendly businesses when visiting one of the most beautiful places in Canada: Prince Edward County.  Our objective is to promote GL-lifestyle tourism.

For more information visit www.outinthecounty.com today as well consider joining Out in The County on Facebook and Twitter

The top three in each category are:

Great Streets:

Commercial Street, Nanaimo, BC
Ottawa Street (Textile District), Hamilton, ON
Broadway Avenue, Saskatoon, SK

Great Neighbourhoods:

Le Petit Champlain, Québec, QC
The Hydrostone, Halifax, NS
Snaw-Naw-As (Nanoose First Nation), Lantzville, BC

Great Public Spaces:

The Forks, Winnipeg, MB
Evergreen Brick Works, Toronto, ON
Pippy Park, St. John’s, NL

While each of the winners had to be popular, the CIP’s Andrea Gabor says they also had to meet a number of criteria pertaining to how each location met certain planning objectives.

The factors taken into consideration include the promotion of social and economic activities, memorable or unique character and architecture, accessibility, sustainability and connection to local culture, history and landscape.

Gabor said the winners exemplify those characteristics.

Nanaimo’s historic commercial street, for example, had served as the core of that community from its construction in the mid-1800s until the mid 1900s when the city began sprawling outward.

There was great revitalization efforts to bring it back to life and it’s now an education, cultural, and institutional centre,” Gabor said, praising the street as “a centre for communities.”

Similarly, Gabor says the Forks in Winnipeg stands out for a number of reasons, not least of which is its vital role at the centre of that city’s cultural life.

“The Forks was special because it brings a lot of people together,” she said of the popular site at the confluence of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers.

“It builds on the history and it’s got a lot of activities from their market, to their entertainment spaces to the open spaces, trails, archaeological digs, Gabor added, praising its mix of uses and location at the historic heart of the Manitoba capital.

Historical legacy also weighed heavily on the decision to rank Quebec City’s Le Petit Champlain neighbourhood as tops in the country.

“It’s got great historic architecture and it’s a place to be,” Gabor said, explaining that the municipal government there has “done a great job” retaining the area’s long history while making it accessible for the public to enjoy.

“People come from all over the world to see it and enjoy its architecture and to enjoy the festivals that go on there. So it’s a great people place, and that’s one of the things that makes it memorable.”

The Canadian Institute of Planners, comprised of 7,800 professional planners, says it sponsored the competition to both foster local pride and to emphasize the benefits of good planning.

While the people who submitted the winning nominations win a $500 travel certificate from Via Rail, the locations will be awarded a commemorative plaque. Buoyed by the strong public response that saw Canadians championing locations ranging from native communities to natural locations, the CIP plans to run the competition again next year.

For more information visit their website

Often associated with the establishment and development of ethnocultural communities, Boulevard Saint-Laurent has been the gateway to Québec for thousands of immigrants searching for a better future. In 1996, the government of Canada designated this grand boulevard as a national historic site, thereby commemorating it as a sign of hope and an essential passage for newcomers.

Eleven kilometres long, the Main crosses practically every important street, avenue and boulevard in Québec’s largest city. Running north-south and dividing the city into East and West, Montréal’s principal thoroughfare draws droves of people in search of its intense cultural life, hip restaurants, and friendly urban lifestyle. Also treasured by the artistic community, it has inspired such major writers as Mordecai Richler and Michel Tremblay, in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and Sainte-Carmen de la Main, respectively.

Warm and welcoming, it is home both to essential services and to entertainment venues. In bygone days, it boasted a large concentration of places for a good time. From loose women to impossible love stories, the Main has always had a libertine reputation. As a part of town known for vice, where erotic shows, houses of debauchery, clandestine gaming houses and places to smoke all sorts of illegal products were established, it earned Montréal the nickname of “Sin City”.

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Thirteen species of whale can be viewed including belugas, humpbacks, fin and the largest mammal ever to live on the earth – the blue whale. Whale watching can be experienced at many locations in the province between May and October. Most require you to get on a boat and travel to where they congregate, but you may also be lucky enough to be able to view whales from the safety of the shore.

The Whale Route (Route des baleines) is an area running along the north shoreline of the Gulf of St. Lawrence where all thirteen species of whale can be viewed. The Route stretches over 900 km (560 miles) and encompasses forests, beaches, campgrounds, towns and villages. There are sections which are accessible for cyclists as well as offering opportunities for water sports enthusiasts.

The start of the journey is Tadoussac which sits on the banks of the Sanguenay Fiord. Close by is Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park which offers some of the best whale watching opportunities in Canada from both land and water. The fjord creates very deep water that the wales love meaning some can be seen within a few meters of the shoreline. But if you want the true whale watching experience you need to get on a boat and go to them.

The Marine Park is one of the national marine conservation areas of Parks Canada. This means that although the tourism industry is very important to the area, the wildlife is protected. A code of ethics has been in place for many years to help protect the whale species in their natural habitat whilst at the same time allowing visitors to view them.

Although the whole route offers great whale watching opportunities there are some areas which stand out. We mentioned Tadoussac, this is one of the main departure points for boar tours. Further down the coast, Les Escoumins is another village offering many boat tours.

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Contents of this issue:

Discover the whale route in Quebec, visit La Main, the soul of Montreal, Deepshikha Brar makes waves in Calgary, Meet the Mayor of Ville de Gatineau, fancy investing in Cheese? We also have 10 simple tips for success in finding a job. We spoke with singer and songwriter Marie-Jo Therio about her new English album. Stephen Draper provides his real life story about the highs and lows of moving to Canada. Plus much muchmor…..enjoy

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You hear them before you see them, those vocal “canaries of the sea” clicking and whistling their own high-pitched tunes. As shifting white shapes loom from the depths, your heart does a back flip. Adult beluga whales some five-m (16-ft) -long shimmy at you from below, swivelling their heads and peering into your eyes an arm’s length away. Babies dart daringly past. You’re surrounded by smiles as wide as Casper the Friendly Ghost’s (watch a video), the mammals edging closer to examine this strange humming human.

Entering the belugas’ world is a rare opportunity to commune with normally elusive wildlife on their own turf. The season is short: July and August.

Sea North Tours Ltd. offers a chance to chum with chubby whales or watch them from your own kayak on daytrips out of Churchill, MB. At the outfitter’s remote Seal River Heritage Lodge a short floatplane flight to the north, Churchill Wild has a multi-day “Birds, Bears & Belugas” adventure so you can mix it up, enjoying wildlife in the air, on the ground and under the water.

When your turn is up and you’re gently pulled back to the Zodiac by the rope, you’ll have a unique encounter etched into your memory and a smile as wide as a beluga’s on your face.

www.travelmanitoba.com

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Award-winning, Montréal, QC-based freelance writer and photographer Margo Pfeiff’s work has appeared in Lonely Planet guidebooks, Reader’s Digest, GEO,enRoute, explore, Canadian Geographic, Outpost, The Walrus, up here, LosAngeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, National Post and The Globe and Mail.She is working on a book about contemporary life in Nunavut.margo.pfeiff@gmail.com

History, here, has taken youth and spirit into its embrace. The Bow skyscraper, designed by the London, UK-based firm Foster + Partners, rises up over Chinatown and the old downtown core like a modern cathedral. Its unusual crescent shape might seem to resemble a bend in the river it looks over, alongside which it is possible to run, cycle and walk. No one forgets the river here. On Prince’s Island, in the middle of the Bow River, thousands gather for concerts in summer, while the excellent River Café provides coziness and haute Canadian cuisine with local accents to diners eleven months of the year (closed January). The High Performance Rodeo, the arts festival administered by the theatre company One Yellow Rabbit, enlivens the city every January. At the corner of 7th Ave. and 1st St. in the centre of the city, the 50 artists’ studios, galleries and bistros of the Art Central building offer local art, photography and jewellery. The Stephen Avenue Walk a National Historic Site. Here, the trademark sandstone buildings of turn-of-the-century Calgary have been revived, housing shops, restaurants, wine bars and Fashion Central (the sister project to Art Central). Some buildings, such as the old Bank of Nova Scotia, have exceptional friezes of Western life cut into them—wheat sheaves, bison, cowboys and Indian chiefs—that stand out as modest reminders of the city’s Western past and pedigree.

But this is not a city just for cowboys anymore—far from it (though you can take in plenty of that, two prime examples being the Calgary Stampede and the Alberta Boot Company). Perhaps CHARCUT restaurant in the new Hôtel Le Germain Calgary is one of the best icons of the new city. On the one hand, you’d expect good meat dishes here. On the other, CHARCUT has rocketed its way into the select tier of Canada’s best restaurants thanks in no small part to a fermenting room in which its sumptuous range of homemade charcuterie is made, and its “Eating Bar,” where diners can watch as their meats, fishes and vegetables are expertly prepared. Co-owner and co-chef Connie DeSousa (who trained at Alice Waters’ pioneering farm-to-table restaurant, Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, CA, USA) and her staff are young and keen, and represent the new city, sending out tweets and Facebook messages to alert the faithful when they are serving “alley burgers” with house-made pickles in paper bags out the back of the upscale restaurant for five dollars each. They don’t do it for profit. They do it for fun. The fun this new version of Calgary is all about.

www.travelalberta.com

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Noah Richler is a CBC radio documentary maker and the prize-winning author of This is My Country, What’s Yours? A Literary Atlas of Canada. He is a regular contributor to the Globe and Mail, theNational Post, The Walrus magazine and the BBC World Service.

Nunavut, the pure high Arctic, is that voice. It’s primal. A place where you learn to read the land before you learn to read. It was Nunavut they were thinking of when they changed the motto: “from Sea to Sea to Sea”—this one territory has 40% of Canada’s coastline. It’s the emptiest, loneliness, grandest part of the nation. The true “True North, strong and free.” (The land belongs not to the federal government, but to the Inuit themselves.)

Is it pretty? Gorgeous, but not in the way we usually think about nature. It’s mostly tundra, so, no trees. But there are fantastical fjords and ice formations, mythic narwhals, roaming caribou. The land beggars language. There aren’t 100 words for snow in Inuktitut (the Inuit language, Nunavut’s first tongue) as you’ve been told—but there are hundreds of nuanced expressions of emotion. In Nunavut you feel first—and speak if you must.

Nunavut’s a paradox. It’s timeless, but also Canada’s newest territory by far—carved off the Northwest Territories barely a decade ago. (The government and court system is brand-new and purpose-built: like nothing anywhere else.) Oral traditions go back dozens of generations, yet the population is the youngest in Canada (average age: 23). Many still hunt for their dinner, yet one of the most valuable commodities is Internet bandwidth. Nunavut is where we’ve been, but also where we’re going: its fragile, melting ice shelves are the canary-in-the-coal-mine of our common future. The ice recedes, revealing virgin land almost daily. And so the landscape unfolds almost before our eyes.

Go, then. Go where there are no roads (which is most places) by dogsled. Watch for polar bears. Drive a golf ball at midnight and watch it roll into tomorrow. Enjoy your welcome. Discover that the coldest place in Canada just might also be the warmest.

Nunavut in a nutshell:

• Nunavut means: “Our land” in Inuktitut
• Who lives here: mostly (85%) Inuit
• What they do: fish, mine, hold government and tourism jobs
• And they live in igloos? Only a few of ‘em.
• Tourist activities: birding, wildlife viewing, dogsledding
• “Country food”: muktuk (whale skin), caribou, Arctic char
• Institutions: Artcirq
• Cultural footnote: Nunavut is the cradle of documentary filmmaking
• Modern-day inheritor of that filmmaking mantle: Zacharias Kunik
• Soundtrack by: Susan Aglukark, Tanya Tagaq
• Best time to visit: April, for the Toonik Tyme Festival or June for the Alianait Arts Festival
• BYOB: There are licensed establishments, but no alcohol is served for personal use.
• Festivals: Great Northern Arts Festival
• Watch: for polar bears.

www.nunavuttourism.com

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Other Recent Posts You Maybe Interested In About Nunavut
MEET THE MAYOR: IQALUIT’S SOCIAL MEDIA SAVVY MAYOR, MADELEINE REDFERN

1. Village Historique Acadien, New Brunswick

Outside the town of Caraquet on the Acadian Peninsula are roots so rich they go back four hundred years. This is la belle vie, Acadian style, circa the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Hear the anvil ring in the blacksmith shop. Listen as French fiddlers tap out a lively tune for you during a musical dinner theatre performance. Visit the period lobster hatchery. And don’t leave without trying “poutine râppé”—a traditional Acadian dish of potatoes and pork you can eat with molasses, ketchup, butter or brown sugar.

