Breakfast with business

The Victoria Day weekend kicks off the camping season with all eight of the Parks of the St. Lawrence campgrounds (Glengarry, Long Sault Parkway–McLaren, Mille Roches, Woodlands, Farran, Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary, Riverside-Cedar and Ivy Lea) opening on Friday, May 16.  

The campgrounds which are situated along the shores of the St. Lawrence River from Ivy Lea in the 1000 Islands through to Glengarry Park near Lancaster are showing strong reservations for the holiday weekend.  

 “Our parks offer some of Ontario’s most spectacular scenery. Each campground has a very distinct personality and unique features,” said Lou Seiler, Manager of Parks and Recreation. “We are continuing the renewal of our parks infrastructure, and I am confident our customers will enjoy the new amenities we have added.”

New Camper Cabins have been added (bringing the total cabin availability to 14) at McLaren Campground (The Aultsville) and at Riverside-Cedar Campground (Whip-poor-will and Hummingbird).  

The cabins offer a great opportunity to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature right at your doorstep while enjoying the comforts and security of a charming wooden cabin.  The cabins come furnished with beds, mattresses, refrigerator, microwave and barbecue, but  must bring some sleeping and dining essentials. 

McLaren Campground, largely considered to be the family campground has undergone a major renaissance over the past three years.  

More than half of its 206 sites have been upgraded to offer RV capacity with 30 and 50 amp electrical services. Plus, a number of pull-thru sites have been added.  

Four exclusive new waterfront sites have been added on Hoople Island on the Long Sault Parkway.  The sites were selected to take full advantage of the stunning sunrises and sunsets seen from this island.  

At Woodlands Campground, also located on the Long Sault Parkway, 30 new 50 amp sites have been added.  In the 1000 Islands, taking advantage of its unique location and spectacular views, 6 new ‘Castle View’ sites have been added at Brown’s Bay.  They are called ‘Castle View’ because of their magnificent view of Singer Castle.

 Recently, Scuba Diving Magazine included the dive site Lock 21 located on Macdonell Island on the Long Sault Parkway as ‘one of the planet’s best freshwater dives’ list.  

Lock 21 offers divers a shore dive where they can see the remnants of the lock which was built to circumvent the Long Sault Rapids along with old power generating systems, house foundations and bridges.

 “To local divers it will come as no surprise as they have experienced the wonders of this dive and they have seen the Lost Villages sitting in the depths of the St. Lawrence River,” said Seiler. “But for many residents or visitors who are more accustomed to staying on land or on top of the water, it is a confirmation of the uniqueness of this destination.”

The final phase of the revitalization of the 1000 Islands Recreational Trail along the 1000 Islands Parkway between Brockville and Gananoque will move forward this spring. 

[…]

“We’re looking forward to this competition, and we’re going there to win.”

Seaway District High School’s building construction team is ready to take part in the 2013 Skills Canada Competition which is being held at St. Lawrence College, Cornwall, April 10. Made up of (above, left to right) Jordan St. Louis, Vicki Van Hoof, Josh O’Connor and Kris Alexander, the students in Seaway’s construction program know the competition will be tough, but they say they will be ready.

“The competitors come from all of the Upper Canada boards and from the Catholic boards. Our Seaway kids are really keen; they didn’t have to be pushed to take part in this event,” said Seaway teacher, Henry Looyen.

The Skills Canada Competition offers students the opportunity to  test their classroom and practical skills in a number of technical categories. “We are also sending students to carpentry trials, to welding, small engines and automotive trials,” Looyan said.

Seaway’s construction team will have six hours to completely build and finish a shed. 

The judges for the competition are drawn from the professors and teachers at the College, and from the apprenticeship programs. Judges will rate each team on the speed with which they work, the quality of the product, and whether teams meet code and spec standards.

The generosity of local South Dundas company, Cruickshank Construction, has been crucial to the young builders.

“Through Jordan, whose mom works for Cruickshank Construction, we asked for their support,” Looyen said. “The company immediately said yes, and donated $250 to us to purchase materials for building a practice shed this week in preparation for the contest. 

We are really grateful to Cruickshank’s for helping us out in this way.”

Seaway’s completed shed will be presented, after consultation with Cruickshank’s,  to a deserving member of the community in about a month’s time.

“We have a mixed grade level team here,” Henry Looyen explained. “The students come from grade 10 to the senior grades. All week in class we will be working on team skills, planning, and seeing that every person is doing a job. Time really is our ‘worst enemy.’”

Jordan, Vicki, Josh and Kris all volunteered for the competition and are looking forward to the challenges. They point out that while Mr. Looyen will be with them in Cornwall, he is forbidden by the contest rules to coach them in any way once the clock starts.

“This is going to be a team effort: we definitely plan to win. We’ll be fine,” the students laughed, looking at their teacher, “even if the shed goes up crooked.”

[…]

The St. Lawrence Parks Commission (SLPC) was recently honoured with recognition of three special events being in the Top 100 Festivals and Events in Ontario.  This honour is awarded annually by Festivals & Events Ontario (FEO) to those festivals and events that excel within the industry.

For the SLPC, this isn’t the first time they have achieved such honours for these events.  Upper Canada Village’s Alight at Night event is recognized for the second time; while for Fort Fright it is the fifth award (including Best New Festival in 2008).  Fort Henry’s World Heritage Sunset Ceremonies has been awarded for an impressive seventh time.

Two of the events – Alight at Night and Fort Fright – take place during the shoulder season or what is traditionally considered to be the ‘off-season” for tourism.  Both events have made significant impact in the regional tourism market drawing over 40,000 visitors (Alight at Night) in December and 20,000 (Fort Fright) over the end of September and month of October.  

The World Heritage Sunset Ceremonies are an entertainment tradition in Kingston.  

[…]