Visit the Winter Festival of Lights in Niagara Falls this year!  Did you know it is Canada’s foremost illumination festival?  Capture the magic of the holiday season from November 7 to January 4, 2010.

The Winter Festival of Lights in Niagara Falls includes over 125 animated lighting displays and 3 million tree and ground lights which can be seen within the Niagara Parks Winter Wonderland, including the world-famous Enchantment of Disney® displays and the world’s largest illuminated Canadian-American Flag.  Continue the drive into Dufferin Islands to see more light displays!  For more information, visit Winter Festival of Lights.

The newest attraction to Niagara Falls and the Winter Festival of Lights is the ‘Rink at the Brink‘.  Like the rink at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City but even more dramatic, the Rink at the Brink is situated a stone’s throw from the “brink” of the Horseshoe Falls, offering breathtaking views and a magical outdoor Niagara Falls ice skating experience.  There is an admission fee and free parking. For more information, visit Rink at the Brink.

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Tags: St.-Catharines-Real-Estate, Timothy-Salisbury, Ontario, Canada, Winter-Festival-of-Lights, Rink-at-the-Brink

The Grape and Wine Festival will take place from September 18th to 27th.

This annual 10 day event features many of the world class Niagara wineries proudly showcasing their vintage along with several local culinary establishments.

In addition to great food and wine, the Grape and Wine Festival is filled with excellent entertainment programming.

Over the years many high profile entertainers have taken the center stage at Montebello Park where the main activities are held.

Some of this year’s Grape and Wine Festival attractions will be:

Crash Parallel
Faber Drive
Sarah Slean
The Wheat Kings
The Philosopher Kings
The Caverners
And many more…

Don’t forget the Post Parade show on September 27th @ 2:00pm, featuring Ryson’s rock ‘n roll student band, the Golden Hammers, with Natalie Vurro on vocals. These kids are really terrific and worth catching.

For full information and to view scheduled events, please visit their website.

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A good friend in The Salisbury Team’s network is helping out for this worthy cause below. If you can help in any way or join us next week, it would be appreciated. I hope to see you on the 28th.
T.

For the Needy, Not the Greedy is a ‘not for profit’ organization that provides used and refurbished medical equipment to those in need.  They supply a wide variety of medical equipment and assistive devices to individuals or organizations in need, when resources are available. The organization has been able to donate wheelchairs, walkers, operating tables, bone density machine, syringes, food supplements, infrared wheelchair for a blind person, alcohol swabs, etc.

On August 28th, 2009, they will be holding a golf tournament to raise funds so they can continue to provide much needed medical equipment to those most in need. For $125.00 golfers will receive lunch and dinner, win door prizes as well as receive a ‘goody bag’. To register please contact Jamie Brant at 905-357-1501.

THEY NEED YOUR HELP!

Organizations and individuals within the community are being approached to help out by:

a) Donating good and/or services in support of this fundraiser
b) Registering a four-some
c) Sponsor a hole for $100.00
d) Making a monetary donation to For the Needy, Not the Greedy

Please contact any of these people today to lend your support:

Steve Somerville - 905-295-2440
Gary or Jill Taylor - 289-296-8079
Sean Corcoran - 905-680-3075

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In Canada, the first Monday in August is generally a holiday but it is known by different names in different areas.

The idea of a holiday in the middle of summer in Toronto dates back to 1869. This day was created in 1875 and the first Monday in August became the August Civic Holiday.

Simcoe Day was named after John Graves Simcoe, who was appointed the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada in 1791. He was a British soldier during the American Revolutionary War and was appointed in 1777 to lead the Queen’s Rangers regiment. In 1781 he returned to Britain, where he was later elected to the House of Commons. He came to Canada in 1792 after his appointment. He first established his capital at Newark but, due to the threat of invasion by Americans, moved it to Toronto, which he named York. He convened the first Legislative Assembly as well as abolishing slavery. In Toronto, the day was officially named after him in 1968.

In Burlington, the holiday has been known as Joseph Brant Day since 1980. Joseph Brant was a Mohawk chief who sided with the British during the American Revolutionary War. He was born in 1742 on the banks of the Ohio River while his parents were on a hunting excursion. Brant’s sister, Molly, married Sir William Johnson, the Superintendent of the northern Indians of America.

Among others, Brant was selected to be educated at Moor’s Charity School for Indians in Connecticut. He learned to speak and write English and studied history and literature. During the French and Indian Wars he served under Sir William and later helped him to run the Indian Department. He also helped to translate the Prayer Book, the Gospel of St Mark and the Acts of the Apostles into the Mohawk language.

During the American Revolutionary War, Brant, fearing that the Indians would be worse off if America were to achieve independence, persuaded the Mohawks, Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas to support Britain. Brant received a Captain’s commission in the British Army and traveled to Britain.

In 1982 the City of Brantford declared that the holiday be called “Founders’ Day”. A different organisation is honoured on that day every year.

Since 1983 the day has been named “McLaughlin Day” in Oshawa. Colonel R. S. McLaughlin (1871 - 1972) brought General Motors to Oshawa.

In 1996 the City of Ottawa decided to honour John By (1779-1836) by calling the day Colonel John By Day. By was a British Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Engineers who supervised the building of the Rideau Canal. Ottawa was originally called Bytown after him.

Since 1998 Sarnia City Council has celebrated Alexander Mackenzie Day. Alexander Mackenzie was the second Canadian Prime Minister from 1873 to 1878.