2. Barkerville Historic Town, British Columbia

In another life, I craved the adventure of being a gold prospector and drawing the attention of a dance-hall girl. Barkerville is an original gold-rush town and a place to live out your dreams. Pan for gold, visit Chinatown, go to school as it was in the 1800s, catch live theatre and stroll through a town of more than 140 restored heritage buildings and historic displays.

3. Old Fortifications of Québec, Québec

Every time I visit Québec City, I fall in love all over with the cobblestone streets, glorious architecture and seductive French cuisine. No wonder they keep the city protected. Québec City is the only remaining fortified city in Canada or the US—a big reason it’s designated a World Heritage City by UNESCO. In this 400+-year-old city, explore three centuries of a dramatic military past in fortifications set atop a plunging cliff.

4. Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site, Nova Scotia

If you ever wanted to break bread like a soldier but eat like a king, the Fortress of Louisbourg is the place. This is the largest reconstructed 18th-century French fortified town in North America. Along the streets and on the waterfront, costumed interpreters capture the mood of a fabled century with tales of dancing, music and cooking. Inside the King’s Bastion—“a fort within a fortress”—soldiers share their secrets. Just plug your ears when the muskets fire.

5. Upper Canada Village, Ontario

When I was a child we visited Upper Canada Village every year, wandering around this 19th-century village in the former British colony. I remember laughing at how short the beds were, and loving the scent of fresh baked bread pulled from a red brick oven. Once you tour the schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, sawmill, printing office, tavern, cheese factory and family farm, you may never want to step out into contemporary life again.

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: British Columbia-based freelance writer and photographer Lori McNultyjourneys the globe to connect life and landscape. Her award-winning travel and arts essays uncover striking landscapes and soulful adventure. Contact her at lorilegba@hotmail.com.

Considered by many as the Regional Centre of Northeastern Ontario, Sudbury’s early roots can be traced back to 1883 and the development of the transnational railway. Its vast mineral resources have resulted in unparalleled growth.

Today, Greater Sudbury is a diversified regional centre for mining, technology, education, government and health services with great connections to neighbouring communities and beyond. Greater Sudbury prides itself on a strong network of industrial, commercial, financial and government support services. The city is located 390 kilometres north of Toronto, Ontario’s provincial capital, and 483 kilometres west of our Nations capital, Ottawa, where the Trans Canada Highways 17 and 69 converge. Greater Sudbury is a city for the creative, curious and adventuresome!

Our city features four seasons and with the changing weather conditions, Sudburians enjoy a vast array of festivals, events and recreational activities that vary as the seasons do. Spring is alive with signs of summer which is just around the corner. Our summers and falls are warm and offer outdoor enthusiasts an abundance of activities to meet every lifestyle.

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City Hall located in the downtown core is a limestone building that was completed in 1844 whilst the city was still the capital. The architect was George Browne and the building cost 25,000 pounds to build. Originally the clock was housed in a wing that was destroyed by fire in. The clock, donated by John Counter and Sir John A. Macdonald was then moved to the main dome. Unfortunately another fire destroyed part of the dome and the clock

in 1908. The dome was rebuilt and a new Seth Thomas clock was installed along with a new bell. Both are still present today. The building was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1961.

We just mentioned Sir John A Macdonald who became the first Prime Minister of Canada in 1867 and held the position until his death in 1891. He did have one hiccup when a scandal erupted and he had to resign in 1873, but was reelected five years later. Before his notoriety he purchased Bellevue House in 1848 as a home for his family. Unfortunately due to his wife’s health issues and financial concerns they did not stay long and moved to a smaller property in downtown Kingston.

READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE HERE

This heritage is well reflected in the wide variety of events and entertainment, museums , and the excellent cuisine, which combines different ethnic and cultural roots with the easy availability of tremendous seafood and fresh produce. New Brunswick has an incredible selection of bird life and the high tides that the area is known for have created a variety of natural phenomena. New Brunswick has three major cities. Fredericton the capital, has an interesting historic character, Saint John is a truly novel seaport, and Moncton is mainly a service centre, but with many unique features of interest to tourists. The pace of life is definitely more relaxed here, and the friendliness of the people is legendary.

Brief History

The first inhabitants of what is now New Brunswick were groups of Algonquin speaking First Nations people – the Mi’kmaqin in the north and the southern Malecites and Passamaquoddy tribes. Jacques Cartier, during his exploration of eastern North America, first recorded the area’s existence in 1534. Settlement did not begin until 1604 when Samuel de Champlain established a settlement at the mouth of the St. Croix River. Though this was unsuccessful, French settlement began in earnest and by the end of the 17th century the area was well settled. The French introduced a method of farming near the Bay of Fundy utilizing dikes. The area of French settlement in what is today eastern Canada became known as Acadia, and included modern-day New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Rivalry between the British and the French for this territory ensued, and this culminated in the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713. At this time, Acadia became British territory. However tension between the two countries were manifested in struggles in this part of North America. The British were unable to secure the boundaries of the territory that had been ceded to them. In 1755, full-scale war broke out. At this time the British forced French Acadians to commit themselves to the British crown, or else face exile. Many of the Acadians who fled ended up in Louisiana, where their descendents still reside. The term ‘Cajun’ (as the Louisiana-French culture and people are known as) is derived from ‘Acadian.’ Others settled in the more remote regions of what is now northern New Brunswick. Acadian culture and language has developed separately from that of the rest of French Canada, and today the Acadian community and its culture thrives alongside the English-speaking community. Despite past injustices, New Brunswick serves as an excellent example of a harmonious society.

After the Treaty of Paris in 1763 many people loyal to the British Crown emigrated from the soon to be United States, to eastern Canada. After the revolutionary war thousands of refugees from the 13 former colonies, preferring to remain British subjects, moved to Nova Scotia. Up until that time Nova Scotia encompassed what is now New Brunswick. With the big increase in population Nova Scotia was split, and the province of New Brunswick was founded. Throughout the early 1800s, largely due to the great supply of timber, New Brunswick grew and prospered. The ships that carried New Brunswick’s square-hewn timber to the world returned with immigrants. In those days ships were constructed of wood, and with New Brunswick’s major timber supply, shipbuilding was also a major industry.

On July 1st, 1867 New Brunswick was one of the founding provinces of Canada. As with so many regions of Canada the arrival of the railway in 1876 greatly influenced the growth and economy of New Brunswick. However it did not bring the prosperity that it usually did. Instead, the railway and economic policies allowed Québec and Ontario to compete with New Brunswick. These provinces could provide the same products in much greater volumes, and so New Brunswick lost many of its advantages. At the same time, ships began to be constructed of iron and steel, and so New Brunswick’s shipbuilding industry went into decline – perhaps a blessing in disguise, as the province’s forests were becoming depleted. Although lumber, fishing and mining industries slowly expanded, by the end of the 1800s the province’s prosperity was rapidly diminishing.

From this time until well after World War II, New Brunswick was unable to regain much of the economic success of the 19th century. Although the province had a moderately successful pulp and paper industry, there was considerable disparity between the Maritime Provinces and the rest of Canada, which was enjoying considerable growth and relative affluence. The Federal Government of Canada intervened to try and redress the balance. However this took a long time to show any effects, leaving New Brunswick dependent on federal expenditures and projects for a considerable length of time. Later the provincial government addressed the internal disparities between people of Acadian descent, who had a high poverty rate, and other residents of New Brunswick.

The Areas Economy

In 1969 New Brunswick became Canada’s first, and so far only, officially bilingual province. This has certainly aided the economy, as New Brunswick’s large, truly bilingual population, in combination with government incentives, has brought many service-oriented businesses to the province. In 1970 the city of Saint John became North America’s first deep-water oil tanker port. Oil refining here became a major economic player, and the city has very much gained economically from this and a reviving shipbuilding industry brought about largely from orders for the Canadian Navy. Significant deposits of potash and precious metals have recently been discovered, as well as the already established mining of copper, lead and zinc. Lumber, pulp and paper still play a major role, as does fishing, in particular for lobster, crab and sardines. Potatoes grow well here, and New Brunswick’s seed potatoes are exported worldwide. It can certainly be said that today, New Brunswick is well on the road to a stable and diverse economy.

The New Brunswick Climate

Summers in New Brunswick are rarely very hot, but the weather is comfortably warm. The province’s proximity to the ocean keeps coastal areas slightly cooler in the summer than further inland. New Brunswick has incredible beaches, and the ocean temperature is remarkably warm. Rain is fairly frequent, especially in the south. August tends to be the driest summer month. With New Brunswick’s abundance of forest and woodland, fall is spectacular, and rivals better known areas in New England for its autumn colours. Winters are cold, especially in the northwest of the province, where temperatures can slip down to -30ºC (-22ºF). In the south and coastal regions, once again the ocean acts as a moderator, and temperatures are warmer. There is a lot of snow, which always brings a lot of recreational opportunities. Cross country skiing on the province’s many trails is world class.

Getting Around

New Brunswick is well positioned to be a transportation hub. The Trans-Canada Highway passes through New Brunswick, making the province an important link between Québec, Ontario and Nova Scotia. There is also ferry transportation to Newfoundland and Labrador. The remarkable Confederation Bridge (the longest in the Western Hemisphere) links Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick to Borden, Prince Edward Island. There is a good network of inter-provincial buses, as well as links to the North American network of Greyhound. VIA Rail Canada serves several points in New Brunswick from Québec and Nova Scotia, with good connections in Montréal to Toronto and VIA’s transcontinental train service to Western Canada. There are several airports in New Brunswick, linked to Halifax where connections to the rest of the world can be made. Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton are also linked to Montréal and Toronto, and from Moncton there are flights to Hamilton and Winnipeg by low-cost carrier.

Attractions Not To Be Missed

Covered bridges, which are found in many places throughout northeastern North America, are particularly prevalent in New Brunswick. The province has no less than 74 of them, located mostly on secondary roads. The reasons for building covered bridges were that by covering the bridges, the timbers used in the construction of a wooden bridge and the floor of the bridge are protected from the elements and thus prevented from rotting. A wooden bridge that is covered will last about 80 years, whereas one that isn’t will last about ten. Also to an animal, the bridges appear like a barn, which makes crossing them far less stressful than crossing a bridge with a rushing river visible underneath. A third, but less functional use was that, covered bridges were a great place for courting couples. The world’s longest covered bridge is located at Hartland northwest of Fredericton. The Hartland Covered Bridge is 391 m (427 yd) long.

The high tides of New Brunswick certainly provide a good selection of natural phenomena for the visitor. The shores of Fundy National Park have the highest tides in the world. Erosion from these tides has caused some very interesting cliff formations. The cliffs have been likened to giant plant pots rising up from the beach. There are many excellent trails to enable visitors to see the cliffs; at low tide, the beaches are particularly wide, and are perfect for great hikes along the shore. Another phenomenon that the high tides of the region cause, are tidal bores. This is when the incoming tide suddenly causes the water in a river to switch from flowing downstream, to rapidly flowing upstream. The changes in the depth and width of the river are often dramatic and occur remarkably quickly. Occasionally the upstream flow resembles reverse waterfalls or rapids. The two most well known bores are the Reversing Falls in Saint John on the Saint John River, and the Tidal Bore at Moncton on the Petitcodiac River. It is best to ask locally to find out the times of the tides, and the best locations to view this unique sight from.

Shediac is a coastal summer resort just 22 km (14 mi) northeast of Moncton. It has a definite Acadian flavour, and is very popular and extremely hospitable. The beaches are wonderful, and benefit from the sandbars and shallow water, which make them, and other beaches on the Northumberland Strait, the warmest beaches north of North Carolina. Shediac is a great place to sample lobster, and a whole industry has been established here to enable visitors to enjoy this delectable crustacean at its finest. You can take a trip out to sea with lobster fishermen and learn everything you ever wanted to about lobster. Prices often include a good sampling of the local seafood. If you can make it here in early July, the annual Shediac Lobster Festival takes place. Shediac has some excellent establishments to enjoy the local specialty, among these is Fisherman’s Paradise which offers a full lobster feast.

