Recreation & Leisure

On Track St. Thomas Unveils Plans to Develop Kettle Creek Bridge

08/10/2012

Manhattan has the High Line, a public park built on an historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. Paris has the Promenade Plantée, an extensive green belt that follows the old Vincennes railway line. Visitors of today are happy to find outdoor beauty, recreation and relaxation on the spaces once reserved for trains.

Members of On Track St. Thomas, a community development organization, believe that the Kettle Creek MCR Bridge could be the foundation for Canada’s first elevated park, and an attraction which would most certainly put St. Thomas on the map.

Clovermead Bee Beard Competition 2012 Creates Buzz

07/30/2012

Clovermead is home to 24 million bees, the Adventure Farm where families and kids will find acres of imaginative fun, sweet honey products and, once a year, the incredible Clovermead Bee Beard Competition.

Bees get a bit testy when rainy weather threatens, but it cleared in time on Saturday (July 28th) and the 8th Annual Bee Beard Competition was on. This year’s competitors gathered their courage and came to the stage for the weigh-in with Chris Hiemstra, owner with wife Christy of Clovermead. The 2012 contestants were Chris Meadows (Woodstock), Evan Thompson (Aylmer), Bernie Wiehle (Rodney) and Jonathan Collins (St. Thomas).

Bounty in the County

06/01/2012

I stood in the departure area of the London Airport recently, looking at an enormous poster for London Tourism. Attractive yes, but it got me thinking that the tourism hot spots (and potential hot spots) in Elgin County have London’s beat by a landslide. Now I know that’s not objective, but one can’t help the little prideful thoughts that run through ones head.

We have attractions which have been refined to super-loveliness to ones which are works in progress to ones with potential waiting to be tapped. That development has happened with dedicated effort and initiatives of Elgin Tourism services, private businesses, non-profit organizations and grass-roots associations across the county. The variety to be found in some small countries can be found right here without even leaving the county – the sum of all of the parts is amazing.

As we head into the summer, take some time to check out some of the guides, brochures and publications which will lead you to an unexplored place or event. Start by checking out www.elgintourist.com.

Just one example of a grassroots publication is the Western Elgin blue brochure, produced by the Marketing Partners of Western Elgin Region. It’s a map pointing the way to many attractions in West Elgin and Dutton/Dunwich. We ventured out one day last August to visit three of the blueberry farms on the map. The sight and flavour of blueberry bounty is still vivid in my mind – can’t wait to make the blueberry tour again this year!

You can download the brochure here.

westernelginbrochure2012_lowres_1.pdf
File Size:	545 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

Tundra Swans Return to Aylmer

03/01/2012

1 Comment

The majestic white birds with the distinctive call (a soft high-pitched "who-who-who") will soon begin to gather in the thousands at the Aylmer Wildlife Management Area. The tundra hotline reported 332 swans on March 1, 2012 – by mid-March their numbers are likely to top 3,000 each day at the Aylmer stop-over.

1 Comment

Find Your Sport or Recreation Activity with Comprehensive Guide

01/27/2012

There are a surprising number of ways to get active in Elgin County. The recently released Active Elgin 2012 Guide provides information on activities available for fun and fitness, from Aquatics to Yoga and everything in between.

The 4th edition of the guide has recently been released and delivery to all homes across St. Thomas and Elgin County should soon be completed.

The guide is a comprehensive listing of St. Thomas & Elgin County sport, recreation, and leisure opportunities. “The Active Elgin guide features programs for all ages and abilities in 40 different areas of interest including aquatics, camps, golf, horseback riding music, and walking,” says Darrell Jutzi, Public Health Nurse.

Active Elgin is a coalition of community organizations, led by Elgin St. Thomas Public Health, and dedicated to promoting sport, recreation and leisure in our community. They recommend the guide as great tool to help motivate you and your family to become more physically active, learn a new sport, or pick up a new hobby.

Additional guides will also be available at local libraries, municipal offices, and each of the partnering organizations (Elgin St. Thomas Public Health, Central Community Health Centre, City of St Thomas Parks and Recreation, East Elgin Community Complex, Elgin St. Thomas Tourism Services, Ontario Early Years Centre, West Elgin Community Health Centre, and the St Thomas Elgin YWCA.)

The information is also available at http://www.activeelgin.ca/.