Celebrate BC Day on August 3 at Granville Island

Last year I spent BC Day in Victoria, which was also celebrating British Columbia's 150th Anniversary. Sorry to say, I won't be in BC for the celebration on August 3, but celebrations will be taking place throughout the province.

Vancouver's Granville Island is hosting its Annual BC Day Festival. It's a great setting to watch artists in action, have a bite to eat and pick up some fresh produce. There will be a Kids Market with games and events, special BC selections and specials from Granville Island restaurants and no shortage of buskers, balloons and even doggy treats.

Pick up a Granville Island BC Day program when you arrive at the market, available throughout the island, and have it stamped at various stops along the way. You could win a prize! There will also be a drawing for a signed limited edition framed print (value $450) by David McCann.

Granville Island Public Market and The Net Loft are open daily until 7 PM.

People have more to celebrate when the Amtrak Cascades between Vancouver-Portland puts on an additional train on August 19, making two trains a day between BC and Oregon.

Take the Aquabus on False Creek to Granville Island
Photo by Sue Frause

A (big) fish story: 76.6 lb. salmon in BC

Now that's a big fish! A 76.6 lb Chinook Salmon was caught last week at Andrews Point off Langara Island in BC's Queen Charlotte Islands. So say the fishing guides at the Clubhouse, which is part of the West Coast Fishing Club.

The huge salmon was pulled up to the boat after an intense 30-minute fight by guest Dave Willis. Measuring 50” by 35” and tipping the scale at 76.6 lbs, the Chinook (also known as a King or Spring Salmon) is the largest recorded Chinook catch for the West Coast Fishing Club since its inception in 1991.

After pausing briefly for photos alongside the boat, the fish was released back into the ocean, part of the West Coast Fishing Club’s Catch and Release Program. Advocated by the Club and its fishing guides, guests are encouraged to release any catch of trophy size (over 30 lbs, also known as Tyees). In doing so, it encourages a strong gene pool for the fish around Langara Island, ensuring there will be big game fishing for future generations of anglers.

Halibut is another prized fish, with Langara Island giants often weighing in at more than 200 lbs (the West Coast Fishing Club record is over 300 lbs). But size isn't everything, as the best eating fish are in the 10-25 lbs range. Guests do not go home empty handed in this category.

2009 is proving to be a great year for fishing off the Queen Charlotte Islands. The West Coast Fishing Club offers world-class fishing that includes knowledgeable guides and luxurious accommodation. The season runs through Sept. 10, 2009.

Benny Green pays tribute to Oscar Peterson

Legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson died in 2007 at his home in Mississauga, Ontario but his legend will live on for generations. I attended Jazz Port Townsend in Port Townsend, Washington this past weekend and jazz pianist Benny Green paid tribute to the Canadian musician with A Tribute to Oscar Peterson.

Two of my favorite tunes were composed by Peterson, Wheatland from Canadiana Suite and Hymn to Freedom, which he wrote in the 1960s, inspired by the U.S. civil rights movement.

Accompanying Green were Doug Miller on bass and Alvester Garnett on drums. Jazz Port Townsend's Artistic Director John Clayton, also a bass player, played the last part of the tribute. And in a touching moment, Clayton phoned Peterson's wife Kelly who could not make the concert since daughter Celine was in the hospital following a car accident. Thousands of people in McCurdy Pavillion at Fort Worden State Park gave a rousing round of applause to honor Oscar Peterson.

On May 21, 2008, Oscar Peterson's suede shoes were inducted into The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto.

Jazz pianist Benny Green and John Clayton on bass Photo by Sue Frause

Cool and rainy summer for eastern Canada

From The Weather Network's Chris St. Clair:

A few facts: Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg have been 2-4 degrees below average almost day in, day out since the season began. Halifax nearly doubled its average June rainfall. Days with more cloud cover than sun were common nearly all across Canada ...

The rest of the summer, August at least, will be very close to average for nearly all of the country. The temperature should be where it ought to be but it is likely that cloudier and rainier days might prevail in the east … the weather pattern over North America and the weather we’ve had during the first part of our summer has a lot to do with something called the North Atlantic Oscillation, a pattern uncovered in the 1920’s by Sir Gilbert Walker.

The North Atlantic Oscillation is a variance in the location of a large area of strong and stable high pressure. For the past many weeks it has developed over Greenland and the Labrador Sea. The emergence of the North Atlantic Oscillation has led to a block in the usual, steady west to east migration of unsettled low pressure across our continent.

Simply, the cool rainy weather is stopped once it gets to the Great Lakes Basin because it cannot get past the big, stable high pressure over the western Atlantic. Not until the high pressure, that has manifested itself further east, relaxes will there be a change in the pattern.

While science continues to study the underlying reasons for the temperament and frequency of the oscillation, we can report that it is easing and more typical summer weather is returning to eastern Canada.