Attractions that tell the Acadian story and that showcase the Acadian culture should be part of any visit to New Brunswick. A place of great merit in this regard is the Acadian Historic Village located 14 km (9 mi) west of Caraquet. It is of a similar concept to many of the excellent historical villages found throughout Canada. The interesting feature of the Acadian Village is that it very authentically portrays the harsh conditions which Acadians were forced to live in after the British expulsion policy, and so accurately enables visitors to witness one of history’s injustices. Because of this the Acadian Historic Village is a very valuable learning tool as well as being entertaining. The village recreates the years from 1780 to 1880. One just has to compare it with the recreation of a Loyalist settlement at King’s Landing Historic Village, to see the contrast in life in the two societies during the same time period. This is not to say that the village is not an enjoyable experience. You can observe costumed guides undertaking a typical day in the life of an Acadian, sample Acadian cuisine in one of the three restaurants or visit the 26 reconstructed buildings in the style of the period represented. There are special childrens’ programs where participants get to dress in Acadian costume, and take part in a seven-hour historical experience. This is an outstanding learning experience for children.

King’s Landing Historic Village is situated between Fredericton and Woodstock. This village typifies 19th century New Brunswick pioneer life for those of British descent. There are around 100 costumed guides here and 11 houses, plus farms, a grist mill and saw mill, a school, a store and a theatre. The village has a good selection of special events held throughout the year. For children, there is a similar program to the Acadian Historic Village. You can eat in the King’s Head Inn and savour typical pioneer food and beverages.

One of the most beautiful features in New Brunswick is the Saint John River Valley which winds its way for over 700 km (435 mi) diagonally across much of the province, from the north-western corner by the Québec border to the Bay of Fundy by Saint John. It has been compared to the Rhine in Germany, but fortunately without the industrialization that has marred much of the landscape of that great river. The scenery along its whole route is very pleasant and starts with rolling hills near the Bay of Fundy. North of Saint John through Fredericton to Woodstock, the scenery is particularly picturesque. The banks are tree-lined and lush green farm meadows are on either side. North of Woodstock the river passes through some of the great forests of the province. The whole valley is a very popular route for visitors, so it is important to book accommodation in advance. Two highways pass along the river. The faster and busier Trans-Canada Highway is mostly on the river’s west bank. The quieter Highway 105 passes directly through some of the small villages, and is largely on the east bank of the river. The scenery is of equal quality along either route.

For more information about New Brunswick visit the official tourism website

On board one of those massive vessels, standing out on the ship’s deck, watching those tranquil islands drift on by, one can’t help but feel a sense of adventure well up inside. Maybe it’s the fresh ocean air and the feeling of the Pacific waves below. Maybe it’s how appealing the Gulf Islands become on a warm sunny day. Maybe it’s the unknown beckoning to some deep-seeded instinct to explore. Whatever the cause may be, there is a simple solution, just go island hopping.

An activity enjoyed most in the warm months from May to September, island hopping is as simple as it sounds; board one boat after the next as they travel from island to island. The benefits to this seemingly humble endeavor are numerous. For starters, it affords an opportunity to fully experience the natural beauty, diverse culture and peaceful atmosphere found on each of these unique islands. Also, travel is inexpensive and relatively easy. But perhaps most importantly, island hopping is done at one’s own pace. It awards those exploring the islands with the freedom to spend as much time as they like in any one place.

The Islands

Seven major islands pierce the Strait of Georgia in the south. Each is surrounded by numerous lesser islands and each mutually enjoys a laid-back lifestyle, slower pace of life and a pleasant West Coast Canadian climate. However, due to their independent nature, the island communities found here can differ considerably. One might rely heavily on tourism, while the other may want nothing to do with it. Some have a very developed infrastructure, others still rely on dirt roads. Yet with all of their differences, this group of seven are all attractive in their own rights and each deserves at least a day or two of exploring.

Destination: Salt Spring

Salt Spring Island is the most populated and by far the largest of the Southern Gulf Islands. Home to musicians, farmers, entrepreneurs and a large arts community, the relaxed atmosphere and the natural lifestyle that these islanders enjoy attracts more visitors each year than any of the other six.

Billing itself as the Organic Gardening Capital of Canada, Salt Spring has made farming its primary resource. Much of the island is covered with picturesque pastures and pristine farmland and many shops and vendors fleck the streets, dispensing the bounty of these businesses. The remaining pockets are filled by artist’s galleries, studios and craft shops as they showcase the community’s creative spirit.

The rugged southern end of the island is dominated by Mount Tuam and Mount Bruce and is home to Ruckle Provincial Park, the biggest provincial campground in the Gulf Islands.

Compared to many of the Gulf Islands, Salt Spring features an impressive selection of shops, spas, restaurants and tourist accommodations.

New in 2008, a modest public transit system now makes island hopping that much easier as it connects Vesuvius in the northwest, Fulford Harbour in the northeast and Long Harbour in the south. Otherwise, ferry travelling foot passengers can rent a car, scooter or bicycle and tour the island’s many scenic byways.

Destination: Galiano

Dubbed the Gem of the Gulf Islands, Galiano is the second largest island in the chain. Though it is the first stop for the Tsawwassen ferry and a popular tourist destination, Galiano has managed to retain its undeveloped, secluded character while enjoying a reputation as the most welcoming to visitors.

On this long, narrow island there are plenty of options for the outdoor enthusiast. It has the most parkland of all the Southern Gulf Islands, is home to over 130 species of birds and harbours a number of rare and protected plants. As a result, Galiano is frequented by naturalists, beachcombers and bird watchers in the spring and summer seasons.

Visitors will be happy to know that there are a variety of services and lodgings situated on Galiano. The list includes resorts, inns, cottages, bed and breakfasts and a Provincial Park campsite. Amenities include restaurants, grocery stores, a pub, a gas station and, as is common in these parts, a handful of galleries.

Destination: Mayne

A small, tranquil island, Mayne is ripe with rolling orchards, pastoral farmlands and warm rocky beaches. Though it’s ideal for naturalists and anyone seeking a peaceful getaway, plenty of activity can be found on Mayne. There is a lively community here, and a history closely linked to the Cariboo Gold Rush of 1858. Miners Bay, the island’s commercial centre, and nearby Active Pass bustle with marine traffic and the narrow, hilly roads always add some excitement to any journey.

Those seeking accommodation on Mayne will find many bed and breakfasts, as well as a privately operated campground.

Destination: Pender

The populous Pender Islands are separated north and south by a canal and united by a bridge. Thusly, while most people refer to Pender Island in the singular, there are in fact two islands and aside from a large subdivision on North Pender, these islands remain green and rural.

Though friendly to visitors, the population is primarily residential and as a result there are very few restaurants, lodgings or shops to be found. Truthfully, there is not even a village or town centre on either of the islands. North Pender’s Driftwood Centre, however, is considered the closest thing as it houses a post office, pharmacy, laundromat, gas station, bank, grocery store and a couple of other services.

Popular for family vacations, romantic escapes, seminars and retreats, the Pender Islands are mostly known for their unspoiled countryside, hidden bays, old frame houses and incredible beaches. In fact, these islands are a beachcomber’s paradise with more than 20 ocean-access points leading to spanning, quiet beaches and picturesque coves.

Destination: Saturna

Saturna Island is the most remote and sparsely populated of the South Gulf Islands and as a result, it’s also the least spoiled. The permanent population on Saturna has remained small, preserving the charm and rural character of the island while the island’s bounty of wildlife and varied terrain support a variety of outdoor activities. After visiting, it’s easy to see why nearly half of the newly created Gulf Islands National Park incorporates the undeveloped wilderness land on Saturna Island.

Visitors to Saturna should always plan ahead as accommodations are limited to only a few cottages, lodges and bed and breakfasts. There are however plenty of interesting galleries to check out, as well as a general store, pub, cafe and a vineyard.

Destination: Thetis

Up in the north end of the chain, the relaxed, rural and peaceful Thetis Island sits off the coast of Vancouver Island. Especially popular in the summer months, this friendly little island is home to less than 400 permanent residents, only slightly higher than the neighbouring Kuper Island. Even with such a small population, Thetis Island has become almost entirely privately owned, with the exception of 14 km (9 mi) of public roads and 19 km (12 mi) of shoreline.
Local facilities include a community centre, a pub and restaurant, a post office, a small store, two marinas and a volunteer fire department.

Destination: Kuper

Kuper Island is owned by the Penelakut First Nations Tribe and as such falls under the governance of Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley. The smallest of the Gulf Islands chain, this 860 ha (2,125 acres) island has a population of about 185 members of the Penelakut Band. As a native reservation, property is not for sale and no commercial services have been established.

Thetis Island and Kuper Island were originally joined by mud flats until a passage was dredged in 1905. Today, mariners and paddlers can sail through that shallow, narrow passage and into Telegraph Harbour, one of the most popular anchorages in the Southern Gulf Islands.

Set course

All of the Gulf Islands are accessible from Vancouver Island via one of BC Ferries’ regular routes. Alternatively, boat tours, float planes and private charters are often available from many of the centres along Vancouver Island’s east coast.

A number of Victoria-based tour companies offer all-inclusive day trips and overnight excursion tours that can be ideal for those who just can’t decide where to start. Otherwise, visitors will want to plan well in advance, especially in the peak summer season. Firstly, choose which islands to include in the tour, then consult a BC Ferries schedule to manage connections. From there, plan when and where to seek overnight accommodations. Most communities offer hotels, resorts and a great selection of bed and breakfasts but they will fill up quickly in the peak season.

The alternative is to travel off peak season in the fall and winter. During these downtimes, ferry service to many islands is restricted to one or two sailings per day, prompting an early start and late returns. The trade-off is that there are far fewer visitors to share the roads, waterways, parks and hotels with.

From Swartz Bay

Sitting on the tip of the Saanich Peninsula in a little town called Sidney, the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal is the primary starting point for excursions to five of the Southern Gulf Islands. From here, travellers can hop on board a direct-route to Fulford Harbour on Salt Spring, Otter Bay on North Pender, Sturdies Bay on Galiano, Village Bay on Mayne and Lyall Harbour on Saturna.

When there is time to spare, the Gulf Islands Day Trip from Swartz Bay is recommended. This meandering circle route makes several stops as it winds through the channels. The whole trip can take the better part of a day but stops and sailing times will vary depending on the date and time of sailing.

From Crofton and Chemainus

The friendly community of Crofton in the Cowichan region is another departure point for hops between Vancouver Island and Salt Spring Island. Routes from the seaside town of Chemainus connect with Thetis Island and Kuper Island.
From the Islands

On Salt Spring Island, BC Ferries operates out of three terminals: Fulford Harbour ferries sail to Swartz Bay; Long Harbour serves ferries to and from Tsawwassen Terminal; and Vesuvius Bay ferries sail to Crofton. Otherwise, a network of ferry routes connect the islands of Pender, Mayne, Saturna, Salt Spring and Galiano. This sometimes confusing schedule is surprisingly effective and can get one from any island to any other island in a matter of an hour or less.

Now, let the island hopping begin, but remember, always plan to be punctual. The ferries will fill up very quickly on a busy day and even with a reservation, they will not wait for dawdlers.

For More Information Click Here

Canadian residents took 732,000 overnight trips to overseas countries, down 2.2 per cent from December.

Travel by U.S. residents to Canada declined 1.7 per cent to 1.6 million trips in January.

Overseas residents took 369,000 overnight trips to Canada in January, 2.2 per cent more than in December and the highest level in two years.

Seven of Canada’s Top 12 overseas markets recorded advances in January, with travel from China rising 11.6 per cent, the largest increase, and travel from India falling 6.4, the largest decline.

The Early History

The Northwest coastal region along the Bay of Fundy was first inhabited by the Maliseet Nation, a nation that thrived on pollack fishing. A branch of the Algonquian tribe, the Maliseet had been thriving in the Saint John area for more than 2000 years. Europeans landed in the area in 1604, when Samuel de Champlain led a reconnaissance of the Bay of Fundy. Conflict between the Europeans and the Maliseet led to the nation being eventually driven from the area, and to French domination in the region. The day that Champlain landed at the mouth of the river was Saint John the Baptist’s Day, which resulted in the name of the township and the river itself. The story of the Maliseet can be explored through art and other exhibits at the New Brunswick Museum.

