Discovering Canada in Helsinki, Finland and Vilnius, Lithuania

I've been missing in action with my Closet Canuck blog for the simple reason that I was on the road. I just returned from two weeks in Europe that included five days in Helsinki, Finland and a week in the Baltics where my husband and I spent time in Tallinn, Estonia; Riga, Latvia; and Vilnius, Lithuania. I'd never been to any of the four countries, and the business-pleasure trip was both fun and fascinating.

While in Helsinki, there was a big hockey tournament going on, which included a Canadian team. Our hotel was filled to capacity, with many hockey fans among the guests. The IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) World Championship is being held in Helsinki and Stockholm during the month of May. Read more about the Canadian team's performance here.

Another Canadian connection that I wasn't aware of is there are two Canadian communities named after Vilnius, Lithuania. Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania and its largest city, with a population of 554,060 (2011). We spent two days in the city of 65 churches, right in the heart of the Old Town near the Vilnius Cathedral. In 2009, Vilnius was selected as one of two European Capitals of Culture, along with Lenz, Austria.

The rural town of Wilno, Ontario was named after the Polish name for Vilnius (Wilno) back in the 1860s. Located in the Madawaska Valley of Ontario near Algonquin Park, Wilno is the first and oldest Polish settlement in Canada. Accommodations include a B&B and a motel, and the Wilno Tavern Restaurant has been a dining destination since 1894. An end of summer event attended by several thousand people for the past 65 years is the Annual Chicken Supper on Labour Day Weekend at St. Mary's Church. The menu includes authentic Kaszebe-Polish fare and original settler cuisine.

In Alberta, the community of Vilna was founded in 1907 and was also named for Vilnius, Lithuania. A historic village located 150km northeast of Edmonton in central Alberta, it's home to 249 people and also claims to be home to the world's largest mushroom -- a metal sculpture that's become a roadside attraction.

Photos by Sue Frause
Vilnius, Lithuania's Old Town as seem from the Gediminas Tower
Vilnius Cathedral 

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New room for Winnie the Pooh in Winnipeg museum

I spent a few days in Winnipeg last November after being with the polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba on a Frontiers North Adventures trip. That's when I discovered that Winnie the Pooh was from Winnipeg! Read more about this delightful bear at Just-Pooh.com. Winnie is celebrated at the Pavilion Gallery Museum in Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park. On the second floor of the museum is The Pooh Gallery, which houses a new permanent collection of Winnie the Pooh artifacts and memorabilia donated by the MacFarlane family. The collection includes pop-up books, toys and figurines and the famous painting, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Pot by Ernest H. Shepard. The artist was the original illustrator of A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh books. The new gallery, with brightly painted walls of orange, yellow and blue, also features Winnie's Reading Room -- a place where "kids" of all ages may enjoy a story or two. Below is me with Winnie the Pooh at the Pavilion Gallery Museum. The bottom photo is a sculpture, Winnie-The-Bear by William Epp, which was dedicated to the children of the world on August 6, 1992 at Assiniboine Park.

Richmond Foodie Blogger will earn $50,000 a year plus an apartment

What a great gig for somebody who (a) loves Asian cuisine and (b) loves to write and (c) is skilled at doing both. And there's a lot of BIG interest out there. When BC's Tourism Richmond announced its Richmond Foodie Blogger competition, they received more than 1,500 entries. The one-year contract includes a salary of $50,000; apartment and living compensation; daily stipend for all restaurant meals; and a one-year membership to the Richmond Olympic Oval (a 23,000 sq. ft. fitness center) to work off all those calores. The unique position was open to anyone in the world eligible to work in Canada for a year. In exchange, the Richmond Foodie Blogger will visit at least one of Richmond's 800+ restaurants each day, resulting in daily blog posts, social media updates and acting as an ambassador during Richmond's 365 Days of Dining Campaign.

On April 23, the names of the 12 semi-finalists were announced, selected for their quality of writing and photography; online community engagement and of creativity; and overall aspect of their blogs. The dozen contenders include candidates from London, New York and Toronto and were interviewed either in-person or via Skype. The group of 12 will be narrowed down to three finalists, who will undergo a second interview before the Richmond Foodie Blogger is announced by the end of May.

