Send in the clowns to Circus! Science Under the Big Top

   One-Tank Trip for April 20/13

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Hurry, hurry, step right up, the Greatest Show on Earth is about to begin.

   Walking the high wire – a steel cable suspended in the air – at the Circus exhibit in Kitchener. (Waterloo Region Museum photos)

   Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, get your tickets now to learn the secrets never told before about the illusion and reality, magic and science of the circus.

   Yes, the circus has come to town . . .

   Send in the clowns

   “Circus! Science under the Big Top” is at the Waterloo Region Museum in Kitchener.

   Catch this hands-on exhibit from the Ontario Science Centre before show packs up and leaves town after May 5.

   It is said to appeal to “everyone who has wondered what it would be like to run away and join the circus.”

   Visitors learn how math, physics and anatomy make circus feats possible.

   This has been a “very popular exhibit with more than 7,000 people visiting during March Break,” said Sean Jasmins, the museum’s marketing and communications supervisor.

 

   Clowning around at “Circus! Science under the Big Top” at the Waterloo Region Museum.

  

The King Edward Hotel celebrates 110th annivesary with May events

$110 rate, museum unveiling, tea and tram rides to honour hotel’s past

TORONTO, April 19, 2013 – Toronto’s historic King Edward Hotel has announced a month-long celebration in honour of its 110^th anniversary this May.

To commemorate the important milestone, Toronto’s first luxury hotel has launched a calendar of events for guests and locals to explore the past, present and future of the hotel. The hotel has also brought back its popular $110 room rate valid on bookings of two nights or more through the end of the year.

Grand opening of panda exhibit set for May 18 at the Toronto Zoo

Toronto Zoo Weekly Feature As you know our special cargo, Er Shun and Da Mao arrived in Toronto on  March 25 and are undergoing a 30-day minimum quarantine. During this time,  keepers will work closely with the animals and monitor their overall health  and behaviour. Our veterinary team will also perform several health checks and various tests to will occur. Keepers will also start to  introduce  training and enrichment programs. This is a perfect time for the animals  to get use to their new surroundings and for the staff to get to know Er Shun  and Da Mao.

Eat, drink, savour on the culinary tourism trails

   One-Tank Trip for April 13/13

   (c) By Jim Fox

   If you’re going to travel or go on day-trips, then you’ve got to eat.

Enjoying a cool one along the Bacon and Ale Trail in Stratford. (Stratford Tourism Alliance)

   “Virtually any tourism experience is enriched by food and drink,” says an Ontario initiative to boost the opportunities for “culinary tourism.”

   This helps tell the story of the heritage, people and landscape of a geographic area, while enriching travel experiences.

   Add to that the popularity of Food Network shows such as You Gotta Eat Here, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and the Thirsty Traveller.

   Here’s a sampling of trails that tempt the taste buds.

EdgeWalk, Toronto's most-extreme attraction, begins 2013 season

Attraction offers thrill of a lifetime

   Living life on the edge at EdgeWalk at Toronto’s CN Tower. (Handout – CN Tower)

 EdgeWalk at the CN Tower, Toronto’s most extreme attraction has officially opened to the public for another exciting season.  Adventure lovers can again walk on the edge of one of the world’s greatest man-made wonders, 356m/1168ft (116 storeys) above the ground.

The first of its kind in North America, EdgeWalk is the world’s highest external walk on a building, a full circle hands-free walk on a 5 ft (1.5 m) wide ledge encircling the top of the CN Tower’s main pod.

Thrill seekers walk in groups of six, while attached to an overhead safety rail via a trolley and harness system. Trained EdgeWalk guides encourage participants to push their personal limits, allowing them to lean back over Toronto with nothing but air and breathtaking views of Lake Ontario beneath them. 

Downtown Guelph featured in this year's Doors Open event

Gummer Building

Guelph, ON -- Guelph Arts Council is set for another great year of Doors Open Guelph.

As always, the Doors Open Guelph program packs a punch with 12 great sites including a Trails Open walking tour offered by the Guelph Hiking Club.