The city of Saint John played a role in the French and Indian wars, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812. It eventually passed to British rule, though French language and culture is still prominent in the city today. The bustling port and winding city streets hold a distinct Acadian feel unique to Saint John. The Centre Scolaire-Communautaire Samuel-de-Champlain celebrates Acadian heritage and puts on two annual events, the Festival de la Baie Francaise in June and the Festival Acadien in August. These festivals are a great way to spend a day out in Saint John and delve into the culture and history of the Francophone community.

Saint John grew quickly in size during the Irish Potato Famine of 1845-49, when there was an immigration influx from Ireland by those seeking a better life in the New World. The diverse history of the city is reflected in its authentic and multicultural society and tradition. Visitors can explore the historic streets and sites, which include the Carleton Martello Tower that played a key role in both the War of 1812 and World War II, and the Loyalist House, Saint John’s oldest building.

Climate

Due to its location aside the Bay of Fundy, Saint John has a humid, temperate climate. Though temperatures regularly drop below freezing in winter, the season is much more mild in Saint John than in other New Brunswick cities. Summer weather ranges from cool to moderately warm, with temperatures rarely exceeding 30°C (86°F). The humidity, however, often makes the summer feel hotter and the winter cooler. It effects the level of snowfall as well, which is less than the rest of the province. Saint John averages 65 cm (26 in) of snow each month from November through February. Rain is a much more common climate condition, so visitors are advised to be equipped with a good rain jacket. A pair of rubber boots or duck boots are also recommended for those spending time outdoors or camping.

Transport Links

Vacationers flying into the city will arrive at Saint John Airport, located approximately 15 km (9 mi) east of the city centre. Those travelling by bus will find the Greyhound Bus services with convenient schedules in and out of New Brunswick’s capital, and VIA Rail provides train transport for those looking for a more scenic journey. Once in Saint John, all visitors must experience some sort of transportation on water. The Saint John Marina, located on the banks of the Saint John River, is the largest full service marina in the area. Boating enthusiasts can launch from the marina, and there is an array of tours and tour operators who also call the marina home. The Royal Kennebeccasis Yacht Club offers moorings, berths, as well as several sailing schools, racing events and other marine services.

Those seeking a vehicle will find the best prices at Rent a Wreck, Saint John’s only used car rental facility. Not only do they offer reliable cars and trucks, they also rent tocustomers aged 21 and older, meaning that students and younger visitors are able to get around town more easily.

Old Number 2 Engine House

Top Attractions

The streets of downtown Saint John all have their own history and stories to tell. King Street is Canada’s steepest street, and rises 24 m (80 ft) in just two city blocks. Prince William Street resides in the district of the city that was destroyed in the 1877 Saint John Fire. What began as a fire in a small warehouse quickly engulfed the surrounding blocks, destroying the centre of downtown. Visitors can learn more about the fire itself at the Old Number 2 Engine House Museum.

Many of the streets were restored to their original glory and today visitors tour the area along the Prince William Street Walk. This walking tour explores Prince William and Germain Streets, which remain Saint John’s main commercial avenues today, as they were centuries ago. The elaborate grandeur of the buildings and their detailing dates back to the fierce competition among property owners and craftsmen to out-do one another. Visitors can browse through shops on Princess Street, as well as visit two of the city’s beautiful historic churches, St. Andrew’s and St. David’s.

These two churches were built after the fire of 1877, and today exist as one united church. Those who constructed the building utilized brick that remained from the burnt ruins surrounding the church site, and what resulted was a church with sides and a back of brick, while the front is local limestone. The church is also home to a three-manual pipe organ, manufactured by Cassavant Frères of St. Hyacinthe, which was installed in 1927. This grand organ is considered to be one of the finest instruments of its kind in the Maritimes. The history of Presbyterianism in the area can be felt within the walls of this historic structure, and must not be missed by visitors to Saint John.

Those with a taste for the arts can browse through the numerous galleries scattered around downtown. Trinity Galleries on Germain Street is home to a wonderful display of several artworks by the Maritimes’ foremost fine artists. With two full levels of showing space, this gallery is a welcoming sight for visitors. The renowned Peter Buckland Gallery is also located nearby, featuring a wide range of work from the traditional to the contemporary. As well, this gallery plays host to several musical performances, readings, and other presentations throughout the year. Visitors hoping to experience live theatre in Saint John can attend a performance at the impressive Imperial Theatre, located in King’s Square. Built in 1912, the theatre still boasts the original décor that has been restored to ensure the beauty and grandeur do not fade.

Judaism has a rich and interesting history in New Brunswick, particularly in the years of World War II and those that immediately followed. The year 1858 is marked as the official year for the birth of the Jewish society of Saint John, with the immigration of the Soloman and Hart families from England, and so 2008 marks the celebration of the community’s 150th birthday. Visitors can explore the Jewish Historical Museum of Saint John, which tells the Jewish story and features not only numerous exhibits, but also research archives and a library.

Shopping And Eating Out

Those looking for something rare and authentic will have much to explore in the antique shops of uptown Saint John. The area is home to a plethora of dealers in antiques and collectibles, including Brass’n'Things and Tim Isaac Art and Antiques on Prince William Street. Both of these vendors house an impressive array of artefacts dating back to the years of exploration, and there are always new items arriving. Shoppers will find even more to delve into at King’s Square in the centre of downtown. The square is laid out in the shape of the Union Jack, and plays host to a variety of performers and festivities throughout the year.

New Brunswick is known for delectable food, and Saint John is a hub for restaurants of all varieties. It comes as no surprise that the city is home to several historic restaurants and bars, from English pubs to upscale Acadian cuisine. Opera Bistro on Prince William Street is one of the city’s premier dining locations. It is housed in a historic building, giving it a unique appeal that, when coupled with the extensive menu, promises an unforgettable meal. Nougatine et Chocolat is also in the heart of downtown, and their innovative, internationally inspired menu offers everything from sandwiches to pastries. Visitors seeking something tasty, interesting, and memorable will be impressed by the wide variety of restaurants in Saint John.

The reviewed locations and features of New Brunswick’s capital city are but a sample of all that exists to explore and enjoy within Saint John. For over 200 years visitors from around the globe have arrived at the city’s port and been charmed by the character and culture that is unique to Saint John. The sites, shops, and streets speak for themselves as to what can be enjoyed in this historic city.

For more detailed information visit the official website

Calgary started off as Fort Calgary with the railway industry playing a major role in the economy and at attracting settlers to the area. The city received its name from Colonel James Macleod. Calgary is a Scottish name originating from Calgary Bay on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. Officially proclaimed a city in 1884 with a population of 4,000, Calgary started out like most western towns. The city featured a series of wood frame houses, wooden church steeples and a city hall clock tower.

The great fire of 1886 changed the look of Calgary from wood to the more fireproof sandstone. The Sandstone City became Calgary’s new nickname and set it apart from other cities. Calgary has a rich history with landmarks and districts that tell of its continuous evolution. The city however, hasn’t done much to preserve it’s history. Many historical landmarks and buildings have been torn down to make room for new ones. Calgary’s image is more new and modern rather than nostalgic. All is not lost though, there are certain districts that have worked hard at preserving history with hopes of passing it on to future generations

Fort Calgary

Fort Calgary was established in 1875 by the F Troop of the North West Mounted Police. The fort was built at the forks of the Bow and Elbow Rivers and under the instruction of Inspector Ephrem Brisebois, the Mounted Police were to suppress whiskey traffic along the Bow River. The fort was constructed out of pine logs and the pole roofs were covered with earth, while the walls were mudded with clay. It took approximately six weeks to build and the living conditions in the fort were far from comfortable.

In 1882, the fort was torn down and new buildings were built and the site became known as Calgary Barracks. A few years later these buildings were destroyed by fire and were replaced by a remarkable two-storey building that could house 100 men. In 1914, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway purchased the land and demolished all fort buildings except for Superintendent Deane’s house. In 1975, the city of Calgary celebrated its Centennial and reclaimed the land. Archaeologists working in the area over the years have uncovered remains of the original fort and several other buildings. Due to these findings, the location is now designated as a National and Provincial Historic Site. Today visitors to the area can view a replica of the 1875 fort site and can walk through an interpretive centre with exhibits that illustrate Calgary from 1875 to the 1940s.

Inglewood

The first community formed in Calgary was Inglewood. The area features over 200 pre-1914 buildings, including homes, office buildings and retail shops. Inglewood is located on 9th Avenue South East, across the Elbow River from Fort Calgary. The district was occupied as early as 1871 by American traders and became a permanent settlement with the 1875 construction of Fort Calgary. It was originally thought that the Canadian Pacific Railway would build its main station in Inglewood but instead chose to construct it on the other side of the river.

Inglewood was home to some of the city’s major industries such as the Burns meat packing plant and the Calgary Brewery. During the community’s economic boom in 1910, many multi-storey brick buildings and houses emerged. With the start of the Great War in 1914, the housing boom came to an end and by 1960 Inglewood was rezoned as an industrial area. As years went on the community became plagued by social problems but has managed to overcome these difficulties and is now an attractive and fashionable business district with restaurants, pubs, various retail shops and office spaces.

Victoria Park

The Victoria Park area is home to the world famous Calgary Exhibition and Stampede. It is located southeast of downtown and lies between 10th and 18th Avenues and is bounded by the Elbow River and Second Street Southwest. The land was purchased in 1889 by Colonel James Walker and members of the Calgary Agriculture Society who later became founders of the Stampede. For many years this outdoor show attracted huge crowds to the Victoria Park community but as the Stampede expanded it eventually led to the downfall of the area. Many residents have had their homes put in jeopardy in order to accommodate the Stampede’s expansion. However, the area was not always plagued by such problems. Victoria Park was once populated with working class families, business people and small factories. Due to social issues, caution should be used when visiting this area. The area has gone through a revitalization process which has resulted in several new condo developments as well as the renovation of a number of older buildings. Several older buildings have been transformed into high-end condo lofts.

Connaught Beltine

The Connaught-Beltine area of Calgary is located in the city’s southeast between 8th and 14th Street and was home to some well-known people. The location was once bare prairie land and James Loughheed, Alberta’s first Senator, built his large home in the area in 1891. In 1901, the community was home to a beautiful sandstone mansion that belonged to Calgary’s first millionaire, Patrick Burns. Unfortunately, it was demolished in 1956 for the expanding Colonel Belcher Hospital. During the housing boom between 1905 and 1914, the area was home to some sophisticated homes that featured adaptations of the Queen Anne style and tall decorative chimneys. Apartment buildings such as the Devenish, are still around today and is now home to businesses such as fashion boutiques, salons, an art gallery and jewellery shop. In 1911, Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie financed the first public library in Alberta, located in the Connaught-Beltline. Famous author, activist, and teacher Nellie McClung lived in the Connaught-Beltline community from 1923 to 1932.

Bowness

Bowness is located in northwest Calgary and is well known for its park that is often used for skating in the winter and swimming in the summer. Originally, the area was not a part of the City of Calgary but was a separate piece of land located in the Bow River valley. An Englishman by the name of John Hextall came to Alberta in 1908 and was enchanted by the natural beauty of Bowness and decided to develop the land into an exclusive residential community. At his own expense, Hextall subdivided the land into large treed lots and built a bridge connecting Bowness to Calgary. As a means to attracting wealthy investors, he also had a park and golf club constructed. In 1911, Hextal signed an agreement with the City of Calgary in which he agreed to give up the islands of Bowness Park in exchange for a municipal streetcar. This was done to ease future expansion plans but by 1914, the year Hextall died, only five of the impressive homes he foresaw had been built. With the arrival of the First World War, financial investment for the area dried up and the growth of Bowness slowed down. By 1951, the community officially became a town and in 1964, it was officially annexed by the City of Calgary.

Mount Royal

Situated in Calgary’s southwest and bounded by 17th Avenue and 14th Street, Mount Royal has become known as one of the city’s most distinguished residential districts. It features large lots with plenty of trees, an abundant amount of open spaces for parks and gracefully curved streets. The elegance of the area is due to a plan that was put in place in 1905 by the City of Calgary and the Canadian Pacific Railway that owned the land, both of whom wanted to attract wealthy prospective settlers to the area. The plan was successful and the district experienced a building boom with many grand estate homes being built. Soon after, the area was officially named Mount Royal after the community in Montreal which was home to Canadian Pacific Railway President William Van Horne.