PLACE YOUR VOTE! Tourism Richmond wants the public's input to select the top three, and public voting is open to all. The candidate who receives the most public votes will automatically earn a spot in the top three, while Tourism Richmond will select the other two. Voting runs through May 1 at 4 PM PST and may be accessed through Tourism Richmond's Facebook page, where you'll find the 12 finalists' photos, short bios and links to their blogs. 

British Columbia is no stranger to unique marketing campaigns. When Vancouver International Airport turned 80 last year, they held a contest for somebody to live at YVR for 80 days. Jaeger Mah, a Port Alberni native now living in Vancouver, was selected for the gig. I met the affable young man at the end of his reign in October 2011 while I was enroute to Churchill, Manitoba. Read more about my visit with Jaeger here. 

Icy Delicious Eggs at Delicious Cuisine in Richmond, featuring Taiwanese food
Photo by Sue Frause

What's a Metropolitan doing in UBC's Museum of Anthropology?

I have a thing about Nash Metropolitans, and now there's a customized one on display at UBC's Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver. The "Lois Lane Car" (she drove one in the original Superman series) may be seen at MOA's Great Hall, a gallery and performance space that has been temporarily transformed into a parking lot.

The unusual exhibit by Annie Ross, titled Forest One, is a full-size, 1956 Nash Metropolitan that Ross wrapped, twined and plaited with cedar bark and other reclaimed materials. Dr. Ross, a weaver and Assistant Professor in First Nations Studies at Simon Fraser University, used bark salvaged from clear-cut urban forests -- completely transforming the car inside and out.

According to the artist, Forest One speaks of "colonization, urban sprawl, trash and remediating the urban landscape through acts of salvage."

Forest One photo courtesy Annie Ross

Rick Mercer's five favorite small Canadian towns: What's on your list?

The Canadian Tourism Commission's recent e-newsletter has a fun piece by fellow travel writer and friend Michele Sponagle titled TV star Rick Mercer picks his favorite little towns.

I'm happy to report that I've been to four of Rick's fave five towns: Rossland, British Columbia; Churchill, Manitoba; Lunenberg, Nova Scotia; and Tofino, British Columbia.

His fifth pick, Bay Bulls, Newfoundland and the entire province of Newfoundland & Labrador, continue to elude me. It's on my Canadian Bucket List, along with PEI, New Brunswick and Northwest Territories. So what are your favorite little towns in Canada?

Mine include Rick's picks of Churchill and Tofino, along with North Hatley, Quebec; Canmore, Alberta; and a tie between Steveston Village and Courtenay, BC.

On another note, here is the MoneySense list of 35 Best Places to Live in Canada 2012. Did your hometown make the list?

Polar bear near Churchill, Manitoba during five days with Frontiers North Adventures in November 2011. Photo by Sue Frause.

Halifax commemorates 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic

When I went on my Great Big Canadian Train Adventure in 2009, I traveled aboard VIA Rail from Halifax to Vancouver. And although I visited Pier 21, the Canadian Museum of Immigration, I missed the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Located on the Halifax waterfront, the museum is commemorating the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, which is being acknowledged around the world on April 15, 2012.

On the Titanic's maiden voyage from Southampton, England she hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic on the night of April 14, 1912. Less than three hours later, the ship was lying at the bottom of the ocean. A total of 1,518 people lost their lives out of the 2,228 passengers and crew on board. Shortly after the Titanic sank, White Star Line ordered cable ships based in Halifax to begin recovery of the bodies of the victims. Of the 209 bodies brought back to Halifax, 150 were put to rest at the city's three local cemeteries:

• Fairview Lawn Cemetery - Corner of Windsor and Kempt Road
• Baron de Hirsch Cemetery - Located in the Fairview Lawn Cemetery
• Mount Olivet Cemetery - Mumford Road near entrance opposite of Mayfield Street

The Martime of the Pacific's permanent exhibit, Titanic: The Unsinkable Ship and Halifax, includes the largest collection of wooden Titanic artifacts in the world. From April 12-Oct. 31, visitors will also be able to discover the role that Halifax cable ships and their crews played in the Titanic recovery effort via the cable ship exhibit at the museum. Diaries of crew members and mementos from their experiences will be on display. Other exhibits, programs and special events at the museum include:

