Will the Windsor-Essex Region Become the Festival Mecca of Canada?
The Town of Tecumseh is the latest Windsor-Essex municipality to approved a new festival plaza.
Festivals such as Art of Eating will now have the opportunity to flourish in a proper festival setting and it also gives the Dragon Boats an opportunity to expand. Rumour has it there will be no link between the Dragon Boats and Via Italia this year as they will have food vendors on site for 2010.
Between this new park design, the previously approved design for Festival Plaza on the riverfront in downtown Windsor and the recently approved design of a festival plaza in LaSalle, this region is poised to become the festival region of Canada.
History in our restaurants
WindsorEats thought it would be a great idea to highlight a few of Essex County’s restaurants located in historic residences or nestled into heritage buildings.
Our region is rich in history and you can really get a sense of our past when visiting our city centre or surrounding towns and stroll down their main streets.
I’ve talked about this restaurant before but it’s always worth mentioning again, because it’s over 100 years old….a rarity for any building in this city.
Located in downtown Windsor, Hikari, 345 Victoria Avenue, offers up Japanese cuisine in one of Windsor’s oldest homes. Hikari resides in the Sutherland-Sheppard House which was built in 1896. It was once home to Major Ralph F. Sheppard, a commander of the Essex Scottish, who served during World War II and was distinguished as a Member of the British Empire. The home was built in the Queen Anne Revival style, elements of which can be seen in the unique ornate front porch.
The Victoria Rose Tea Room, 64 Main Street East, is located in the heart of Kingsville. The home was built in 1883 and has seen a number owners throughout its history. Today, owners Louise Morrison and Theresa Morrison have kept the character of the home intact. The tea room is a favourite amongst locals for their use of fresh ingredients and are well known for their homemade desserts.
Our region has a number businesses located within heritage designated buildings as well.
Mazaar’s Lebanese Cuisine, 372 Ouellette, is located in the historic Canada Building. Next time you take a trip to Mazaar’s look up. When the Canada Building was completed in 1930, at 12 stories high, it was the largest office building in Southwestern Ontario! A few details to look for on the exterior of the building are the brass doors leading to the lobby of the main building, the brass Canada Post box which is still in use today and the ornate metal canopy over the entrance way.
Taloola Cafe, 396 Devonshire Road, is one of those spots you can envision in any metropolitan city. Serving organic and fair trade coffees, the cafe is situated in historic Olde Walkerville and sits in what was once the former Crown Inn Hotel. Built in 1892 and designed by the architectural firm of Mason and Rice, Detroit for the Walkerville Land & Building Co. the hotel was built for Hiram Walker and Sons and is considered to be one of Windsor’s most important heritage buildings. It was the first hotel in Walkerville, housed the first telephone in the area and it is even rumoured to have entertained Al Capone himself.
Independent restaurants, cafés and local businesses are what make where we live unique. Whether it’s their historical connection or their location in a bustling neighbourhood, they provide an authentic experience of the city or town we live in.
Windsor and Essex County have many restaurants, cafes and independent retailers scattered throughout its boundaries. They are quaint, creative, distinctive and extraordinary. So the next time you head out to lunch, dinner or are just looking to grab some coffee, think about supporting one of the many great local businesses that call Essex County home. They are what makes our city unique.
Check these and other great culinary spots throughout Essex County on www.windsoreats.com!
Wine Trail Rides for Charity
This year, WindsorEats has opened up our Wine Trail Ride for charities and organizations to use as a fundraiser. Rotary and Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital Foundation were the first ones to take us up on the offer. Here is the information regarding their rides:
Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital Fundraiser – May 8, 2010
The Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital Foundation was created to help Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital provide high-quality and compassionate care to its patients and their families.
Formally launched in the fall of 2005, as the Heart of the City Hospital Foundation, our mission is to support Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital by funding priority capital and equipment needs. In 2008, the Foundation changed its name to Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital Foundation to honour and better reflect the century-long tradition of Hôtel-Dieu and the Salvation Army Grace Hospitals’ caring for the community.