Stephen Avenue Mall

Located along Eighth Avenue Southwest in downtown Calgary, this outdoor pedestrian mall was named after the Canadian Pacific Railway’s first president, Lord George Mount Stephen. In 1886, a fire nearly destroyed the buildings lining Stephen Avenue. As a way to prevent another such tragedy, the city put a fireproof plan into action. Locally quarried sandstone was used in the construction for the commercial buildings that lined the avenue and Calgary quickly became known as the Sandstone City. During this time a person could come down to the avenue and purchase all their necessities, from food to postage stamps. By 1914, the use of sandstone slowed down and the cheaper alternative of bricks became the new supply of choice in construction. Across the street from Calgary’s Old City Hall, located at the east end of the avenue, is the Olympic Plaza. Built in 1987, the plaza was used for medal ceremonies during the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Over the years many buildings along Stephen Avenue have been torn down to accommodate newer buildings such as the Glenbow Museum and shopping malls.

Today the area has been declared a National Historic District by the federal government and many structures have been restored to their original conditions. Visitors to Stephen Avenue Mall can now walk through a beautiful historic setting and enjoy a variety of fine dining, do a little shopping, stop in at a coffee bar or spend some time in a selection of art galleries.

The City of Calgary has several noteworthy landmarks that have stood the test of time. Through restoration processes and constant maintenance, there are a few landmarks worth visiting such as the Centre Street Bridge, St. Mary’s Cathedral and the Calgary Tower.

Centre Street Bridge

In 1906, the original Centre Street Bridge was built by A.J. McArther. He owned some land that he wanted to sell on the other side of the bridge, the area that is now known as Crescent Heights. The City of Calgary purchased the bridge in 1912 but in 1915 the Bow River flooded and wiped out the bridge. A new Centre Street Bridge was built and opened in 1916. It is this bridge that has survived the test of time and is now used daily by thousands of Calgarians. The majestic lions seen today, however, are replicas of the originals.

The most prominent features of the Centre Street Bridge are the four stone lions that guard the entrances. City worker James Thompson, who was once a Scottish mason, created the majestic lions. These impressive creatures were modeled after the lions found at the base of Admiral Nelson’s monument at Trafalgar Square in London. The main difference between the two is that the English lions are made of brass whereas the ones in Calgary are made of concrete. Each lion features an image of the English rose, an Irish shamrock, the Scottish thistle and the Canadian Maple leaf. In 1993, the bridge was named a Historic Resource, partly due to the regal presence of the lions.

St. Mary’s Cathedral

The original St. Mary’s Cathedral came to be after a meeting in 1887 with Father Lacombe and Calgary parishioners. It was decided that due to the growing congregation, a new stone church should be built. Located on 18 Avenue Southwest, the church opened its doors in 1889 and in 1912, the Calgary Diocese was formed and Pope Pius X declared St. Mary’s a Cathedral. No changes had been made to the structure until 1913 when Bishop McNally rearranged the sanctuary and sacristy. In 1955, the Cathedral was demolished and construction of the present day St. Mary’s began. The new Cathedral opened its doors in 1957 and was consecrated by Reverend Francis P. Carroll, Bishop of Calgary. St. Mary’s contains an amazing 5 m (16 ft) statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, cast in stone and mounted over the main doors. Over the years, St. Mary’s has gone through extensive renovations and the original interior that was designed by Calgary architect, Maxwell Bates, has been greatly altered.

Calgary Tower

The Calgary Tower is located in the city’s downtown on 9th Avenue Southwest. Once known as the Husky Tower, it was built in 1966 on the site of the demolished Canadian Pacific Railway station. The Tower was opened in 1968 by Premier Ernest Manning, and in 1971 it became officially known as the Calgary Tower. At the time, the tower was the tallest free-standing structure in the city. However, the year 1983 saw the Tower lose this status with the completion of the Petro-Canada building. A special feature of the Tower is the torch at the very top that is lit on special occasions such as the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympic Games. The tower stands 190 m (626 ft) tall and it takes 62 seconds to get from ground level to the observation deck.

The City of Calgary is a founding member of the World Federation of Great Towers. Other world famous structures that are part of the federation include the CN Tower and the Eiffel Tower.

For more information about Calgary click here to visit the official tourism website

While times have now changed for the credit-card statement (a $100 Canadian ticket will now cost $100 US or about £65), a ticket to Toronto theatre still provides exceptional value, as the performances and production quality of Toronto’s mega-shows are on par with New York’s Broadway and London’s West End.

Meantime, if you’re a true theatre fan like me, you know that much of the world’s finest theatre happens “off” Broadway and “off” West End. In Toronto, there’s no equivalent term but there isan equivalent experience—and this is where visitors to Canada are reminded they’re not in New York or London.

The lesser-known performance spaces of Canadian Stage Company, Buddies in Bad Times, VideoCabaret, Acting Upstage and many others deliver theatre experiences that send audience members away with powerful—often uniquely Canadian memories. And that’s true value.

VideoCabaret is not your everyday term, even in the theatre world. But as I discovered in Toronto, it’s code for some of the most powerful and most marvellously creative theatre I have ever seen. In a nutshell, it works like this: book the back room of a nightclub, build a tiny black shadowbox (about 15 sq ft) as your stage, install pinpoint-perfect lighting, clothe and paint a mega-talented cast of about seven actors in hyperbolic style, and let them tell great Canadian tales through satirical language, facial expression and quick juxtaposition. On my recent Toronto theatre trip, VideoCabaret took me through Canada’s involvement in World War I in a jarring, emotional, funny and poignant play—that included characters from Sir Wilfred Laurier to German POWs to the Duchess of Cornwall—all told within the confines of the shadowbox stage. It is uniquely Toronto, and whatever tale these actors are telling, you need to experience it.

World’s Biggest Gay Theatre! Across town in the area known as Church Wellesley Village, theatregoers find the remarkable Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. In a country where gay “issues” have mostly ceased to exist (Canadian gays have been allowed serve in the military since the early 90s, and could legally marry and adopt children since the early 2000s), it may seem like the gay stories have all been told. Well, Buddies in Bad Times has been telling gay stories since 1979, and today still finds plenty of GLBTQ material to perform on its stage—the largest facility-based queer theatre company in the world. The company’s 2011 season, says Artistic Director Brendan Healy, “tackles experiences of citizenship, racialization, religiosity, marginalization and social repression…encompassing the full complexities of contemporary queer existence with humour, intelligence and ferocity.” Most recently was the remounting of “The Silicone Diaries,” which dramatizes a character’s male-to-female transition. Fascinating stuff.

Keeping it current. Perhaps best known of Toronto’s play producers is Canadian Stage, which has its own two gorgeous performance venues in the city centre, and mounts around 10-14 productions each year focusing on contemporary theatre. Some of it, such as the upcoming productions of “Saint Carmen of the Main”and “Project: Humanity’s The Middle Place,” are decidedly Canadian with stories that take place in Canadian settings, while others take audience members to story settings around the planet and even into space. On my recent theatre trip I was lucky enough to see “The Anderson Project,” a magical one-man show by legendary Canadian actor Robert Lepage.

Double Feature. There’s one piece of theatre that rarely gets mentioned in theatre stories, and that is the décor and history of the theatre venues themselves. While Toronto has many world-class facilities, one stands out for its sheer historic significance—not to mention its pure visual interest regardless what’s playing on the stages: The Elgin & Winter Garden Theatres, which opened in 1913 (Irving Berlin performed) and 1914 respectively. The fact that I said stages in the plural is not necessarily remarkable for a theatre venue; many modern performing arts centres have multiple stages in one complex. What is unique about these two theatres is that they are stacked, literally, on top of each other. The Winter Garden sits seven storeys above the Elgin. They are the only surviving “double-decker” theatres still operating in the world. Tours are offered that take theatre and architecture lovers through the elegant, gilded Elgin before venturing way upstairs to the magical Winter Garden, a theatre like none I’ve everseen. Its walls are covered in delicate garden murals and the support columns are disguised as trees; the ceilings are covered in leaves and paper lanterns. While these theatres don’t have a resident company, they are in frequent use by professional and community theatres. Those lucky patrons who saw Donny Osmond in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” saw him at the Elgin. You can catch Christopher Plummer as “Barrymore”there from the end of January to the beginning of March this year.

While once upon a time Toronto’s theatre scene was about dollar value, today it’s definitely a scene in its own right. Whether watching mega-productions such as the recent pre-Broadway run of “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” and the upcoming “The Secret Garden”(Feb. 8-March 19)or tiny-but-powerful shows mounted inside a black shadowbox stage, theatregoers will find that Toronto’s live performance scene is an exceptionally valuableexperience, with memories that live happily ever after.

Selected Toronto Theatres and/or Companies:

Acting Up Stage Company: mostly musicals, some new works
Angelwalk Theatre: mostly musicals
BirdLand Theatre: plays and musicals
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre: world’s largest facility-based queer theatre company
Canadian Stage: mostly contemporary theatre
Crow’s Theatre: mostly plays questioning accepted truths about history
Dancap Productions: large-scale musicals
Factory Theatre Company: new Canadian plays
Hart House Theatre (University of Toronto): variety of productions
Little Red Theatre: children’s theatre
Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People: youth theatre
Mirvish Productions: large-scale musicals
Nightwood Theatre: mostly women’s theatre
Stage Centre Productions: classic theatre
Studio 180: mostly “socially relevant” theatre
Tarragon Theatre: new plays
VideoCabaret: satirical historic drama in blackbox stage
Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Writer Randall Shirley lives in Vancouver, BC, a place he thinks is paradise. Nevertheless, the travel bug causes him to leave often, penning works for The Boston Globe, The Calgary Herald, The South China Morning Post, and more. Shirley edits the Canadian gay and lesbian travel magazine Out In Canada and frequently appears as “resident globetrotter” on Vancouver’s Shaw TV Studio 4.
Rare accomplishment: He’s one of a rare group: those who have visited all 13 Canadian provinces and territories. Reach him via www.RandallShirley.com.

The climate in the Windsor area lends itself to a vibrant and picturesque environment. The natural beauty is enhanced by the city being bordered by water on three sides. Having the most southerly location in Canada (Windsor is similar to Madrid, Spain in latitude) doesn’t hurt either. Convenient access draws in approximately 9 million visitors annually, making Windsor the country’s busiest port. Much of the nearly $1 billion dollars generated through trade and tourism comes in the form of US dollars through Michigan, Ontario’s largest trading partner. Its unique location on the southwestern tip of Ontario puts 100 million Canadian and American citizens >within 800 kilometres (500 miles) of city limits.

History:

Growing out of a small Jesuit Mission, Windsor was officially founded in 1748. Originally a French settlement, Windsor grew in steady unison with the city of Detroit, MI on the opposite bank of the river. These French roots can still be seen in the pattern of roads and streets in the downtown area. The settlement grew slowly and remained under French control until 1797, when an increasing number of British loyalists began moving in, seeking to remain under British rule and avoid the political changes of post civil war America.

The town of Windsor would change further with the arrival of Great Western Railway in 1854, in what is now Downtown Windsor. This move ensured commercial success for years to come, connecting the township with the larger centres in the north.

In 1904, the Ford Motor Company set up shop in Windsor, beginning what would become the area’s most prominent industry. So big was the automotive industry that during the First World War the growing industrial complex was actually known as Ford City. By 1930, the industry had become so influential that Windsor had grown to include the smaller surrounding communities into a city of 100,000 people. The Second World War led to further increase in both industrial production and growth of the city.

Today the city of Windsor is still primarily a manufacturing based economy, remaining a forerunner in automotive engineering. The Windsor region is also eastern Canada’s largest agricultural business community. This, combined with an ideal location and more than 800 companies in the Windsor area, secured an impressive 40% of the Canada-USA trade market, generating an exchange of $400 million dollars daily between the two countries.

Climate:

Being surrounded by Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River has created a temperate climate, with annual average temperatures between the mid teens to high 20s Celsius (mid 50s to low 80s Fahrenheit) in the summer months. Winter temperatures are mild, between -5 and 2 Celsius (low 20s to mid 30s Fahrenheit) but the higher humidity from its waterfront location often creates the sensation of a deeper, penetrating cold.