• An Earnest Price | 150 Grave Stories: Opens April 3 and displays the 150 tombstones in a haunting installation by photographer Andrew Danson Danuskevsky, who has gathered the Titanic victims buried in Halifax together in an artistic manner.
• Cable Ships | Connecting Halifax to Titanic and the World: Opens April 12 and focuses on the Halifax connection to the Titanic and how wireless communications played a significant role in the science and technology of the times.
• The Gathering: Saturday, April 14, 7:30-9:30 PM. Hosted by actor George Jordan, this free public event at the waterfront side of the museum honors Halifax's role in the recovery operation. A candle-lit procession will wend its way from the museum to join the Titanic Eve - Night of the Bells event in the Grand Parade Square.
• Titanic Eve - Night of the Bells: Saturday, April 14, 9:30 PM to 12:30 AM at the Grand Parade Square. Hosted by Canadian icon Gordon Pinsent, the free event includes interpretive presentations and live performances. A moment of silence will be held at 12:27 AM when the last wireless messages were received from the Titanic (the Cape Race Wireless station logged message times in Eastern Standard Time, an hour earlier than Atlantic Time). Flares will be ignited to symbolize the ship's call for help.
• Titanic Spiritual Ceremony: Sunday, April 15, 3-4:30 PM at Fairview Lawn Cemetery. A free, public, interfaith memorial service in remembrance of the lives lost and of the 121 Titanic victims buried at the cemetery.

Elsewhere in and around Halifax are events at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth. Visitors will be able to view an exhibit that portrays what the Titanic looks like today as it lies on the ocean floor. A Titanic 100 Year Experience Tour will be offered twice daily by Ambassatours from June 1-October 15. Tickets for the 75-minute bus tour are $28.

Photo of the RMS Titanic courtesy RMS Titanic, Inc.

Canada and the Netherlands: Years of history bond the countries

There's been a longtime relationship between Canada and the Netherlands. On Jan. 19, 1943, Dutch Princess Juliana gave birth to her daughter Margriet Francisca in Ottawa's Civic Hospital. She was the first royal baby to be born in North America.

Crown Princess Juliana arrived in Canada with daughters Beatrix and Irene in June 1940, one month after fleeing the Netherlands to escape the German army invasion. Juliana was the heir to the Dutch throne, and lived in exile in Ottawa for four years, where she was a regular on the social scene. When the Canadian government discovered Juliana was with child, they proclaimed the hospital's maternity suite "extraterritorial" so that the royal baby would have full Dutch citizenship.

To thank the City of Ottawa, Princess Juliana presented the capital city with 100,000 tulip bulbs, as recognition for the safe haven that the royal family received plus the role that Canadian troops played in the liberation of the Netherlands. Today, the tulips live on, with the 60th anniversary of the Canadian Tulip Festival scheduled for May 4-21, 2012 in Ottawa.

Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands is the honorary patroness of Floriade 2012 | World Horticultural Expo in Venlo, Holland. The every ten year exposition opens April 5 and runs through October 7, 2012.

Tulips at Keukenhof in Holland - March 2012
Photo by Sue Frause

Vancouver's Wedgewood Hotel offers special rate for BC residents

If you're a resident of British Columbia, the lovely Wedgewood Hotel & Spa in downtown Vancouver has a spring gift for you: a special BC Resident Rate of $159 per night double occupancy, now through Easter Monday (April 9, 2012). The offer includes:

• Luxurious accommodation in category of your choice
• Complimentary valet parking
• Complimentary European Continental Breakfast in Bacchus Restaurant
• 10% off dinner menu in Bacchus Restaurant

Reservations must be made directly with the hotel. Call 604.689.7777 or 800.663.0666. Or book online at www.wedgewoodhotel.com and enter promo code: BCRES. Here are some spring events in the city. Check Tourism Vancouver's website for other calendar items:

• Hockey: Home games of the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on March 28, 30, 31 and April 3 and 7.
• The Wizard of Oz:  Watch this classic movie with the original score performed live by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra on April 2 at the Orpheum Theatre.
• Easter in the Park: Take a ride on the Stanley Park Miniature Train, go on an Easter Egg Hunt, meet Easter bunny and watch the Easter Chick and Puppet Shows. April 6-9.
• The Great A-Mazing Egg Hunt: Meet Mr. E. Bunny at the VanDusen Botanical Garden, plus take part in crafts and hunt for eggs in and around the maze. April 6. 
• Emily Carr and the Theatre of Transcendence: Paintings and drawings of the forest in the 1930s and early 1940s at the Vancouver Art Galley through Sept. 9, 2012.

