LoLo Enchanted

Fairies in the park. What a magical, whimsical idea. For those of you not familiar, Saturday, September 15 marked the first time for this new local event, which drew a number of families to St. Lawrence park in order to become 'fairies' for the day!

The setting could not have been more picturesque. Upon entering the park, there were colourful wings galore, on everyone in attendance. Girls and boys, even adults of all ages donned their very best magical attire. It had been some time since I had seen St.Lawrence Park so full of people, what a great sight. Down the walkway the tents were filled with local vendors and home-based businesses, selling everything from Epicure to hand-made signs and tutus. There were bean readings, professional fairy pictures and our favourite- fairy houses!

The girls took a seat at the edge of the woods on giant rocks and listened to stories being told by Cheryl Sinfield, the creator of "Faerie Door Workshops" which originated in Perth and was the inspiration for this event. As I watched, it became clear to me that my adorable "LoLo" was enchanted with this event. We had brought along a family friend and met with some other dear friends and their children. The kids gathered and watched as they were shown how to build their very own fairy house from nature's treasures. Twigs, pine cones, leaves, rocks and anything else we could find, were quickly being gathered up to make a home for our fairy friends. Even Nick and his friend Jamie got into the spirit, having a contest and building "fairy condos" and "houses with walk-out basements". Before I realized, Baby R and I were also drawn in - we climbed up the hill and snapped some pics of the fun

 About an hour later, we had finished up and headed to the center of the event, where we planted ourselves at the craft table for a while. It was here, that I met Stephanie Forgues, the host and creator of Fairies in the Park, Brockville. All the children were referring to her as Tinkerbell, as she had a striking resemblance to the character in her own costume. Stephanie also teaches at New Leaf Wellness, a holistic wellness center, here in town. Immediately, I was drawn to her positivity and zest for the outdoors and family life. I thanked her for hosting this amazing fun-packed day and then she was swooped up by a sea of small fairy children who wanted to play with this real-life version of Tink!

Before we knew it, we had spent three hours at the park. With tummies rumbling, it was time for lunch. Quickly we packed it in, headed to Metro for some picnic food and made a quick stop over at Hardy Park for lunch and a play. I'm pretty sure after dropping our friends off, it was only minutes before our girls were fast asleep. What a busy and special day it turned out to be.

We hope that Fairies in the Park, and many events like it will continue to come back to Brockville, as we truly were enchanted!

Sayonara summer, Hello fall fun!

Over the past month we have been so busy, I feel as though I've barely had a minute to sit, write and catch up. There have been so many wonderful places to visit, festivals to attend and of course, the hustle and bustle of every day life. Here's what we've been up too.....

Labour Day weekend was a lot of fun for us. We packed up and headed to Kingston on Saturday. I am usually pretty organized and plan out our weekends well in advance. This tends to irritate Nick sometimes, as he is more of a 'go with the flow' type of guy We threw caution to the wind, made no plans and just drove west. Nick had heard about a cafateria-style resturaunt called The Golden Rooster, on Princess Street. We parked,walked a few blocks and settled in. I had the medium-rare roast beef sandwich, Nick had the chicken pot pie and my oldest had a fruit salad and some fries. Ah, the life and diet of a three year old. The food was great and the ambience reminded me of Schwartz's in Montreal. If you are in Kingston, check it out.

With a great lunch behind us, we headed out for some exploring downtown. Kingston is a stones throw from Brockville and reminds me so much of our beautiful city. I follow a frozen yogurt shop called Menchies on Twitter (@MenchiesKtown) so I had to check it out in person while in town . We found it easily and were excited for a treat after a fabulous lunch, walk and shopping. I loved the lime green backsplash, colourful letters and overall decor. What a fun and welcoming place! Oh, and the froyo was also delish!

Sunday was my turn to "plan" and I had read about North Augusta's Labour Day festivities. We got there in time to grab a bite to eat at a local restaurant called "Woody's"; most of you likely know it at one time as 'Frank's', which has since switched owners. The food is homestyle and you wont go hungry. We took in the car show, the bouncy castles, some of the softball games and a quick play at the park. North Augusta is small town but they know how to throw a great Labour Day festival!

The following week flew by, although that may have been because Spencerville Fair was just around the corner. I have been attending this fair since I was a little girl and my family horse Irish used to lead the parade back in the 80s. The parade and all things associated with the fair make up some of my favourite childhood memories It was only natural that, for the past few years, I have been taking my children. This year, due to the rainy weather we only made it to the parade. As always, it didn't disappoint. Our girls had a ton of laughs, got too much candy and even snuck in a visit with their favorite Auntie Chelle! No rain could dampen our Spencerville Fair spirit!

How did you wrap up summer and what local fall evens do you look forward to each year? Love to hear from you!