Patrick Wentzel, U.S. National Carousel Association, at Launch of Autumn Escarpment Views
August 30th 2011
Escarpment Views Autumn 2011 cover story: Lakeside Park Carousel
We’ve been busy delivering the Autumn issue to our advertisers, and now that we’re back from four days on Manitoulin Island, we’ve learned that more organizations will participate in our Sept. 4 celebration of the antique Lakeside Park Carousel in Port Dalhousie.
The person who brought the carousel to our attention, Patrick Wentzel of the U.S. National Carousel Association, will be at the launch with a display, photos and information. Patrick wrote and took most of the photographs for the article on the carousel, which is our cover story for the Autumn issue.
The City of St. Catharines, which is making the special launch event possible, will have an information table promoting their programs and services associated with the carousel.
The volunteer community group the Friends of the Carousel will also have displays of the important restoration work they do. Friends will be happy to point out and explain some of the unique features of the carousel and to answer questions.
Free rides on the carousel will be available during our launch party from noon to 5 p.m. on Sun. Sept. 4, but at only 5¢ a ride at other times, the carousel will never break the bank! The day is shaping up to be an interesting afternoon that will bring together people who appreciate the carousel. We’re looking forward to meeting St. Catharines residents and introducing them to Escarpment Views and the treasure that is the Lakeside Park Carousel.
To get to Lakeside Park, take QEW to Ontario St. in St. Catharines, then follow Ontario St. to Lakeport Rd. and go to the lake. We’ll all be there with banners!
Do you have a memory or info about the carousel? Share it by leaving a comment!
Autumn Launch at Lakeside Park Carousel, Port Dalhousie
August 04th 2011 Do you know the Lakeside Park Carousel in Port Dalhousie, close to St. Catharines? If you don’t, you should check it out. We have a great opportunity for you to do that, on Sunday Sept. 4 from noon to 5 p.m. when we’re launching the Autumn issue in Lakeside Park and providing free rides on the Carousel!
Thanks to the City of St. Catharines, Escarpment Views is sponsoring a courtesy ride on Sept. 4. We’ll be giving out free copies of the Autumn issue which has a feature on the Carousel as the cover story. You’ll be able to take a free ride on a wonderful antique carousel and read about its history and what makes it special.
The Friends of the Carousel, a local community group, will also be there to answer your questions and perhaps point out some little-known things about it.
Bring family, friends, kids and a picnic, and enjoy a fun afternoon by Lake Ontario, St. Catharines. To get to Lakeside Park, take QEW to Ontario St. in St. Catharines, and follow Ontario St. to Lakeport Road. Then head to the lake!
Desjardins Le Tour de Terra Cotta
July 25th 2011
Le Tour de Terra Cotta, 2010. Photo by Mike Davis
Here’s a guest post about an Escarpment bike race day. Escarpment Views will be in the vendor expo area giving out free copies!
Ontario’s Largest Non O-Cup Road Race – Exciting new additions this year!
The 7th Annual Le Tour de Terra Cotta rides August 1, 2011. 600 riders are expected over five events and throngs of spectators will line the course making the day feel like a stage of a prestigious European road race.
New this year is the second largest guaranteed cash purse for a road race in Canada for the 104km signature race designed for elite riders, overall individual top prize of $1000, male and female equivalents. Cash prizes three deep by age category, ten deep overall. Additional events include youth race & time trial, adult 26km &, and a brand new 52km distance for resolute riders looking to complete 6 laps.
Event features full road closure – no yellow line rule, the safest course by far and coveted by cyclists, mechanical, medical support, race kits, technical T-shirts for early registrants, escort vehicles, electronic timing, feed station & lunch for adult registrants. pectator will enjoy the concession, licensed patio, kid’s activities, vendor expo area and prize draws. Photos and event videos are planned to be available in the weeks following the event.
Desjardins Financial Security (DFS) is Platinum Sponsor. Gold Sponsor, Dimpflmeier Bakery. Silver Sponsor, James Dick Construction. Bronze sponsor, Cavalier Transportation of Bolton.
