Fall colour progression at its peak across Ontario

   One-Tank Trip for Oct. 21/17

   (c) By Jim Fox

   The vibrant reds and oranges of maple trees are “really popping” now across Ontario as the fall burst of colour reaches its peak.

   Don’t miss the show while taking one-tank trips to pumpkin patches, apple orchards, fall fairs and festivals because it might not last long.

   Ontario Tourism reports the colour change has passed 50 per cent while most areas are reporting leaves falling before they hit their peak colour.

Vibrant colours dot the countryside across Ontario with the fall leaf spectacle. (Barbara Fox photo)

   “Ontario is the premier destination to enjoy the annual spectacle of summer’s lush greenery

transformed into a mosaic of magnificent rich shades of red, orange and yellow,” says the province’s Fall Colour Progression Report.

   Northern regions and centrally in Algonquin Park have a colour change from 60 per cent to 90 per cent now, with the numbers less in the south.

   Falling for fall

Cottage Life: "Are we there yet?" Big fall show tells all

    One-Tank Trip for Oct. 14/17

 

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Cottage living isn’t just a warm-weather pursuit any longer.

   Those lakeside retreats known as cottages, cabins and vacation homes are increasingly becoming year-round abodes.

   Many have been outfitted with all the comforts of home, including central heating and air-conditioning, for all-year living and as retirement properties.

Cottage retreats are increasingly for all-season use. (Jim Fox photos)

   A survey of 1,100 owners by Cottage Life and the Ontario Real Estate Association found 64 per cent of cottages were used year-round with plans for many more to be converted.

   With that in mind, a popular show for cottage doers and dreamers is a hit not just in the spring but this month, too.

   Returning is the Fall Cottage Life Show from Oct. 20 to 22 at the International Centre (6900 Airport Road) in Mississauga.

Pumpkins, cranberries and gourds galore highlight fall festivals

    One-Tank Trip for Oct. 7/17

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Big orange pumpkins and little red acidic cranberries complement Thanksgiving Day meals and star on their own in festivals at this time of year.

Visitors to the Bala Cranberry Festival can watch berries being harvested at an area marsh.

   Stratford Tourism has expanded its Savour Stratford Pumpkin Trail to include 21 stops in the Festival City and five in St. Marys.

   “The flavour of pumpkin is synonymous with autumn and for many, this is the most anticipated trail,” said Cathy Rehberg of Stratford Tourism.

   Now in its third year, there are 26 offers presented by culinary artisans and shopkeepers on this self-guided trail with participants selecting any six.

   These range from savoury offers of Thai pumpkin curry soup and fries in a spicy pumpkin dip to decadent pumpkin cupcakes, creamy pumpkin fudge and pumpkin pie spice brittle made by local artisans, Rehberg said.

Junction 56 Distillery offers its Pumpkin Spice Liqueur along the Savour Stratford Pumpkin Trail.

Custom Kool Haus brew for this year’s Oktoberfest in Kitchener (2017)

(News Release)

 

 KITCHENER, Ont. — The grandest Bavarian festival outside of Munich deserves a special brew to call its own.

Bingemans and Waterloo Brewing are proud to present a custom Munich-style beer brewed especially for Kool Haus and the 2017 festing season.

Waterloo Festbier is crafted in the traditional Bavarian Marzenbier style with a rich toastiness and dark copper colour that will knock your knee-high socks off.

“We’re gearing up for the greatest, most versatile Oktoberfest Kool Haus yet,” says Mark Bingeman, President of Bingemans.

“Along with the Waterloo Festbier, patrons will also get a taste of Hacker-Pschorr and Paulaner, two authentic German brews produced by Waterloo Brewing.”

Beer and Oktoberfest is "wunderbar" Jim Fox photo

Beer lovers can get a special preview of the Waterloo Festbier at Boston Pizza/Kingpin Bowlounge and Taste at the Tannery.

Tasty carnival food sensations to bite into at the Norfolk County Fair

    One-Tank Trip for Sept. 30/17

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Hurry, hurry, step right up and get your carnival food.

   Country fairs are the rage for big veggie contests, horse and animal shows, midways, demolition derbies, music and as purveyors of quintessential carny food.

   There’s all the deep-fried, unusual food-on-a-stick creations you won’t find anywhere else.

   This open-air dining akin to the popularity of food trucks now takes the cake – so to speak – and no one does it better than the Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show in Simcoe (172 South Drive), south of Brantford.

   The fair, which runs from Oct. 3 to 9, is a “culinary carnival,” says Noah Cappe, host of the TV show Carnival Eats.

   He knows his deep fried, roasted, broasted and toasted discoveries as his Food Network Canada show did an episode featuring the Norfolk fair.

   Cappe raved about the Thanksgiving Bowl that he called a “cornucopia of flavours with fresh fall veggies, succulent turkey and cranberry cornbread.”

   Digging into some fusion fare with Indo-Canadian inspired butter bacon poutine and a cheeseburger eggroll, he washed it down with ale and apple fritters.

  Scott Dennis of CoCo Concessions offers deep fried chicken feet on a stick at the fair in Simcoe.

   As Ontario’s oldest agricultural fair, Norfolk has been doing it right for the past 177 years, keeping up with the evolution of taste treats.