Tickets for the HDGHF ride are $55 each and can be purchased on the Wine Trail Ride website
Rotary’s Pedal for Polio – May 29, 2010
Choose one of three leisurely cycle routes to three beautiful Essex County wineries where you will sample local wines before enjoying a fabulous dinner at your final destination. At the end of the evening, take home a bottle of wine to remember your day.
The $100 ride includes an escorted tour, samplings at three wineries, a special multi-course meal, bottle of wine and a tax receipt for $60.
For registration information go to the Wine Trail Ride website.
Lilly Kazzilly’s Updates Menu
Lilly Kazzilly’s, the popular seafood restaurant along the banks of the Detroit River, has updated their menu!
Pina just visited there recently and took in some great live entertainment which she highly recommended.
It’s Official! Amherstburg to Get Farmer’s Market
Amherstburg Town Council official voted to move forward with the Farmers Market project which now looks like it will be launched in mid-June.
A very big thank you and congratulations are in order for Dan and Nancy of Tredki Acres farm who poured their heart and soul into this project.
We’re excited to see your vision come to life!
As Dan said, “Success and happiness is not something that can be found, these are things you must create!”
Windsor City Council Think Urban Chickens Are A Joke
The other night I had an opportunity to speak with an acting member of Windsor City Council and the topic of urban chickens was brought up.
As mentioned by Steve Green of Windsor Essex Community Supported Agriculture, council has been dragging their feet in setting up a working committee. The comments made by this councillor indicated why, as it was mentioned, that the majority of Windsor city councillors look at the topic of urban chickens as a joke behind closed doors and laugh it off.
Whether you agree with the idea of urban chickens or not, the possibility of improving the sustainability of Windsorites lifestyles and even providing at least one small tool in the fight against poverty should at the very least be looked at.
Please take the WECSA poll, contact your city councillors and urge them to get the working committee started to see if urban chickens in Windsor is feasible. Steve Green has offered to pretty much do most of the legwork, so there really is nothing to lose.
2010 Top 100 Festivals and Events in Ontario Revealed During Annual Conference; Five Essex County Festivals Included
Yesterday, Festivals & Events Ontario (FEO) released their annual list of the Top 100 Festivals and Events in Ontario and 5 Essex County festivals were included.
A big congratulations go out to the Carrousel of the Nations, Essex Fun Fest, Tecumseh Corn Festival, Shores of Erie International Wine Festival, Ruthven Apple Festival and Windsor International Film Festival.
Below is the press release from FEO:
March 7, 2010 (Woodstock, Ontario) – Festivals & Events Ontario (FEO) announced the Top 100 Festivals and Events in Ontario last night as part of the Association’s President’s Gala, a celebratory conclusion to its annual conference.
Sponsored by VIA Rail Canada, The Top 100 Festivals and Events in Ontario designation is presented to a select few of more than 2,000 that occur annually within the province. Among the winners were household names like the Scotiabank Caribana Festival, Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest and Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest. It also featured many smaller, festivals such as the Lanark Highlands Art of Being Green Festival, the Cobourg Sandcastle Festival and the Rideau Canal Festival. In conjunction with the Top 100, FEO also announced its 2010 Achievement Award winners. Achievement Awards acknowledge individual festival and event excellence and best practices across a broad range of categories.
The President’’s Gala is a follow up to a Welcome Reception that was held on Wednesday night. The Honourable Mr. Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism and Culture was in attendance to welcome guests and announce the 2010 Festivals and Events of Distinction. This year’’s inductees were Rogers Bayfest and the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival.
“Solicitations for submissions were issued towards the end of the previous calendar year, and an independent jury of industry peers conducted the selection process just prior to the Conference,” explains the Association’s Executive Director, Gary Masters.
According to the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, 93% of recreational travelers are seeking cultural and entertainment experiences, such as festivals and events, when they plan a vacation. Over the past two years, approximately 2,000,000 people who visited a festival or event say it was the primary reason for their vacation.