Visit www.letourdeterracotta.com for technical guide & info. Contact Info@letourdeterracotta.com Registration opens at 7 a.m. – space limited, plan to arrive early for ease of parking. Road closures in effect race day. On-line registration available at www.ontariocycling.org.
24th Annual Heart and Stroke Ride for Heart
June 06th 2011Here’s a post by Mike about what he did on the weekend:
Ride for Heart
I was out and about on June 5 on the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardiner in Toronto and ran into some of our Escarpment-area residents and other notable people.
Sheryl Gill, Survivor
Hon. Kathleen Wynne rode in the event. She also happens to be the Ontario Minister of Transportation. How appropriate!
Hon. Kathleen Wynne
Erin local resident James Moore pedalled in the event with an electric bike.
James Moore
The “Rude Riders” were out in force in tribute to Doug who passed away a few weeks ago from a heart problem. I can’t repeat why they are rude!
Rude Riders
I found one of our advertisers riding with the Rude Riders, Angelo De Medicis, from Milton Home Hardware Building Centre.
Angelo De Medicis
Niagara EMS “Pedal Angels"
Finally, the Niagara EMS rode as “Pedal Angels” wearing wings and halos. They collected $23,500 for defibrillators.
According to CTV morning news today (Monday), 13,000 cyclists took part and a record-breaking $3.9 million was raised.
Open Streets Hamilton June 12
May 30th 2011
Open Streets Hamilton poster
How does something jump the queue for space on the blog? A great image sure helps! I really like this graphic — but could it be because I am such a word person? It sure “speaks” to me.
We’ll be part of Open Streets Hamilton on Sunday June 12, giving away back issues and a gift basket, selling subscriptions and taking people for rides on Mike’s tandem bike. This was such a hit last year that organizers really want us back this year. Hope for good weather and come out to hit James Street North in Hamilton! Check here for more information.
Vote on May 2
April 25th 2011Remember to vote on Monday May 2. Take the time to get organized this week. If you didn’t receive a Voter Information Card, call your riding office & check that you’re on the voter’s list & make sure you know the location where you are supposed to vote. If you aren’t registered, try to do this ahead of time. If you can’t, get to your polling station early on May 2 so you have time to register. Note the kind of ID they’ll ask to see before you vote: a driver’s licence is great. If you don’t drive, bring two other pieces of ID: one government-issued card and something with your address on it (a bill or statement is good). Don’t expect things to go smoothly if you wait until 8:30 pm on voting day! If you’ve gone to the wrong location, you might not get to the correct place in time to cast your vote. A bit of time spent this week ensuring your vote, can save you a lot of aggravation on Monday. You can get more information about voting at Elections Canada.
Help Wanted at Your Elections Canada Office
April 12th 2011Your local, temporary branch office of Elections Canada may be looking for more people to help work the election on May 2. These are paid positions. Even your training session is paid for.
Several different positions work the polling stations where people vote. You can work if you have experience or none at all. There may be a position just right for you. Working the election is a fun, easy way to take part in the democratic process. To find out more, contact your returning office for your riding.
You can get that info through Elections Canada. Click through to What is Your Riding, Voter Info Service, then search by province & Ontario, then scroll down the list for your riding. Click the riding name & you’ll see contact info. Call & say you’re asking about working Voting Day.
And whether you want to work Voting Day or not, if you care about your community, make sure to VOTE on May 2!
Escarpment Views at Halton Eco Festival on Saturday
April 04th 2011
Escarpment Views will be one of the exhibitors at the Halton Eco Festival this Saturday, April 9. Come and say hello to Mike and me (Gloria) and pick up any back issues you’re missing –for free! The current issue and subscriptions will be available for sale. Here is news from the Festival organizers about other reasons to attend:
Are You Going To The Environmental Fair?
“Sixty-five exhibitors including nine sponsors look forward to sharing their many green environmental products, services and campaigns with you at the free-to-attend Halton Eco Festival on Saturday, April 9 from 10 am to 5 pm at the Glen Abbey Rec Centre on Third Line in Oakville. This is a one-day only family event so don’t miss it,” says Mervyn Russell, chairperson of the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights which organizes this event.
