Archive for February, 2012
Crawford Lake and Mountsberg Maple Festivals
February 29th 2012Sweet news from Conservation Halton! Get out there…
March is the month for all things Maple! A sticky sweet harbinger of spring, the maple sap has begun to flow and Mountsberg and Crawford Lake Conservation Areas are firing up for two marvellous maple syrup festivals.
Starting on Saturday, March 3, and running until April 9 (weekends, March Break and holidays) Mountsberg Conservation Area is pleased to welcome visitors to the working sugar bush at Maple Towne, while guests at Crawford Lake Conservation Area can enjoy the Sweetwater Season. Another highlight of maple syrup time is the Flap Jack Olympics on Sunday, March 4 at Mountsberg.
Regular park admission fees apply and the festivities are free for children ages four years and under, Conservation Halton annual passholders only need to show their pass for admission. Best of all, you can visit two parks for the price of one, as admission to one park may be used at any other Conservation Halton park (except for Kelso/Glen Eden) when visiting the same day. For more information on all Conservation Halton recreational activities and special events visit our website www.conservationhalton.ca.
Maple Towne
Did you know it takes 40 litres of maple sap to make one delicious litre of maple syrup? Or that the Sugar Maple has the sweetest sap of any maple tree? If you didn’t, Mountsberg Conservation Area can help you become a syrup expert. The sugar bush at Mountsberg’s Maple Towne has been producing maple magic for more than 150 years and educating the public for more than 30 years.
Approximately 500 trees will be tapped this spring and the watery sap will be magically transformed into sweet maple syrup in the Sugar Shanty. How will it be served? Over piping hot pancakes in the Pancake House of course! Maple candy tasting, guided horse drawn wagon rides and tours of the sugar bush with Conservation Halton Forestry staff round out the maple experience.
Spring has come calling in the rest of the park as well. In the Cameron Barnyard, kids will love to meet our baby sheep and goats before a romp in the Play Barn. In the Mountsberg Raptor Centre the birds of prey will be stretching their wings in the outdoor theatre (weather permitting) as they greet visitors during shows at 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Sweet Water Season
The skill of maple sugar making was learned from Ontario’s First Nations who had been enjoying the tasty treat for generations before European contact. A trip to Crawford Lake will help you step back in time to learn how maple sugar would have been made in an Iroquoian Village more than 600 years ago.
Sweetwater demonstrations occur throughout the day and conclude with a tasty morsel of cornbread soaked in maple syrup. Maple taffy on snow will also be available from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. (weekends and March Break).
Test your flapjacks skills at Mountsberg on March 4
The Olympics are returning to Mountsberg again this year, the Flap Jack Olympics that is. The only competition where having fun is the gold medal achievement. The Flap Jack Olympics will take place on Sunday, March 4 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Join other syrup-time athletes and compete in these traditional, or maybe not so traditional, sugar bush events. There is something for kids of all ages and their families. Prizes will be awarded for exceptional performances. While you are here enjoy all the Maple Towne festivities.
About Crawford Lake Conservation Area
Crawford Lake Conservation Area is located at 3115 Conservation Road in Milton (at the corner of Guelph Line and Conservation Road (formerly Steeles Ave.), 15 km north of the QEW and 5 km south of the 401. You can call Crawford Lake at (905) 854-0234 or e-mail crawlake@hrca.on.ca.
To get a close look at what’s happening at Crawford Lake and Maple Towne, see our published feature articles on them:
http://www.escarpmentviews.ca//Samples/14%20maple.pdf
http://www.escarpmentviews.ca/Samples/10%20maple.pdf
Current Issue
February 26th 2012
Spring 2012 Escarpment Views
Taste Burlington’s Restaurants to March 11
February 12th 2012Here’s some delicious news from Tourism Burlington!
Burlington restaurateurs are proud to announce “A Taste of Burlington” will be running again this winter from February 20 – March 11, 2012. Burlington is quickly becoming known as a dining destination with the variety and unique offerings of larger metropolitan cities combined with the accessibility and service of a small town. Twenty-five of Burlington’s finest restaurants will be presenting a three-course prix fixe dining menu with lunch being offered at $15 or $20 and dinners ranging from $30, $35 and $40.
From casual fine dining to intimate bistros Burlington satisfies every taste. This programme encourages residents and visitors to dine in one or more of our many dining establishments and enjoy new culinary experiences. A Taste of Burlington offers quality dining at an exceptional value.
This winter we have added a local food promotion and partnered with Foodland Ontario to encourage each restaurant to add local (Ontario) sourced ingredients. We have 25 restaurants on board and 13 have already made the commitment to a minimum of one entirely locally sourced entrée and many of the others are offering some local (Ontario) sourced items on their menus. Look for the “Foodland Ontario” icon on our menus & website.
Diners will also want to be sure to get their ferrero roundnoir™ chocolate with a RBG 2 for 1 coupon when dining with Taste of Burlington – sweeten your Taste experience by visiting the Royal Botanical Gardens Chocolate: The Exhibition and The Burlington Chocolate Trail.
“A Taste of Burlington” will showcase the world’s culinary culture. The participating restaurants include: The Alex Restaurant, Alloro, Beaver & Bulldog, Downtown Bistro, Earls, Eatalia, Garden Café @ RBG, Honey West, Jake’s Grill & Oyster House, La Costa Nuova, Local Eatery & Refuge, Martini House, Paradiso, Pepperwood Bistro, The Purple Heather, Queen’s Head Pub, Rayhoon Persian Eatery, Red Canoe Bistro, Rude Native Bistro & Lounge, Siam Dish, Spencer’s at the Waterfront, Stone House Restaurant, The Water St. Cooker, Walker’s Fish Market and West Plains Bistro.
Menus are available at http://www.tasteofburlington.ca/. Now is your chance to savour a bite of it all, and discover the many eateries located in beautiful Burlington! Diners will also have an opportunity to win one of two Wine and Dine gift baskets valued at over $300 sponsored by the restaurants of a Taste of Burlington. Plans are also underway for a summer program in July 2012. Check the website for participating restaurants and menus, coming later this spring.
Niagara Escarpment a World Biosphere Reserve
February 01st 2012I love how info sometimes just appears in front of you when you use the Internet. I received a link that goes right to UNESCO’s page on stats & info about the Niagara Escarpment as a Biosphere Reserve. Here’s their description of it:
“The Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve in Ontario stretches 725 km from Lake Ontario (near Niagara Falls) to the tip of the Bruce Peninsula (between Georgian Bay and Lake Huron). The Escarpment corridor crosses two major biomes: boreal needle leaf forests in the north and temperate broadleaf forest in the south. It also includes wetland complexes, cliff faces, slopes and aquatic ecosystems.”
Browse around here for some more interesting facts and figures.