Rain is common but rarely heavy. Rainfall averages around 9 cm (3 inches) in the summer months, varying only slightly throughout the year.

Transportation:

Passage to Windsor comes in many forms. The 401 Highway runs directly to the heart of Windsor, connecting the southern tip of Ontario to London and Toronto. The Ambassador Bridge joins Windsor and Detroit above land. The idea for a motorway spanning the Detroit River came to light in the early years following World War I, but the bridge would not get built for almost 10 years, and at a cost of $23.5 million US dollars. When completed in 1929, the 2804-meter (9,200 foot) masterpiece of engineering was the longest suspension bridge in the world.

A fun alternative to the Ambassador Bridge is the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. At 22.8 meters (75 feet) beneath the river and nearly 1,600 meters (almost a mile) long, the tunnel is the fastest connection between the cities of Windsor and Detroit. The tunnel connects to the 401 via Ouellette Ave. for getting around the Windsor area.

The Windsor Airport is designed for charter and commuter flights. While smaller than many international airports, is quite capable of handling flights and aircraft of all sizes. Shuttle, taxi and car rental service are available.

VIA Rail has a scenic train station close to the river and connects Windsor with the rest of Canada through the Quebec / Windsor Corridor. Trains make regular trips to Toronto, as well as to Chicago Il, with stops between.

Getting around the city is fairly easy as the public transportation system is easily accessible from anywhere in the city. Transit Windsor operates both within the city and between the city center and downtown Detroit through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, with stops at casinos on both borders.

Attractions:

Because of its waterfront location, the city of Windsor has developed a taste for water sport. It is not uncommon to find residents enjoying the summer weather with their boats and water skis, swimming at the beaches of Pelee Island, or even taking in a boat tour along the banks of the Detroit River.

The Charlie Brooks Memorial Peace Fountain, a popular summer attraction, is a floating fountain on the Detroit River. In fact, the fountain is one of North America’s largest and offers a variety of water “shows” daily, pumping 12,000 gallons of water into the air every minute.

There is also the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, a two-lane roadway 23 meters (75 feet) below the surface of the Detroit River. Considered a great feat of engineering, the tunnel opened in November of 1930 at a total cost of $23,000,000. Be forewarned that the tunnel is the second busiest route between Canada and the US, and has toll and customs inspection booths at either end.

Of course, there is a variety of restaurants, clubs and bars to choose from, offering everything from a relaxed atmosphere to live music and comedy.

Accommodation:

Lodgings abound in the Windsor area, and range from the budget minded to first class and even a restored Victorian Inn. Most of these can be found in the downtown area, which keeps visitors close to the Cleary International Center, casinos, superb dining, the many parks along the banks of the beautiful Detroit river and, of course, many attractions unique to Windsor.

For more information about this region click here

Northern delights:

It’s an experience in itself to arrive at Yukon’s Tagish Wilderness Lodge – the final stretch across a vast frozen lake can only be completed by snowmobile, dogsled or ski plane. The Yukon Winter Sampler is a five-day action-filled package, available throughout March, with cozy log-cabin accommodation for when it’s time to zonk out. After a mushing lesson on day two, you’ll race confidently through the forest, pulled by your own effervescent huskies. You’ll also learn to get about like a local on a powerful Ski-Doo. The reward for making it to a nearby mountaintop? A campfire cookout – think smoky homemade beans and lightly charred organic steaks. And when you feel like slowing down, you can pad around so quietly, in snowshoes you made yourself, that you won’t even startle the snowshoe hares. Or maybe you’d rather ice-fish through a sawed-out hole in the frozen lake? At the end of the day, there’s nothing more relaxing than hitting the hot tub to bask in the alien-green glow of the northern lights.

Highbrow holidays:

Aesthetes can plan smart by booking the OPUS Design Package between March 17 and 27, when the International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) is running in Montréal. The OPUS Montréal boutique hotel is as striking for its 1914 main building – the first poured-concrete residential structure in North America – as for its recent slick black addition, designed by Dan Hanganu. The Design Package includes a self-guided walking tour of the city’s architectural highlights, tickets to the Canadian Centre for Architecture and Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, as well as martinis in the chandeliered Grand Salon of Koko bar, where you’ll get a kick out of the larger-than-life Moooi horse sculpture and electric-green runway. And at FIFA, you can chow down on popcorn at one of nine cinema and museum venues and catch movies and discussions on a fascinating array of topics from the world of art.

County fare in Prince Edward County:

From March 23 to April 16, you can take a break in Ontario’s Prince Edward County and work your way around the select restaurants participating in Countylicious – a celebration of the local bounty with three-course, prix-fixe dinners for a friendly $30 or $35 rate. Claramount Inn and Spa offers an all-inclusive package of room, breakfast and a meal from their Countylicious menu showcasing the county’s tasty heirloom and organic veggies, as well as local cheeses and wines – be sure to sample more than one of the crisp, steely Rieslings, which have helped to forge the local wine industry’s reputation. A walk around Claramount’s sprawling grounds by Picton Bay will help you work off dessert before you retire to one of 10 uniquely styled rooms. Tip: Between dinners, follow the “Taste Trail” and stock up on gourmet souvenirs like Sandbanks Estate Winery’s award-winning Baco Noir Reserve or Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Company’s strangely delicious Goat Cheese Chocolate Truffles.

Getting there:

Tagish Wilderness Lodge, Box 17, Tagish, YT, 867-332-2113, tagishwildernesslodge.com
Opus Montréal Hotel, 10 Sherbrooke St. W., Montréal, QC, 1-866-744-6346, opushotel.com
Claramount Inn and Spa, 97 Bridge St., Picton, ON, 1-800-679-7756, claramountinn.com
Yukon Tourism, 1-800-661-0494, www.travelyukon.com
Ontario Tourism, 1-800-ONTARIO (1-800-668-2746), www.ontariotravel.net
Tourisme Québec, 1-877-BONJOUR (1-877-266-5687), www.bonjourquebec.com

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Valerie Howes as the senior editor of Pure Canada, I’m on the lookout for stories about new and interesting lodgings, restaurants, spas, events, packages and experiences. Pure Canada is the Canadian Tourism Commission’s unique travel-lifestyle magazine. It is published by Spafax Canada Inc., publisher of enRoute, Air Canada’s award-winning inflight magazine. We represent Canada and it is our mission to take our readers on a sensory journey. Pure Canada is an invitation to the reader to discover Canada and experience it in a whole new way – it is an invitation to explorers.

Not surprisingly, most of the top ten theme parks have at least one  up to 15 roller coasters to entice the bravest of souls. There is of course more than roller coasters, skyscreamers, boomerangs, top spinners and mindbenders to enthuse the park lover; sea creature shows, amazing water parks and even go-karting and mini-golf have satisfied many visitors. For the not so courageous park goer, bring some comfortable shoes and for those bold enough to try anything, pack some lozenges for the throat because screaming on those hairpin turns and inverted ascents and descents is likely.

Canada’s Wonderland

It’s not hard to see why Canada’s Wonderland is the largest and perhaps the most popular theme park in Canada. Commonly called Wonderland, this park has lured millions of visitors annually since 1981. The park boasts over 200 rides and a 133 ha (330 acre) water park. Roller coaster fanatics can get a thrill from one of the 15 different roller coasters at the park, almost a record number of coasters in any theme park. Coaster enthusiasts will love a few rides, including Time Warp, Canada’s only “flying” roller coaster where passengers ride lying face-down and are lifted up like the passenger is flying. New to the park as of 2008, Canada’s biggest, fastest and tallest roller coaster, the Behemoth, is not for the faint of heart reaching a height of 70 m (230 ft) and dropping down at an angle of 85 degrees.

Movie-themed rides started a trend in 1994 when Paramount Pictures bought Canada’s Wonderland, which became Paramount Canada Wonderland for 12 years before reverting back to its original name. Some of the popular rides inspired by movies are: Flight Deck, Canada’s only inverted roller coaster and named after the Top Gun movie and Back Lot Stunt Coaster, created from a car scene in the 2003 movie The Italian Job.

Roller coasters are definitely a main pull at this park but for the weak-stomached rider and younger kids, the Splash Works water park offers plenty of exciting rides that will entertain and delight. Splash Works is a 8 ha (20 acre) water playground that features 16 water slides and over two-million gallons of heated water. Situated adjacent to the theme park, the water park is home to high-speed slides such as the Plunge, the Blackhole and the Super Soaker, a fast ride through a tunnel that spirals down into an open-air flume. For the less adventurous, try heading down the Lazy River, a more relaxing ride which takes one down a one-quarter mile river in individual rafts. The Riptide Racer and the Baracuda Blaster are two other exciting water rides to try. Also stop in at Canada’s largest wave pool.

La Ronde

The largest amusement park in Quebec and the second largest in Canada, La Ronde was originally built for Expo 67. Located on Saint-Helen’s Island in Parc Jean Drapeau, this park is also home to the annual fireworks competition that attracts thousands of locals and tourists every summer.

One of the most popular rides at La Ronde is the Monster, a wooden roller coaster that invokes a fear of the unknown as the structure of this beast rattles on the first ascent. Other exciting rides at this tourist attraction include the Boomerang and the Tornade, the largest suspended roller coaster in Canada. At 32 m (105 ft) high and reaching up to a speed of 80.5 kmh (50 mph), if the visitor has to choose to ride only one of the nine roller coasters that this park offers, the Tornade is the one.

Since 2002, La Ronde was deemed an official world-class theme park with over 40 rides to choose from. The water rides are a perfect choice for hot and humid days that are typical during the summer. Try the Splash, a 20-passenger boat that plunges down a 15 m (50 ft) waterfall creating 5 m (17 ft) waves. Staying dry is not an option for this ride. Tour de Ville is a custom-designed Old Montreal theme ride that takes up to 48 brave souls on a carousel ride to the sky. In 2001, Six Flags bought La Ronde from the City of Montreal.

Galaxyland Amusement Park

Located in the popular West Edmonton Mall and in operation since 1981, this amusement park has 26 indoor rides that will entertain and thrill the entire family. Kids’ rides are plentiful at this indoor playground. The Space Bump allows kids to drive carts around bumping into others or wee ones can try the ever-popular Carousel. The Galaxyland Raceway is a good ride for the would-be little speed racer, featuring Go-Karts that drive through an “Indy” style racetrack. For something a little slower, the kids will enjoy the Balloon Race, a ferris wheel with balloon-shaped cars. The whole family will enjoy the Cosmic Spinner, an intermediate space ride which features individual spinning UFOs.

The older crowd seeking a thrill to remember will be drawn to the Mindbender, the world’s largest indoor high-speed triple loop roller coaster. If being launched 37 m (120 ft) skyward and then thrust back to the starting position with 11 other screaming people sounds exhilarating, try the Space Shot. The Sonic Storm is an advanced ride which takes the passenger back and forth in a circular bouncing motion while the Galaxy Orbiter is a stomach-churning spinning roller coaster. Find out more here

Playland Amusement Park

The Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) site is home to one of the oldest amusement parks in Canada, Playland Amusement Park. Since 1910, this amusement park, once named “Happy Land,” is sure to make guests smile when they take on the park’s marquee attraction, the wooden roller coaster from 1958. At least that’s what half a million thrill-seekers do each year. Ideally located in Vancouver B.C.’s Hastings Park, Playland has various thrill rides, a bonanza shooting gallery, and an 11 m (35 ft) climbing wall. If the wooden coaster doesn’t scare the guest enough, maybe the Demon of the Dark haunted house will do it. For jolts and spins, try the Crazy Beach Party, also called the Frisbee, a ride which spins on a huge disc and swings back and forth like a pendulum reaching a 90 degree angle. Other exciting rides include the Hellevator, the Wave Swinger and the Scrambler.

Those with a faint heart may want to try their hand at the mini-golf course, the glass house or the pirate adventure ship geared towards kids. The popular Midway games are also a pleasing sight to those with a fear of heights. Great rides for the kids include the Dune Buggies, Flying Elephants, or the Paddle Wheeler, a fun ride for water lovers who don’t want to get wet as they ride down a river in safari-themed paddle boats.