With a particular focus on Downtown Guelph, patrons will be able to park once and travel to all 11 downtown sites.

Several of Guelph’s finest buildings will be featured including the newly renovated Gummer Building, River Run Centre, Red Brick Café, Tovell Building (home of Wellington Cakes), 10 Carden, Gooderham and Worts Building (home of Guelph Chamber of Commerce), Sleeman Centre, and the Canadian Pacific Caboose which will be brought to downtown just for the event.

Other great sites located just outside of downtown include St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, the Wells-Marshall Home (100 Queen Street), and the beautiful Norfolk Guest House.

Annual rock scaling along Niagara Gorge wall to begin next week

 Niagara Falls, ON – The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) will conduct its annual rock scaling operation along the wall of the Niagara Gorge on the Canadian side of the Horseshoe Falls during the week of April 22. This rock scaling will continue through the week until completion, weather permitting.

Niagara Parks staff scale the rocks that have become loose during the winter to protect visitors from debris that may fall on the lower observation deck at the Journey Behind the Falls attraction. 

Twenty Valley Wineries offer a Wine Lovers Cookbook in addition to this year’s Get Fresh in the Valley Passport program

Vineland, ON – The wineries of the Twenty Valley have joined forces with local executive chefs to craft spring inspired recipes for the Get Fresh in the Valley Spring Cookbook.

 The cookbook is a special addition to the traditional passport program which invites wine lovers to sip new vintage and aromatic wines paired with spring inspired dishes at 24 wineries spanning from St. Catharines to Beamsville.

Passport holders will collect a recipe card at each stop along the Get Fresh route to complete the Get Fresh in the Valley Spring Cookbook.

Contributing chefs include: Justin Downes of Vineland Estates Restaurant, Frank Romano of On the Twenty Restaurant, Erik Peacock of Wellington Court, Pierre Bourget of The Restaurant at Peninsula Ridge and of Michael Pasto of the Good Earth Food and Wine Co.

Spend a day, experience a century at Fanshawe Pioneer Village

April 9, 2013 London, Ontario – Spend a day in the 19^th century at Fanshawe Pioneer Village opening for the 54th season on Saturday, May 18th. The past comes alive through daily demonstrations of trades, farming practices, domestic chores and social pastimes by costumed interpreters. 14 feature events celebrate the unique history of this region during the 2013 season.

Fanshawe Pioneer Village tells the story of rural life in Middlesex County from 1820 to 1920. Original houses, churches, a woodworking shop, blacksmith shop, schools, an Orange Hall and a Tavern complete the rural landscape. Denfield General Store and Post Office, Harmer Sawmill, and the London Brewery present an urban community at the turn of the 20^th century.

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame - 17th Annual Celebrity Golf Classic

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It’s Time to Go Local – Eat & Drink Norfolk

 Simcoe – The Norfolk County Agricultural Society is pleased to announce that “Eat & Drink Norfolk” voted as a finalist for “Best New Event” in Ontario is back for its fourth consecutive year. Dates for this year’s event are Friday April 12^th starting from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm and open again on Saturday April 13^th from 12 noon until 10:00 pm.

Eat & Drink Norfolk provides an opportunity to come out to a relaxed atmosphere in the AUD at the Norfolk County Fairgrounds, to see and visit with friends while you “mix and mingle”, visiting food and beverage displays with each offering many unique food products available right here in Norfolk County.

