Monday 24 June 2013

Kick-off to Summer

What type of things remind you that summer has finally arrived? Is it the birds chirping in the early morning light, seeing the harbours fill up with boaters or perhaps a local event, that brings to mind that finally (yes, finally!) summer is here? For me, it is the annual sidewalk sale in downtown Brockville that is the kick-off to summer.

Saturday morning was a very early start. My one year old hasn't been the biggest fan of sleep lately and our days typically start at 5:00 am. One could view this as exhausting - and it is - but as this is everyday life, I choose to utilise all that early morning time and get my chores out of the way. By 9:00, the house was clean and we were ready to start our busy weekend routine.

The day had come. A day I look forward too all year long - The annual Brockville Downtown Sidewalk Sale. All my favourite shops and vendors, combined with our Farmers' Market makes for one busy and incredible sale! King Street, from East to West is blocked off to traffic (with the exception of some detour routes for locals and convenience) and the streets are filled with excited people alike. The weather this year was a bit cooler then usual, but it didn't seem to stop people from coming out to enjoy the bouncy castles, remote control car kid's area, cuisine, sales and entertainment. We stayed for about an hour and a half, meeting friends and family, then called it a morning and continued with our weekend plans of country drives and errands.

On a bit of a last-minute whim, my Fiance decided we should check out the drive-in theatre in Port-Elmsley, which is about an hour drive from Brockville. The first show started at 9:00 pm, so we figured it was a great "Date-night" as the kids would surely be asleep when we got there. Boy, were we wrong. Our four year old was bouncing with excitement to see her first drive-in movie (who could blame her) and our one year old was loud, proud and ready to party with all those other movie-goers. As a PSA, I feel I should quickly apologize to the other patrons for our "screamy" baby, but caution you that drive-ins sometimes lead to those situations some nine months later. HA! This experience does have a happy ending though, as Nick and Remy had some wonderful bonding time walking the grounds of the drive-in, while my oldest and I got quality mommy-daughter cuddle and movie time. It ended up as a date after-all, just not with my fiance!

Sunday came, and thankfully the late night movie exhausted the kids, who slept in. We got up, got ready and headed over to brunch at the Brockville Convention Centre. Sadly, it was the last of the season (although I have thrown a fit about that and maybe there will be special occasion brunches) as it truly is the best brunch in town! We met some great friends, their adorable children and crossed our fingers that four kids under eight was not going to end up as crazy as we thought it may. Turns out, we were blown away by the customer service (and food!) as the wait staff and even Sous Chef decided to play with the kids and even colour with them. We stayed for close to two hours as the kids were having an absolute blast with the Convention Centre team. A huge thank you to you all for making it such a fun and great experience.



After brunch, we headed to the Brockville Memorial Centre for an event called "This one is for the girls". This was put on by a local resident, Kaili Tennant - who wanted to showcase other women in business in our area and donate proceeds to our local Interval House. With many unique vendors and a great cause, I hope to see this back next year. Congrats Kaili and team- you did a wonderful job!

Last, but certainly not least, we headed out to Eagle Point Winery, where they were participating in Doors Open, hosting a wine tasting of their newest release and having a BBQ with proceeds going to the Front of Young Township Volunteer Fire Department. As my Father-In law to be is a volunteer firefighter, any event where we can support that cause, is big on our list. Mix wine and a good cause and you have a popular event! The parking lot was full and the winery was a buzz. I have visited a few times now, picked up a bottle and can tell you that you should put Eagle Point Winery on your list of summer hot spots. I hear they are also hosting Yoga in the vineyard, which is sure to be a hit!

As I sit to write this post, I realize just how busy of a weekend we have had. I love that we live in an area where there is so much to do and usually for a very good cause. There are  many people and businesses in the area that share my community pride. Make sure you get out this season and take in everything there is to offer.

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