Marineland

The main attractions and unique features of Marineland, located one mile from Horseshoe Falls in Niagra Falls, Ontario, is the marine mammal shows, feedings, mammal touchings and animal exhibitions. But what really sets this place apart from some of the other theme parks is its open green spaces, picnic areas and the low-tech feeling of the whole park. In addition to spotting sea creatures, this park offers 16 amusement rides and plenty of fun activities to keep the kids busy. Be sure to catch the dolphin and walrus moves at the park’s main daily show, The King Waldorf Stadium Show, or stop by the Arctic Cove to spot or touch the beautiful beluga whales. Killer whales can be found at the Friendship Cove for a show that will always be remembered. For a thrill or two, escape to the adult roller coaster, Dragon Mountain, or test vocal cords at the Skyscreamer, the world’s highest triple tower ride at 137 m (450 ft) that launches the rider up and down at speeds of 96 kmh (60 mph). Other rides include a spinning ferris wheel called the Tivoli Wheel and the Topple Tower ride. Kids will enjoy the Lady Bug Coaster, the Bumble Bee ride and the Orca Screamer, a kid’s version of the Skyscreamer. As well as interactive animal displays, catch a glimpse of the black bears, deer and elk.

Ontario Place

Since 1971, this parkland located in downtown Toronto has grown from a pavilion complex with one restaurant and an IMAX Theatre into a recognized leisure and entertainment centre that encompasses a huge water slide, a children’s village, the Molson Amphitheatre and regionally-themed restaurants, stores and rides. Situated on three man-made islands on Lake Ontario, Ontario Place’s Soak City water park features heated water slides, including the Pink Twister and Purple Pipeline. Located on Adventure Island, the visitors will discover the world’s largest animated flume ride and the Wilderness Adventure, which takes the passenger down a 12 m (40 ft) splashdown. On a hot and humid day, the Hydrofuge ride is the perfect recipe for cooling off. At speeds of 80.5 kmh (50 mph), zoom down a tube on a thin sheet of water through a gigantic bowl of water, then a dip into the 20 m (6 ft) of deep water at the bottom. Other fun water activities include Go-Karting on water (Aquajet Racers) and Waterplay, a water park designed just for kids. For a short break from the rides, drop off the little ones at Microkids, an activity centre for pre-schoolers, and spend a few hours at the five-pod pavilion complex to browse the technology and communication displays. Kids can also try their driving skills at the O.P. Driving School, where kids drive around a realistic course on electric cars or just zoom around in the mini-bumper boats. For adult fun, try the simulator ride MARS, or check out the concert schedule at the Molson Amphitheatre.

Upper Clements Park

Situated in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, Upper Clements Park offers a mix of rides, music and wildlife suited for every age group. Kids have plenty of rides to keep them busy, including bumper boats, bumper cars and the Red Baron Airplanes, where kids can act like pilots controlling their own elevation. The ever-popular carousel, kiddie bumper boats and mini trucks are also a treat for the young park enthusiast. One of the most hair-raising rides at this park is definitely the Tree Topper Roller Coaster, a wooden roller coaster that soars above the trees. Spin and roll into the air on the Rock N’ Roll Planes, another thrill ride that will bring the rider back for more.

Entertainment in the evening also attracts visitors with the park’s annual “Park After Dark” concert and fireworks display which takes place every Saturday in July and August. Other annual events include Christmas in the Park and Halloween, which both take place during the last two weekends in August.

After experiencing the rides and adventures at the theme park, walk through the underground tunnel to get to the adjacent wildlife park where views of snowy owls, black bears, deer, wild cats, emus and rheas are common. Participate in the Adopt-an-Animal program and then take a wildlife tour at the park in just under an hour. Be one of the thousands of visitors each year that experiences the thrill rides, musical entertainment or the cast of characters that roam the park grounds: Sparkles the Clown, Captain Kid Ryerson or story-telling Clementine are on site to entertain and expand the imagination.

Sandspit Cavendish Beach

The largest amusement park on Prince Edward Island comes alive for nearly three months of the year, offering more than 18 attractions and rides to entertain the whole family. Thrill rides, Go-Karts, bumper boats and country fair rides attract visitors from all over the country. The Cyclone roller coaster is bound to rattle some nerves; the largest coaster in Atlantic Canada goes through three big drops and two corkscrews before the rider decides whether they want to do it all over again. The country fair rides include the Tilt-A-Whirl, the Scrambler, Rock N’ Roll and the Paratrooper. Not afraid of heights? Head over to the 21 m (70 ft) ferris wheel. If being closer to earth is more the style, try the fast and fun double rider Go-Karts, the bumper boat pool or the mini-golf course. Children of all ages will enjoy the softball playground, the mini-helicopters, pony carts and the miniature train.

For more information click here.

Magic Mountain Water Park

Based in Moncton, New Brunswick, Magic Mountain Atlantic Canada’s largest water park has been refreshing guests since 1987. This park offers everything from body slides, tubing and matting to slides for kids. Slide down more than 30.5 m (100 ft) at speeds of more than 60 kmh (37 mph) on the Kamikaze slide, close to a vertical drop. Twist & Shout takes the rider through a fully-enclosed slide in the dark, dropping 11 m (35 ft). If medium speed is preferred, the Loop de Loop may be more pleasing as the rider can choose from three slides with more gentle turns and drops. The Sidewinder is another easy but equally fun alternative for the body slides. For an even more relaxing experience, stroll over to the Lazy River, a relaxing ride on a 19th-century replica steam ship. Water-logged guests or those waiting for family members enjoying a splash can enjoy a relaxing day at one of two 18-hole golf courses.

Valcartier Vacation Village

This family theme park opened in 1963 and is currently a major playground in both the summer and winter. A 20 minute drive north from Quebec City, this summer water park turns into a major winter playground paradise during the colder months. Bundle up for some fun in the snow – snow rafting and inner tube slides with daunting names such as Everest and Himalaya will give the adventurous rider a run for their money. Jump into the Tornado and swirl down a hill with seven other brave riders for some breathtaking fun. Kids’ eyes will open wide at the sight of the giant Ice Castle, where mazes and slides seem endless. An outdoor skating path is also available for the tamer winter adventure.

As summer brings hotter weather, this park is an ideal place to bring eager kids. The water park can entertain the whole family with close to a dozen water rides and attractions. The Pirates’ Hideout features a pirate ship and a watercourse that takes the adventurer over a wooden walkway, through water slides and hundreds of interactive water games. For a fast rush, head to the Supersonic Falls, two massive water slides 20 m (65 ft) high or slide down a 12 m (40 ft) tower called the Corkscrew. For kids aged one to six years old, visit the Cookadoodle Farm complete with mini-slides and waterjets. Other rides that stir the imagination are the Amazon and Dungeon City rides. For activities on dry land, watch the acrobatic diving shows or try karting or the 18-hole mini-golf course, Maxigolf. A modern 700-site campground located next to the waterpark is available for tents or RVs.

More information here.

The festival’s mandate is to preserve this heritage and celebrate the tulip as a symbol of international friendship by engaging local organizers, volunteers, artists, performers, tourists and festival-goers in what has become an annual ritual of spring and one of Canada’s best loved and well-known cultural events.

In the fall of 1945, Princess Juliana of the Netherlands presented Ottawa with 100,000 tulip bulbs. The gift was given in appreciation of the safe haven that members of Holland’s exiled royal family received during the World War II in Ottawa and in recognition of the role which Canadian troops played in the liberation of the Netherlands.

The tulips have become an important symbol of international friendship and spring, with special meaning to the people of Canada and its Capital Region.

In early June 1940, Princess Juliana and her two small daughters secretly boarded a Dutch vessel bound for Halifax. After a long sea voyage, they moved into Ottawa’s Government House. Safe in the Ottawa region, Princess Juliana was able to take over the reins of government-in-exile if the need arose.

The birth of Princess Margriet Francisca, the third daughter of Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard, was a symbol of hope and a source of inspiration for the Dutch who were fighting for their survival in Europe. The only royal baby ever born in North America, her birth created a living bond between the people of Canada and the Netherlands. To ensure the baby’s Dutch citizenship, the Canadian government temporarily ceded a room at the Ottawa Civic Hospital to the Netherlands. On January 19, 1943, the flag of the Netherlands flew on Parliament’s Peace Tower and Princess Margriet was born a Dutch citizen on Dutch soil in the safe haven of Canada. Once the war had ended, the people of the Netherlands and Princess Juliana sent the Canadian people many magnificent gifts, including 100,000 tulip bulbs to Canada’s Capital in gratitude for the involvement of Canadian troops in the liberation of the Netherlands. In 1946, Princess Juliana herself gave an additional 20,000 bulbs to the country that had given her refuge. A few years after the Dutch tulips arrived in 1945, they became a strong attraction in Canada’s Capital, and stunning pictures appeared in newspapers nationwide resulting in more and more events around the annual bloom of tulips.

The Birth of a Festival

The first Canadian Tulip Festival was held in 1953 lead by the Ottawa Board of Trade, at the suggestion of world-renowned photographer Malak Karsh. Karsh is considered the founder of the Festival and his photographs have immortalized the tulip. Through his efforts, the Canadian Tulip Festival was formalized to coincide with the tulip’s annual bloom. In 2002, the Festival celebrated its 50th Anniversary dedicated to its founder, having expanded to an event of 18 days, showcasing over 3 million tulips throughout Canada’s Capital Region.

Over the years the Festival has been opened by Governor Generals, Prime Ministers and Royalty, including several return visits from Queen Juliana and Princess Margriet. Through the 1990s and into the new millennium, the Canadian Tulip Festival celebrated the Tulip as a symbol of Peace and Friendship creating an international bond by collaborating with Friendship countries, which include the Netherlands, Turkey, France, Japan, the United States, Great Britain and Australia.

Each spring hundreds of thousands of people from all over North America, Europe and Asia make over a million visits to the Canadian Tulip Festival

The Festival Today

To celebrate its roots of International Friendship, the Canadian Tulip Festival created the International Pavilion in Major’s Hill Park and became the “festival without fences” with all park events offering free admission. The International Pavilion provides a venue for over 20 partnering embassies and local cultural groups to showcase their wares and origins to tourists and festival-goers alike.

Each spring hundreds of thousands of people from all over North America, Europe and Asia make over a million visits to the Canadian Tulip Festival. The event, which grew from the Dutch gift of friendship, has become the world’s largest Tulip Festival. The tulip has also become Ottawa’s official flower, making Ottawa the tulip capital of the North America.

Details and travel information if you intend to visit this years Canadian Tulip Festival

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tulip Festival

But when I looked at the menu created especially for the occasion at Tapenade Bistro, my appetite waned. Last of the Season Sardines was to start things off, followed by a Surf and Turf featuring lingcod.

Sardines and lingcod? You’ve got to be joking, I thought, recalling that sardines are mostly ground up and fed to pigs, cattle and farmed salmon, while lingcod could win an award for ugliest fish in the ocean.

Sustainable’ equals plentiful, well managed and responsible.

But since I was a guest on this seafood tour, I kept my mouth shut. Until, of course, I opened it—reluctantly—to taste both dishes.

What a delicious shock. Chef Alex Tung had pan-seared the sardines so they were crispy on the outside, yet moist and meaty inside. I expected a strong, fishy flavour, but there wasn’t one. The sweet, white flesh of the lingcod was equally tasty.

Across the table from me, Frank Keitsch had a big smile on his face. Frank was a fisherman who may well have caught the very lingcod I was savouring. Over the next hour or so he opened my eyes to the way fishing—and dining on seafood—has changed for the better in Canada.

“It’s not about filling your boat every day,” he said. “That’s the old way of thinking. It’s what you do with the fish.”

“You don’t leave it lying on your deck for six hours,” he explained. “The fish is bled and chilled immediately. I always have four tons of ice on my boat.”

Another big change is the length of time that fishermen stay out on the ocean. “We used to go fishing for ten days at a time,” Keitsch told me. “It could be 14 days by the time the fish got into restaurants. Now, three days is the longest we’ll stay out.”

The result is a more sustainable fishery, with fewer fish being caught. Those that are caught are the highest quality, so when you order fresh fish, it tastes fresh, even if you don’t live on Canada’s west coast.