The Wedgewood Hotel & Spa is located at 845 Hornby Street, just off Robson.

Photo by Sue Frause.

UBC museum receives rare object from Captain Cook collection

The University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology (MOA) in Vancouver has acquired an object of global historical and cultural significance. The rare ceremonial club, received by explorer Captain James Cook from a Canadian First Nation during his final voyage (1776-1779), is being donated to the museum by a leading arts philanthropist.

The club was recently purchased through a private dealer in New York, and valued at $1.2 million. It is the last remaining object from Captain Cook's personal collection that was not housed in a public museum. Thanks to the Audain Foundation for the Visual Arts, the club returns to British Columbia, where the explorer received it from the Nuu-chah-nulth people on the west coast of Vancouver Island in 1778.

According to the Audain Foundation, the ceremonial club has immense historical and cultural value, and is the first and only in Canada. Other Nuu-chah-nulth objects collected by Cook are housed in museums in London, Berlin and Vienna. Michael Audain, chair of the Audain Foundation for the Visual Arts and an active Canadian arts supporter, is delighted. "I hope to encourage the repatriation of other Northwest Coast art works to public museums and cultural centres in British Columbia," said Audain.

MOA says the club was misattributed in a number of historical documents as a "curious war instrument" from the "Sandwich Isles" (Hawaii). In fact, it was carved by an Aboriginal Northwest Coast artist as early as the mid-1700s, and is considered to be the oldest and most finely executed club of this style. Carved from yew wood in the shape of a hand holding a sphere, MOA says it may have been both a ceremonial symbol of its owner's high rank and a function tool or weapon. The club eventually found its way from Cook's family into the Leverian Museum in London, where it was sold in 1806. It passed through several private collections in Britain and the U.S. and was eventually obtained by the Audain Foundation and returned to British Columbia.

The club is displayed at the east entrance to the Multiversity Galleries of MOA, which house more than 10,000 objects from around the world.

Three views of the ceremonial club

Photo by Bill McLennan

Calgary celebrates opening of Santiago Calatrava's Peace Bridge

The last time I was in Alberta was July 2010, making my debut at the Calgary Stampede. At the time, I hadn't heard about the Peace Bridge that would be built across the Bow River. Designed by Santiago Calatrava, the red twisting helix-shaped pedestrian bridge is scheduled to open on Saturday, March 24.

Calatrava is a Spanish architect, sculptor and structural engineer known for his soaring, vertical icons. Highights include the Milwaukee Art Museum in Wisconsin, Athens Olympic Sports Complex and the Quarto Ponte sul Canal Grande in Venice.

The Peace Bridge is a low, single-span bridge designed to meet geometrical constraints. Due to a no-fly zone above the bridge (there's a heliport nearby), plus the high water and ice levels of the river below, there was a space of only seven meters to create the span. The Peace Bridge was also designed without any supporting piers in the riverbed, in order to minimize environmental impact. All of these parameters influenced Calatrava's decision to concoct a tubular steel truss bridge.

Calatrava took other elements into consideration when designing the bridge commissioned by the City of Calgary. They include harsh winters, bicyclists, joggers and walkers who would use the river's pathways and bridges during extreme weather. The result is a permeable, enclosed bridge that functions during winter as well as summer. As with any major public project, there has been no lack of controversy over the cost and delays of the bridge (Calgarians making peace with Peace Bridge as opening day nears). A celebration is planned for Saturday, March 24, that will include city officials, dignitaries and members of Bike Calgary. The general public is invited.

City of Calgary - Peace Bridge Celebration - Saturday, March 24, 2012 - 2 PM 

The celebration begins at 2 PM at the open area at the south end of the bridge with music, food trucks, information displays and local celebrities. On stage with be a Blackfoot Nation elder blessing and poetry reading. The first crossing of the bridge will be led by members of the Scottish Tradition School of Piping, who will lead war veterans across the span, while the Green Fools stilt walkers will accompany the public. Entertainment begins at 2:15 PM with performances both both the stage and bridge. The live music includes: Robot Workers, The Original Rudes and Grim Reminder, Spencer Jo & the Mandrills, Nix Dicksons, Locomotive Ghost and the Calgary Chinese Cultural Society performers. More entertainment information may be found in the Calgary City News Blog. 