Cobourg proclaimed the holiday as James Cockburn Day” in 1999. James Cockburn was a father of Confederation and represented the riding of Northumberland West in the Legislative Assembly of Canada, 1861-67.

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Tags: Canada, Civic-Holiday, August-Civic-Holiday

If you’re Canadian, on July 1st your mind is probably on BBQs, fireworks and warm weather. Maybe a few of you are thinking about visiting relatives or have no plans at all. If you think Canada Day is just about food, fireworks and a great big birthday party - think again. There’s a lot more to it than that.

History

Canada Day has been called a few names in the past. It used to be known as Dominion Day, the First of July, Confederation Day and July the First. Canada wasn’t born on July 1st, but the holiday celebrates the events that took place on this day. On July 1, 1867, the British North America Act created the Canadian federal government. This Act stated that Canada would become an independant dominion (territory) of England, which is why Canada Day was originally called Dominion Day.

In 1982, Dominion Day changed to Canada Day after a vote in Parliament. Not everyone was happy about this change. Some people felt that a 115 year-old part of Canadian heritage was lost. But, the new name stuck and every July 1st, Canadians celebrate Canada Day. In celebration, Canadians have parades, fireworks, picnics, face painting and food.

Interesting Canadian Facts

- Canada was named from the Huron and Iroquois word kanata, which means village.
- Canada has approximately three million lakes across the country. More than 30,000 of those lakes are larger than three square kilometers!
- Princess Juliana of the Netherlands gave Ottawa 100,000 tulip bulbs as a thank-you gift in 1945 for keeping the Dutch Royal Family safe during World War II. The Netherlands was occupied by the Nazis until Canadian soldiers liberated the country in 1944-45.
- The Bank of Canada issued the last $1 bill in 1989. It was replaced by the one dollar coin, known as the loonie, which came out in 1987.
- The world’s only flying saucer launching pad is in St. Paul, Alberta. It was built in 1967.
- The largest mall in the world is the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta. It has over 800 stores and restaurants, an amusement park, the world’s largest indoor lake with four working submarines, 26 movie theaters and a hockey-sized ice arena.
- More than 75% of the world’s maple syrup comes from Canada.

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Tags: Canada-Day, July-1-2009, Dominion-Day, First-of-July, Confederation-Day, July-the-First

Hello Bloggers,

The 1st Annual Salisbury Golf Tournament was held on Wednesday, June 17th. Was it a good day? Well this is what some people had to say!!!

“Had a great time yesterday, thanks” ~ Mike and Tracey Callihoo

“Buddy - What a Great Day !!!! Sue and I, had a blast!!!!……LOVE” ~ The Holt’s

“Thanks again buddy for the great day yesterday. Cheers” ~ Paul Croteau

“Just wanted to drop you a line and say thank you for the excellent day yesterday! I’m surprised to have had so much fun golfing in the rain! Thanks a lot for the invitation. I really appreciated the opportunity to get to know your team better.  The food and drinks were a nice bonus!” ~ Sean Corcoran

“Had a great time last night – thanks for having me. Your team is awesome!!” ~ Tracy Haley

“Cheers and thanks for hosting yesterday and last night.” ~ Tom Namestnik

Want to see some photos of the event?  Click on this link:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/stacey-timothy/

Thanks to everyone who showed up and supported the 1st Annual Salisbury Golf Tournament this past Wednesday. Rain didn’t deter everyone, well maybe a few people, but it was still a great day! Golf was a scramble format. (It’s too bad Tim didn’t mention this fact until half way through the round though, darn Corona’s!!) The day was specially designed to have non-golfers participate, come out and have some fun and just relax and enjoy themselves. Once everyone was done golfing, we then proceeded to J-Rocks Bar for the 2nd half of the day…prizes were handed out and food and drinks were enjoyed by all!

This in part is what makes The Salisbury Team different from the rest of the realtors in the Niagara Region. We’re always trying to find new ways to say thank you to our clients who constantly refer us business. A very heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s event.

T.

Timothy Salisbury
Broker
The Salisbury Team
Royal LePage Niagara Real Estate Centre Inc., Brokerage
Toll Free - 1-800-467-8498
Office - 905-937-6000
View My Website and my Blog at www.timothysalisbury.com
P.S. The best compliment we can ever receive, is when you tell others about us.

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Tags: St.-Catharines-Real-Estate, Timothy-Salisbury, Salisbury-Golf-Tournament

In Canada, Father’s Day is celebrated with lot of enthusiasm and fanfare. Since, the tradition of celebrating Fathers Day moved to Canada from US, Fathers Day in Canada is also celebrated on third Sunday of June. Just as in US, people in Canada too wear roses to express gratitude for their father. Traditionally, if the person is wearing red rose, it symbolizes the person’s father is alive. Likewise, white rose means that the person’s father is no more.

Children in Canada express affection and honor for their dad by presenting them cards, flowers and chocolates. In modern times, several other gifts of love including neckties, shirts, electronic gadgets, stationery items etc are also gifted to father by loving children. Another noticeable trend about Fathers Day celebration in Canada is that apart from their biological father people wish”Happy Father’s Day” to their grandfathers, stepfathers, uncles or any other man who is as affectionate and loving towards them as a father.

Immense popularity of Fathers Day festival has turned the occasion commercial to a significant degree. Days before the festival markets wear a festival look as gift and card sellers try to lure the people and harp on the emotional significance of the occasion.

Dining out with family is another popular Fathers Day tradition in Canada. No wonder, restaurants and eating joints witness a bumper rush on the occasion.

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Tags: Fathers-Day, Celebrating-Fathers-Day, Dad