Gabriel Iglesias brings unique comedy to the Casino Rama stage

Just added to the June 2013 concert line-up

RAMA, ON (Wednesday, April 10, 2013) – Not many comedians can have an 
award-winning career and be better known as the "Fluffy guy", but Gabriel 
Iglesias has done just that.  The American comedian has become well known for 
his hilarious takes on everyday live, including being "fluffy not fat".  His 
previous comedy specials have sold over a million copies and on the eve of his 
latest TV debut, "Aloha Fluffy" is set to air this Sunday, Casino Rama is 
thrilled to give fans a chance to see him live:

Year of the Snake marked by the Toronto Zoo

CELEBRATE 2013 YEAR OF THE SNAKE AT THE MASSASAUGA RATTLESNAKE WORKSHOP! Toronto Zoo Weekly Feature - Wednesday, 2013-04-10 Sunday, April 20, 2013 10:00 am to 2:30 pm, Administrative Boardroom Each year, the Toronto Zoo hosts rattlesnake workshops for the people who share habitat with rattlesnakes near their homes and cottages, and where they work and play. Discussions about the natural history of  rattlesnakes will be followed by ample opportunity to ask questions. Learn how to identify the  Massasauga Rattlesnake and meet a live rattlesnake. Space is limited. Please note that the program  length may be too long for children under eight years of age. For a $5 donation: snacks, lots of fun,  resources to take home and time to visit our interactive Massasauga area on the Zoo site. To register  or for more information please email alentini@torontozoo.ca. *Please note this is a registered event  Join us as we celebrate the 2013 Chinese New Year - Year of the Snake! Visit some of our fascinating  snakes in our indoor tropical pavilions and learn more about these amazing creatures!

Portraits of the finest quality from the ROM’s Chinese collection displayed in the Herman Herzog Levy Gallery

Portrait of the elderly Master Jing. By an anonymous painter. Hanging scroll in ink and colour on paper. Qing dynasty, ca. 1768. The George Crofts Collection. Gift of Mrs. H.D. Warren. 921.32.98

Faces to Remember: Chinese Portraits of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911) 

 

(Toronto, Ontario – April 9, 2013) - The tradition of hosting highly visual exhibitions in the Herman Herzog Levy Gallery at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) continues with Faces to Remember: Chinese Portraits of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 – 1911). 

On display at the ROM from May 18, 2013 to February 23, 2014, Faces to Remember features Chinese portraits created during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and comes from the renowned collections of the Museum’s Far Eastern section.

Festival receives more than $1 million to support season's productions

April 6, 2013… The Stratford Festival gratefully acknowledges the support of the provincial government through Celebrate Ontario, which has just announced funding of more than $1 million to support the 2013 season’s productions of The Merchant of Venice, Fiddler on the Roof and Tommy.

“Every ticket sold at the Festival generates an additional $270 in spending, for a total of about $140 million in economic activity each year,” says Executive Director Anita Gaffney. “The investment by Celebrate Ontario in the Festival’s 2013 season will reap great dividends for Stratford and the surrounding communities and will help us to bring our ambitious plans to fruition.”

April Wine returns to Deerhurst Resort

HUNTSVILLE, ON, April 4, 2013 – Back by popular demand, one of Canada’s most enduring rock bands, Myles Goodwyn and April Wine, is set to take the stage at Deerhurst, a Skyline Resort this April 27^th for a weekend of rock ‘n roll, great food and of course, wine.

Known for smash hits such as “Bad Side of the Moon,” “Just Between You and Me,” and “You Could Have Been a Lady,” April Wine promises an entertaining return engagement for locals and guests alike. The Muskoka performance will be headed up by legendary front man, Myles Goodwyn, alongside Brian Greenway on guitar, Richard Lanthier on bass guitar and Roy “Nip” Nichol on the drums.

The Offspring, Alice Cooper and Journey set to rock Casino Rama this summer

Announcing the July 2013 concert line-up

RAMA, ON (Tuesday, April 9, 2013) – Casino Rama is pleased to announce another 
month of stellar entertainment as we head into a rockin’ summer. Highlights from 
the new line-up include classic rockers Alice Cooper, Whitesnake and Journey. 
Along with alternative rock group The Offspring.

The July 2013 concert line-up features:

Alice Cooper

Thursday, July 4

SHOWTIME: 8 PM, DOORS OPEN: 7 PM

Tickets are $40/$50

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, Cooper is acknowledged as one of the most 
influential artists in rock history.  He is best known for hits: “School’s Out”, 
“Poison” & “You and Me”.