Santiago Calatrava's Peace Bridge
Drawing courtesy Santiago Calatrava 

Canadian Tulip Festival: Will weather, funding affect 60th edition?

I'm off to Holland next week, where I'll be attending Floriade 2012. It's the World Horticultural Expo, held every ten years in Venlo in the Northern Limburg region of Eastern Netherlands. I'll also be going to the Keukenhof flower gardens, the site of more than seven million flowers. The gardens are open for two months, March 22-May 20, and the blooms seem to be right on schedule. Plus I'll be spending time in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, where I last visited 30+ years ago. Cheese, chocolate, spring in bloom! 

That brings me to Canada, which across most parts of the country is experiencing a very warm first full day of spring. An article in The Gazette headlined it this way: 'March-Mildness' in Canada upstaging the winter that wasn't: Environment Canada. 

So does that mean that the Canadian Tulip Festival, scheduled for May 4-21 in Ottawa, may be out of blooms? A check of its website gives no programming or information about this year's festival, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary. I found that a bit odd, since it's only six weeks away, so I wasn't surprised to read that the hotels in Ottawa are getting a bit nervous about the lack of advertising for the world's largest tulip festival. As one commenter on the CBC article stated: "The festival is obviously on its last legs."

The history of tulips and Canada goes back decades. Here's an excerpt on the Canadian Tulip Festival's history link about the connection: "In the fall of 1945, Princess Juliana of the Netherlands presented Ottawa with 100,000 tulip bulbs. The gift was given in appreciation of the safe haven that members of Holland's exiled royal family received during the World War II in Ottawa and in recognition of the role which Canadian troops played in the liberation of the Netherlands."

Canadian Tulip Festival Update: According to canada.com, "It's full bloom ahead for Ottawa's tulip festival." The Canadian Tulip Festival received word of a $350,000 Celebrate Ontario grant on March 21. The festival website still has yet to been updated, but word is that a full schedule will be online March 26. 

Tulips in bloom near English Bay in Vancouver | April 28, 2007 | Photo by Sue Frause For more of my spring flower photos, see the slideshow here.

Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship: Canada takes title

If you haven't heard of Red Bull Crashed Ice, you may think it's some sort of exotic winter cocktail. It is, sort of -- and a physical one to boot. For the seventh year in a row, the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship was held, featuring 80 competitors from around the world soaring down an icy course. This year's cold competition was held in Quebec City, with the season finale on March 17, 2012. 

The downhill mavericks battle their way to the bottom of a 540-metre urban ice track that contains massive drops, hairpin turns, big-air jumps, drop-offs and gaps. Speeds reach more than 60 km/hour. According to Red Bull Crashed Ice organizers, Saturday's Saint Patrick's Day race was the most dramatic world championship in history, with Arttu Pihlainen from Finland looking to be headed to the title.

But in the end, Canada's Kyle Croxall won the Ice Cross Downhill World Championship in front of 100,000 spectators by taking second place behind Pihlainen. Kyle was helped to the title when his brother Scott crashed into a wall late in the race. Here is Red Bull Crashed Ice organizers' explanation:

"Championship leader Kyle Croxall needed to finish at least second to win the title, but the Canadian firefighter was well behind his brother Scott in third place with time running out as the Finn streaked away from the pack. But Scott Croxall suddenly crashed into a wall after a tricky jump and fell to the ice, allowing Kyle Croxall to leapfrog him into second and give Canada its first world championship in the sport’s history. Kyle Croxall, runner-up in 2010 and 2011, finished the year with 3000 points, just 40 ahead of Pihlainen (2960) with Scott Croxall third (2300)."

Pihlainen was the 2011 world champion, his sixth career victory. But Kyle Croxall ended up driving home the coveted MINI, which is awarded to the champion. Croxall won the first two races of 2012 held in St. Paul, Minnesota and the Netherlands before stumbling at a race in Sweden, where he ended up in 13th place. Canadian Ross Thompson was bestowed with the MINI Rookie award as best newcomer. Go to the Red Bull website to see video highlights of the race. 