“With so many options for the festival-goers here in Ontario, it can be hard to know which festivals and events offer the most rewarding experiences. As the provincial Association for this industry, we believe it is our responsibility to set these standards and present the results to our consumers in an easily accessible and recognizable brand,” states FEO’s President, Sarah Wood.
The winners of this year’s Top 100 will be highlighted in the annual Festivals and Events in Ontario Guide distributed in both a printed and online format. A list of the 2010 winners can be found on the Association’s website, www.festivalsandeventsontario.ca.
Garden Buffet Releases New Menu
Garden Buffet has released a new menu as well as adjusted their business hours.
Their hours are now as follows:
- 11:30am-3:00pm and 5:00pm-9:00pm from Monday to Thursday
- 11:30am-3:00pm and 4:30pm-9:30pm Friday
- 12:00pm-3:00pm and 4:30pm-9:30pm Saturday
- 12:00pm-3:00pm and 4:30pm-9:00pm Sunday and holidays
VIA Rail Bike Train is coming!
That’s right! You heard it here first! The dates have been set and the VIA Rail Bike Train is coming to Windsor and Essex County!
I can’t tell you how excited we are that this fantastic project is coming to our region. We have been working with project founder and organzer, Justin Lafontaine, for the past year and we are thrilled that they’ve decided to add Windsor/Essex as a pilot project.
So what is the VIA Rail Bike Train? Well, here’s a little taken from the Bike Train site itself:
The Bike Train Initiative introduces bike racks onboard select passenger rail trains to destinations across Ontario, making cycling holidays easy and accessible. The initiative is a project of Transportation Options, a non-profit organization dedicated to stimulating sustainable systems of transportation.
Originally developed by Toronto cyclist Justin Lafontaine and launched in partnership with VIA Rail Canada between Toronto and Niagara in 2007, the Bike Train has proven to be a fun, economic and environmentally friendly way to enjoy a cycling getaway. Getting to the destination is made easy as passengers travel in comfort while their bicycles are safely secured in a baggage car with bike racks. In 2008 the Bike Train Initiative won two Ontario Tourism Awards: Best Tourism Marketing Partnership and Excellence Award for Tourism Innovation, and in 2009 was selected as a Finalist for the Deloitte Tourism Innovator of the Year TIAC Award.
Tickets went on sale last week and they’ve been selling! Justin tells us he’s receiving positive feedback and people are very excited about coming to Windsor and Essex County.
And to make the whole thing even better, the WindsorEats Wine Trail Rides will be promoted on the site as an additional feature that cyclists can purchase!
Justin Lafontaine is the brain child behind the initiative. We met up with him yesterday, told him to sit down, relax, put his feet up and answer a few questions for us…..
The VIA Rail Bike Train will be making it’s way to Windsor/Essex June 17-20 and July 29-August 2. There are many activities that are being planned around these two weekends and they’re not only for Bike Train participants. Everyone in Essex County will be invited to join in and show everyone what a great community we belong to. We’ll keep you posted on what those events will be and how you can be a part of them.
While the Bike Train is starting off with only 2 weekends in Windsor/Essex, we hope that it will be a huge success so that it can expand and happen again next summer every weekend!
We have to give a huge thanks to our Wine Trail Ride guide, Chris Carvallo, who met up with Justin and the Bike Train crew on multiple occasions and showed them a multitude of routes throughout the city and county. Thanks Chris! We owe you!
Watch the 2010 Oscars at Chanoso’s
If you’re all into pop culture and have a soft spot for the Oscars, then Chanoso’s is the place for you this weekend.
On Sunday, March 7, 2010, beginning at 7:00pm, Chanoso’s Restaurant will be hosting an Oscars viewing party. There will be a cash bar, wide-screen viewing, door prizes and hors d’oeuvres.
There is a $10 cover which benefits the Windsor International Film Festival and Windsor Pride Community.
Designer costumes are optional.