“I was sending salmon that had been out of the water only three hours to Ottawa [last fall during the sockeye salmon run] and they arrived that night,” Keitsch said proudly. “The chefs there hadn’t seen anything like it.”

And what about the lingcod on my plate, I asked. “They’re ugly to look at,” he admitted with a laugh. “For many years people didn’t want to eat them.”

But that’s changing too, Keitsch explained, with the help of innovative and curious chefs who aren’t afraid to try new seafood as long as it’s sustainable. That means it’s plentiful, well managed and can be caught without catching other species accidentally at the same time, or hurting the ocean environment.

In addition to salmon and lingcod, Keitsch and his three partners in Organic Ocean catch and sell spot prawns, halibut, oysters, scallops, mussels and albacore tuna directly to chefs at almost 150 restaurants in Canada. They fly their freshly caught fish as far east as Montréal, where chefs Derek Dammann and Alex Cruz are committed to serving sustainable food at DNA.

Other chefs who have built a reputation for using sustainable products and who buy fish from Organic Ocean are Matt Carmichael at Restaurant 18 and John Taylor at Domus Café, both in Ottawa, and Anthony Walsh at Canoe in Toronto.  Closer to home, Organic Ocean sells to chefs Robert Clark at C Restaurant and Quang Dang at Diva at the Met, both in Vancouver.

The trend to fishing and dining sustainably has been supported by Ocean Wise, a conservation program run by the Vancouver Aquarium to educate diners and promote responsible fishing and eating. Member restaurants can show the Ocean Wise symbol on their menus next to seafood items that are sustainably caught.

Ocean Wise started in 2005 with just one founding member: C Restaurant in Vancouver. Today you can find Ocean Wise dishes at about 2,700 locations across Canada, including chain restaurants such as Cactus Club Cafe, Earl’s and Panago Pizza.

One of the first restaurants to join Ocean Wise was Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar in Vancouver’s Yaletown. In fact, chef Frank Pabst is so keen to use sustainable and lesser-known seafood that every year Blue Water Cafe hosts a month-long Unsung Heroes Festival.” The restaurant donates 10% of the proceeds to Ocean Wise.

In 2011, the Unsung Heroes Festival is in February. “This is the ideal time to experiment and explore new potential,” explains Pabst, noting that salmon and halibut are out of season.

If you’re wondering just how daring Pabst is, consider that last year he included red sea urchin, sea cucumber and jellyfish, items you would be hard pressed to find on any menu anywhere. And sardines, too. Pabst stuffed his with green chard, artichokes and pine nuts.

It’s enough to make me salivate—and plan a visit to Blue Water Cafe in February. Perhaps on my way, I’ll stop at Tapenade in Steveston Village and see what new delights Chef Alex Tung is dishing up. With chefs like these, you can count on finding something tasty—and sustainable.

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

When flying at high altitudes, your internal body pressure remains the same (as if you were on the ground) while the outside of your body experiences reduced pressure. This causes the gases (mainly air) inside your body to expand some of which is dissolved in your body fluids. As altitude increases, the expanding gases increases within your inner ear, sinuses and intestines which can cause discomfort. This expansion of gases in the sinuses and inner ear can lead to headaches, general face pain and ear pain. A heavy feeling, or a feeling of being bloated is caused by gases being trapped in the stomach. Gases trapped in the small intestine can be painful and cause fainting. A greater risk of pain and discomfort is caused by a fast ascension.

The Sinuses

Your sinuses are located within your face bones. If you have a cold or your sinuses are congested, the ducts that connect the sinuses to the nose and back of the throat are blocked or partially blocked. This blockage can cause considerable discomfort when descending to lower altitudes.

The Middle Ear

The air in your middle ear cavity changes when atmospheric pressure shifts because of changes in altitude. If the ear is not equalized with the outside pressure, the eardrum becomes distended and can lead to pain and inflammation. In more serious cases, temporary deafness can occur.

Prevention: Equalizing the air between the ear and sinuses with outside air will help alleviate some discomfort. The following are some actions you can take to reduce your discomfort:

• Widely open and close your mouth. The tube that connects your ear to your throat expands and fills with outside air
• Pinch your nose and blow gently while keeping your mouth closed
• Chew gum or suck on a piece of hard candy
• Swallow frequently

Traveller’s Thrombosis (DVT)

Traveller’s Thrombosis, or Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) is blood clotting (usually in the lower legs) and can be caused by reduced blood flow due to prolonged immobility. DVT is generally caused by sitting in the same position for an extended length of time. Other factors that can increase your risk are:

• If you are over 40 years of age
• Previous DVT or a family history of DVT
• Certain types of cardiac disease
• Hormone treatment or hormone replacement therapy (including oral contraceptives)
• Recent major surgery of the lower limbs
• If you have a blood clot in your leg

Signs and Symptoms of DVT

There are several symptoms that you should watch for when traveling:

• Pain and swelling in your legs
• Discolouration in your leg
• Pulmonary embolism: this is when a piece of a blood clot becomes detached and travels through your body to your heart and lungs and generally occurs when then there is an existing clot. This may have serious consequences such as chest pain, shortness of breath and even sudden death in sever cases.

Reducing your Risk

Here are some simple steps you can take to reduce your risk of developing DVT:

• Drink water and juice instead of caffeinated drinks such as coffee, tea and soft drinks Avoid alcoholic drinks
• Try to get up and walk around the cabin or stand up and stretch whenever possible Avoid crossing your legs while seated
• Wear comfortable and non constricting clothes while traveling

If you have any of the afore-mentioned elevated risk factors, we strongly advise that you seek medical advice before traveling.

Jet Lag

Jet lag occurs when we go from one time zone to another in a relatively short period of time and our body unable to “keep up”. The new time zone can be many hours different than what our inner body clock is at and sleeping, eating and alertness are affected. While eliminating jet lag is almost impossible, you can take several steps to minimize its affects such as:

• Keep yourself hydrated by drinking water and juice
• Avoid caffeinated and alcoholic drinks
• When in a different time zone, take short naps when your internal body clock tells you you need to sleep and sleep 8 hours when it is proper for that time zone.

If you do notice anything odd, or you feel unwell make sure you tell someone, whether it be a travelling companion or flight attendant. As long as you are prepared and are aware of any potential problems you should be fine.

Chateau Frontenac

An architectural marvel constructed in 1893, this luxurious resort hotel defines Quebec City’s European-styled urban design. Steeped in history, Chateau Frontenac was designed to evoke renaissance-era castles and cathedrals. As such, the resort is defined by its several towers, thick foliage and brick facades. Visitors exploring the grounds cannot help but be amazed to know they are walking within the same confines that have housed celebrated guests such as King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt.

The hotel is also home to Le Champlain, a premiere fine-dining establishment. Dinner guests of this restaurant can enjoy a menu composed by executive chef Jean Soulard, which features traditional and contemporary French-Canadian cuisine.

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Rogers Centre

At an estimated cost of $570 million, this sports and entertainment venue located in Toronto is noteworthy for its fan-friendly experience and innovative design. Opened in 1989, the Rogers Centre was originally known as the Skydome, and designed by Rod Robbie and Michael Allen to be the home of Toronto sport franchises the Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Argonauts. The stadium is noteworthy for being the first complex in professional sports to have a fully-functional retractable roof, a necessity in dealing with Toronto’s inclement weather.

Tourists visiting the Rogers Centre can stay in the dome’s adjoining hotel, the Renaissance Toronto Hotel. A four-star hotel, guests of this establishment have the opportunity to stay in a room with a view of the Rogers Centre field. The Renaissance also provides modern amenities such as babysitting, wet-bar and wireless Internet access.

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CN Tower

One of Ontario’s premiere tourist destinations, this freestanding structure has been a landmark of Toronto’s skyline since its erection in 1976. The architectural wonder stands 553 m (1814 ft) tall, making it the largest tower in Canada – by comparison the Calgary Tower measures in at 191 m (627 ft) – Originally constructed by the Canadian National Railway, the CN Tower was sold to the Canada Lands Company in 1995, but to this day it still maintains its primary function as a communication tower for several national broadcasters such as the CBC and Rogers Communications.

Travellers may be interested in making reservations to dine in the CN Tower’s fine-dining restaurant, the 360. An upscale dining experience, the restaurant is housed 351 m (1152 ft) up the tower and slowly revolves, giving guests a magnificent 360-degree view of Toronto and beyond.

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Calgary’s Plus 15 Walkways

An architectural wonder based on its functionality and the sheer area it covers, the Plus 15 system is a series of 57 suspended walkways that connect almost every building in Calgary’s metropolitan centre. Constructed to alleviate traffic congestion and provide pedestrians with shelter from Calgary’s extreme winters, the Plus 15 spans over 16 km (10 mi), and connects buildings as varied as the Calgary Tower and the Sheraton Suites. This substantive system has become ingrained in Calgary’s popular culture, inspiring the major motion picture, Waydowntown, by local filmmaker Gary Burns and starring Tony-award winner Don Mckellar.

View the walkway map (PDF)

Centre Block

The focal point for political discourse in Canada, this complex’s current rendition was constructed in 1927. Modeled around modern gothic design, this wonder can be found on Parliament Hill and spans an area of approximately 10,000 sq m (32,000 sq ft). Inside Centre Block is the House of Commons, the Senate, and the offices of several high ranking government officials, not the least of which include the Prime Minister of Canada.

Attached to the Centre Block is the Peace Tower, which was commissioned in 1919 to commemorate the end of World War I. Designed to mesh the rest of Parliament Hill, the tower is notable for containing the Books of Remembrance; a large document containing the names of all Canadian soldiers who gave their lives to military causes.

Halifax Citadel

28 years in the making, this historic military complex is a reminder of Halifax’s storied naval past. Completed in 1856, the Citadel is a classically-designed fortification that was originally commissioned to provide long-range defense against assaults from land and sea. Designated a national historic site by the government of Canada, the fort is now open to casual visitors, who will find military remnants such as ramparts, trenches, towers and shooting ranges.

Potential visitors to the Citadel should consider planning their trip around one of the Halifax Citadel Regimental Association’s living history re-enactments. Active year-round, this group enacts historically accurate activities such as gun firing, infantry maneuvers and military music performances.

Montreal’s Olympic Stadium

Known as much for its colourful history as it is for its design, Montreal’s Olympic Stadium is nonetheless an architectural wonder of Canada. Originally built for the 1976 Summer Olympics, due to a series of labour strikes and construction problems, the stadium was not officially completed until 1988. Barring its ample problems, the innovative design employed by French architect Roger Taillibert cannot be denied. In fact, the inclined tower attached to the stadium is still considered the tallest in the world.

While it no longer hosts Major League Baseball games, Olympic Stadium still books large sporting events and trade shows. In 2008, the stadium will host the Canadian Football League’s championship game, the Grey Cup.

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Habitat 67

Designed by celebrated Canadian architect Moshe Safdie, Habitat 67 is an innovative residential condominium complex found in Montreal. Originally commissioned to demonstrate modern urban living for Montreal’s Expo 67, all 148 units were sold as private residences at the conclusion of the world fair. The design has been commended for its use of cubic structures – 354 in all – and its effort to include green space into each unit. To this day, Moshe Safdie regularly advises the Habitat 67 board on renovation and upkeep planning.

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The Confederation Bridge

Completed in 1997, this bridge spans 12.9 km (8 mi), and connects the provinces of Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Confederation Bridge is a wonder because of the social and economic impact it has had on the two provinces; its construction has been directly linked to an increase in tourism and trade.

Besides its value to PEI and New Brunswick’s economic well being, for tourists Confederation Bridge is a great way to travel from the island to the mainland. While driving along the bridge, travellers are presented with breathtaking views of the ocean, and the various sailboats and ships inhabiting it.

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Canadian Museum of Civilization

One of Canada’s most popular museums, the Canadian Museum of Civilization building is a modern marvel designed by Douglas Cardinal. Completed in 1989, the museum covers over 100,000 sq m (328,000 sq ft), and has been heralded for its imaginative use of curved walls and abstract structures representing Canada’s diverse environments. Open year-round, visitors to the museum will find themselves immersed in permanent exhibits such as the Grand Hall which features an expansive collection of aboriginal artifacts, while the Canadian Personalities Hall, showcases rare photographs and memorabilia of some of Canada’s most influential residents.

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