Results Quebec: 1. Arttu Pihlainen (FIN), 2. Kyle Croxall (CAN), 3. Scott Croxall (CAN), 4. Adam Horst (CAN), 5. Paavo Klintrup (FIN), 6. Gabriel Andre (CAN), 7. Glenn Bakx (NED), 8. Derek Wedge (SUI), 9. Martin Niefnecker (GER), 10. Jim de Paoli (SUI).

World championship: 1. Kyle Croxall 3000 points, 2. Pihlainen (FIN) 2960, 3. Scott Croxall 2300, 4. Horst (CAN) 2190, 5. Klintrup (FIN) 1660, 6. Mels (GER) 1296, 7. De Paoli (SUI) 1260, 8. Braun (SUI) 1164, 9. Mueller (SUI) 1019, 10. Lavrov (RUS) 760.

Top: The Red Bull Crashed Ice course in Quebec City, located below the Louis S. St- Laurent Building and in the shadow of The Fairmont Chateau Frontenac. Bottom: Racers in action during the 2012 championship. Photos: Sebastian Marko and Joerg Mitter.

Saint Patrick's Day in Canada: Pubs, parades and cocktail recipes

I had no idea that St. Patrick's Day was a provincial holiday in Newfoundland and Labrador. It's celebrated on the closest Monday to March 17, so this year it's March 19, 2012. It means that government offices are closed, but Canada Post is open, as are most businesses, stores and many schools. Not sure why it's such a big deal in that part of Canada, but good for them! Here are some other St. Patrick's Day newsmakers and events in Canada. Erin Go Bragh!

Ottawa Citizen ~ How we celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Canada

The Wall Street Journal ~ Little Pub on the Prairie: A Saskatchewan Tavern Tries to Pull Ahead on St. Patrick's Day

Wikipedia ~ St. Patrick's Day Canada

Canadiana ~ St. Patrick's Day in Canada

Canada News Centre ~ Minister Kenney issues statement on St. Patrick's Day

Troy Media ~ St. Patrick's Day and the Irish-Canadian heritage

Canadian Living ~ St. Patrick's Day cocktail recipes

Food Network Canada ~ St. Patrick's Day Recipes

smartcanucks.ca ~ Happy St. Patrick's Day Canada

Montreal Saint Patrick's Day Parade

Saint Patrick's Day Parade Toronto

Saint Patrick's Day 5K Run/Walk - Toronto March 18

Canada Blooms ~ Canada's largest flower and garden festival in Toronto, March 17-21


My one and only Guinness, consumed at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland. Photo by Sue Frause.

Montreal Chef Martin Picard brings 'Sugar Shack' to Vancouver, BC

I've yet to dine at Martin Picard's Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal, but the nose-to-tail cuisine resto is definitely on my Quebecois bucket list. After all, it's one of Anthony Bourdain's favorite restaurants in the world. You can see a video clip here from his No Reservations show in 2008 (but if you're squeamish about foie gras, don't click on). More recently, Bourdain highlighted Montreal in his new travel and food series, The Layover. 

Now Chef Picard has written a book titled Sugar Shack. Described as "the encounter between a renown chef and a rare and natural sugar," Sugar Shack is a cross between an art book and a culinary encyclopedia. Its 380 pages include 100 recipes by Picard, while describing a full year in his restaurant. The book journeys through the seasons, paying tribute to gastronomical and sugar making traditions, something Picard wants to preserve and pass on. Maple syrup, a rare commodity, is highlighted with its wide range of qualities and uses. 

The book includes 2,000 photos, a short story by Marc Seguin, a journal about life at the shack during the sugaring off season, a technical chapter on harvesting maple water and the production and consumption of maple syrup. There are also illustrations by Tom Tassel. 

Chef Picard is visiting Vancouver's Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks on Thursday, March 29, 2012 to fete his new book. There will be a sugaring off party from 4-6 PM featuring Picard and Sugar Shack, along with snacks and beverages. Tickets for the reception are $85 and include a signed copy of Sugar Shack.

I visited a sugar shack in Quebec one winter; read more about it in a previous post.