“The first 1,000 visitors will each receive a free gift of a 250 ml hand sanitizer valued at $10 from Nature Clean. In addition, Halton Region will be distributing a limited quantity of free blue boxes to the visitors,” he adds. “The Halton Eco Festival is a celebration of the environment, green alternatives and good living. It’s a fun, festive event that features something to benefit everyone.”
Every half an hour beginning at 10:30 am, you can enjoy an educational presentation delivered by a knowledgeable and inspirational speaker on a wide variety of environmental subjects including (in order of presentation) nuclear weapons, ecovillages, sustainable food, permaculture and gardening, dealing naturally with allergies, measuring and recording your trees, waste diversion, socially responsible financial investing, solar energy, a live animals demonstration promoting biodiversity, embracing diversity, and indigenous peoples rights.
You will experience and learn many new things at the Halton Eco Festival which brings earth-friendly companies and organizations together in a variety of categories. You will discover businesses with various products like residential solar systems and geothermal power, natural cleaning solutions, organic fruit spreads and body soaps, reusable and compostable bags. There will also be many local providers of healthcare and environmental services such as a green diaper service, a raw foods restaurant, landscaping, gardening, ethical financial planning, energy efficiency and conservation, naturopathic and chiropractic healthcare, massage therapy, an organic farmer’s market and lots more.
Meet some very dynamic environmental education exhibitors including Alternatives Journal from Waterloo University, the Association for Canadian Educational Resources, Environmental Defence, Escarpment Views, [that’s us!] FutureWatch, Green Leaders, the Halton Waldorf School, and Katimavik.
Come sit in an eco-friendly smartcar from smart Centre Oakville. Discover how to save money and become more energy efficient when talking to representatives of Eco Alternative Energy, EfstonScience, Excess Energy, Oakville Hydro, Tangoraysolar, and Union Gas which will be distributing free home energy saving kits that will save you hundreds of dollars in future expenses.
iCCOUNTING.ca will help lessen your environmental impact while C & C Planning Group/Partners In Planning Financial Services can show you how to invest more ethically and socially.
Food and Drink exhibitors will include Nature Bite, Nzyme Living Foods Bistro & Juice Bar, and the Oakville Sustainable Food Partnership. Local government will be well represented by the Public Works Department at Halton Region and the Town of Oakville’s Environmental Policy Department.
Health and Wellness exhibitors include Chiropractic Advantage, Chiropractic First Natural Health Group, In-Line Family Chiropractic, No Allergies Please, Oakville Naturopathic Clinic, Sahaja Yoga Meditation, and the Toronto Vegetarian Association.
Home and Garden exhibitors include As You Wish Parties and Programs, Fern Ridge Landscaping, In The Garden…, and Wild Birds Unlimited who will have a wide selection of bird feeders on display for you.
Many local organizations with new ideas and actions to benefit the natural environment will be in attendance including the Halton Environmental Network (HEN), KAIROS (Oakville-Mississauga), the Oakville and District Labour Council, Physicians for Global Survival, Reclaim Our Democracy, and the Sierra Club of Canada.
There is a growing consumer demand for natural products including those featured by Bear Bottoms Diaper Service, Crofter’s Organic Fruit Spreads, Ecolife Natural Products, Enfleurage Organics, Fresh and Clean, and Nincompoop Farms.
The enjoyment and preservation of nature are central to the Coalition on the Niagara Escarpment, Conservation Halton, the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy, Oakvillegreen Conservation Association, the Ontario Urban Forest Council, and Protect Our Water and Environmental Resources (POWER) which is based in Halton Hills.
All four major political parties will be sharing their environmental platforms with visitors; come and talk politics with federal election candidates and other representatives from the Oakville Federal Green Party Association, Oakville and Burlington New Democratic Party Riding Associations, the Conservative Party of Canada – Oakville, and the Oakville Provincial Liberal Association. As well, the Halton Chapter of Fair Vote Canada will be there to promote proportional electoral representation.
The Burlington Reuse Centre is promoting the 3Rs of reduce, reuse and recycle and will be encouraging you to donate your good useable household goods to their location at 3335 North Service Road.
The Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights will be promoting their 20th annual Earth Week Clean Up of Nature Sites in Oakville scheduled for April 16, getting orders for the sale of recycled rain barrels, and signing up visitors to go on a bus trip to an organic farm.
People who are concerned about local development issues and want smart growth should plan to visit with Citizens Opposed to Paving the Escarpment (COPE), Protecting Escarpment Rural Land (PERL), and Whole Village Ecovillage.
“After visiting the sponsors and exhibitors and taking in a presentation or two, relax while sipping on a fair trade, organic coffee. Enjoy a snack, slice of pizza or baked good at our eco café,” enthuses Mr. Russell who also noted that the Halton Eco Festival strives to be a waste-free event.
Please carpool to this free event with friends, family and neighbours. Bus #28 will deliver you to the door from the Oakville GO station while Bus #3 while bring you there from the Bronte GO.
The 11th annual Halton Eco Festival is one of Ontario’s longest-running environmental fairs. This year’s nine sponsors include the Burlington Reuse Centre, Coalition on the Niagara Escarpment, Conservation Halton, Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, Green Leaders, Halton Region’s Public Works Department, Nincompoop Farms, Oakville and District Labour Council, and the Town of Oakville’s Environmental Policy Department.
“The Halton Eco Festival is for people who want to live a more healthy life, reduce their environmental impact and live in a more sustainable world. Visitors will experience an interactive, informative and fun event featuring a wide-range of eco-friendly products and services that will help them to make sustainable choices for themselves and their families,” said Stephen Dankowich, show manager, and executive director of the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights.
For more information, phone 905 849 5501 or email the Centre or go to their site.
Gala Fundraiser for Wellspring Cancer Support Centre/Chinguacousy
March 18th 2011Read this and WIN!
Here’s a post about a great cause – a fundraising event for Wellspring Cancer Support Centre/Chinguacousy. And as thanks for reading this and passing the info on to your friends, you could win a gift basket generously provided by The Belfountain General Store. Just post a comment and we’ll enter you in a draw for the gift. The draw closes April 2.
A Gala Evening is planned for Saturday, April 2, 2011 – In Support of Wellspring – Chinguacousy Cancer Support Centre’s Foundation – The 2011 Caledon Butterfly Gala, celebrates ‘for love of the living’. Join us and support this wonderful centre that provides a range of services that make a meaningful difference in promoting recovery of people dealing with cancer.
More information is available at http://wellspringching.ca.
Gala location Banty’s Roost Golf & Country Club, 12600 Bramalea Rd. Caledon East. Tickets $140 per person, cocktails 6 p.m./buffet dinner 7 p.m. (catering by Chef Warren Gelinas, Village Bistro, open bar, HST included). Join us for an exceptional evening of celebration and entertainment including a cirque-tacular performance by A2D2 and Alec & Steve’s duelling pianos. Special Guest Speaker, Master of the Arctic artist Mr. Cory Trepanier. For tickets email info@southfieldsvillagevoice.com or call 905-846-4852.
Now just click below to post your comment for a chance to win!
Views of Canada Blooms
March 16th 2011The 15th Canada Blooms opened today at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto, and the theme this year is rhythms. I was thinking of repetition and height when I saw the Celebrity Stage, beautifully planted to surround the featured speakers, but an inspiration for a home patio garden. Here’s Mike’s photo of part of the stage:
New this year is “JUNO Rocks,” gardens that have been inspired by some JUNO award winning musicians.
Ben Heppner explained how a scene from the opera Parsifal inspired Judith Wright to create his forest garden.
Some other aspects of gardens caught our eye.
This long walk is the opposite side of the attention-getting entrance garden, which is a long wall of bright flowers with green roofs in front. This densely planted walk of bright tulips, boxwood and cedars, makes an impressive “B side.”
I want to try this idea at once! I have a red wagon, I just have to get a load of blooming plants and tuck them in to make this charming, colourful focal point.
This interpretation of the phrase “snake in the grass” is a delightful part of the large children’s play area of slides, a climbing wall and musical instruments.
Another inspiration: this bench of logs is also part of the children’s play garden. I’ll take two or three of these for around my yard, please.
There is so much more to see (and buy) at Canada Blooms. The garden festival runs until March 20.