Air Canada at Toronto Pearson International Airport on July 24, 2009
Photo by Sue Frause

Window on Canada: Aloft Montreal Airport

The w xyz bar at Aloft Montreal Airport
Photo by Sue Frause

Tim Hortons takes on New York, New York

Tim Hortons is headin' to New York. The Canadian based quick service restaurant, which currently has more than 3,500 locations in Canada and the US, will be offering its coffee, baked goods, soups and sandwiches in three co-branded stores with Cold Stone Creamery. It includes Cold Stone's flagship Times Square location on West 42nd Street.

The co-branding test initiative was announced by the two companies in March 2009, and involves up to 50 locations in the United States for each chain. There will be a similar initiative in Canada involving six co-branded locations. More than 40 restos have already been rebranded with the combo Cold Stone Creamery/Tim Hortons concept.

Founded by Canadian hockey legend Tim Horton, his namesake company is the number one quick service restaurant in Canada. It currently has more than 500 stores in the US, where its headquarters are located in Dublin, Ohio.

According to The London Free Press in London, Ontario, the company is opening a dozen outlets in Manhattan, including Penn Station on July 13. That locale was formerly a Dunkin' Donuts.

Elsewhere in the Tim Hortons world, a man stole an autographed photo of Canadian hockey player Sidney Crosby from a Strathmore, Alberta Tim Hortons.

You won't find coffee like this at Tim Hortons. A latte from Blenz in Steveston, BC. Photo by Sue Frause

Canada's top ten biking spots

The Canada Tourism Commission recently came out with its top ten biking spots. How many have you pedaled?

1. Prince Edward Island - Don't bring your bike, PEI has more than 25 bike rental shops

2. La Route verte - A 4,000 km network of trails crisscrossing Quebec, the most extensive in North America

3. Saskatchewan - Really? Try Highway 56 that winds through the lush Qu'Appelle Valley

4. Kettle Valley Rail Trail - BC's long-abandoned right of way (includes tunnels/bridges)

5. Cabot Trail - Fishing villages, beaches, rolling green hills and even whales in Nova Scotia

6. Capital Pathway - A network of loops and dedicated cycling trails in Ottawa

7. Bike Train - Ride the rails in Ontario with Via Rail

8. Boreale Mountain Biking - Serious biking! Stay in yurts near Whitehorse in the Yukon

9. Riding Mountain National Park - Pedal with moose, elk and black bears in Manitoba

10. Kananaskis Country - For fat-tire aficionados who love Alberta's Rocky Mountains


Little Qualicum Cheeseworks on Vancouver Island
Photo by Sue Frause

Manoir Hovey: A charming Quebec resort inn

Manoir Hovey is one of those romantic inns that you see in the movies ... at first it almost doesn't feel real. But it is, and it's wonderful. I stayed there a number of autumns ago, a lovely time of year in this bucolic part of Quebec. Located in the lovely Eastern Townships village of North Hatley, 75 minutes east of Montreal (and only 20 minutes north of Vermont), it's on the shores of Lake Massawippi.

My first reaction was it looked like Mount Vernon, George Washington's home. It turns out that it was built as a private estate modeled after his home. Since 1950, it's been a resort inn and is a member of Relais & Chateaux.

My cozy and charming room at Manoir Hovey
Photo by Sue Frause

Victoria Gin: Not every city has its own spirit(s)

No matter what I'm doing in Victoria, I somehow manage to make a stop at The Fairmont Empress Hotel's Bengal Lounge. Not only do I love this iconic bar, it serves Victoria Gin. How many cities can boast they have their very own spirt(s) named after them?

Handmade in small batches from a wood-fired still on Vancouver Island (OK, I stole that from their website), it's Canada's only premium gin. Here's what else they say about it:

Our gin balances the characteristic evergreen flavour of juniper with notes of citrus, floral, and spice. We distill it in small batches in a gleaming handmade wood-fired copper potstill. Only the middle part of each run, the hearts, is saved for bottling. The result is an intensely flavored spirit that is as full-bodied and complex as a fine single-malt whisky.

Victoria Gin is only available in British Columbia and Ontario. I hope to be back in Victoria sometime in the fall. And although gin & tonic season will be over for me, it will be time for a sleek Victoria Gin martini.

Prosit!

Summer afternoon in the Bengal Lounge
Photo by Sue Frause

Window on Canada : Train with a view

A beautiful waterfall as seen from the Whistler Mountainer, which departs North Vancouver daily at 8:30 AM, arriving in Whistler three hours later. The train runs through Oct. 6, 2009. Photo by Sue Frause.

USA & Canada: Children of a common mother

Cars line up to return to Canada at the Canada-US Peace Arch crossing between Blaine, Washington and Surrey, BC. The inscription on the US side reads Children of a common mother and on the Canadian side, Brethren dwelling together in unity.

Above the gates hinged on either side of the border is the inscription, May these gates never be closed. The Peace Arch stands 20.5 metres (67.2 ft) tall and was built by Sam Hill. It was dedicated in September 1921 and commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in 1814.

Photo by Sue Frause

Window on BC: Canada Day in Sidney

Strolling along the Sidney Pier
Photo by Sue Frause