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Stay active at home: Winter edition

Want to stay close to home? Here are a few stay-at-home ideas to get your brain and body revitalized.

1. Start a family game night.

SBT Games has a number of board and card games in stock, whether you want to be competitive or cooperative. Check out the SBT Facebook page for regular video recommendations on new items in stock and role-playing games in stock, including Dungeon Mayham (an easy-to-learn D&D-based card game) and Unlock! (a cooperative escape room game).

 

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Improbable Escapes has created five virtual (and family-friendly) escape adventures you can play at home. Work as a team to solve the puzzles while interacting with a live game-master in the physical game space.

2. Get crafty.

Feeling the urge to create something cozy for yourself while you’re cocooning at home? There’s no better time to start a knitting project. Purlin’ J’s Roving Yarn Co. (Kingston’s only mobile yarn truck) is roving a little less these days, but you can still order yarn, accessories, and kits online and get free delivery in Kingston.

Tie One On Creativity Bar offers delivery of its craft kits. Offerings from local artisans include a vinyl sign kit and a candle making kit.

3. Get connected.

Youtube is always an option for online exercise classes, but then you’re missing out on personal instruction and encouragement. If you’re craving more human connection while you get back into your body, Samatva Yoga offers all its classes online, from “slow and stretchy” yin and restorative yoga options to more energetic power yoga. The studio also offers online versions of its special workshops, such as pre-natal yoga and a Healthy Hips workshop. Free options are weekly guided meditation classes and a regular online book club discussion.

Check out the Tett Centre’s online offerings, including its Arte el Martes Project, a monthly Zoom get-together for community members to chat in Spanish and create art. Bring your own art project to the call, whether it is drawing, painting, knitting, or embroidery! All mediums and skill levels are welcome. Enjoy conversations and topics related to art-making and Latino culture, customs, food, and more. These free sessions run on the fourth Tuesday of every month from 7 to 9 pm. on Zoom. No registration required.

4. Get artsy.

The Agnes Etherington Art Centre has created Digital Agnes, an online platform for curatorial collaboration and creative research that highlights virtual exhibitions, digital publications, and interactive online experiences. You’re invited to digitally explore past exhibitions such as “The Powers of Women: Female Fortitude in European Art” from Winter 2018 or tour an interactive map of Rembrandt’s Leiden circa 1630.

5. Connect with your community

You can help the Queen’s University Archives with its crowdsourcing transcription project. Delve into local history while you transcribe digitized handwritten documents, review the transcription work of other volunteers, or help create index terms. Learn more.

Queen’s University Archives

CFRC Radio (Canada’s longest running campus-community radio station) offers a variety of locally produced podcasts, covering politics, sports, film, science, and the Kingston community. Explore them all here.

The Kingston Canadian Film Festival teamed up with Thom Ernst to create a podcast where we invite Canadian filmmakers to talk about their artistic influences past and present. The first episode features Jeff Barnaby, a Mi’kmaq filmmaker, writer, composer, and editor. Thom and Jeff chat about cinema, zombies, and colonialism. The podcast features guests like Festival faves Audrey Cummings and Matt Johnson among others. You can listen on your favourite podcast platform or their website.

6. Experience Kingston at Home

You can embrace the city’s festive spirit with Together at Home: For the Holidays, presented in partnership with the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts and The Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning. Cozy up with a hot drink and connect with Kingston’s makers, chefs, and musicians from the comfort of your own home with a series of festive videos. You can listen to the music of Miss Emily, learn to weave, or follow along with a spiced ginger cookie recipe!

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Meet the Maker: Jackie Marshall, 1000 Islands Soap Company

Years ago, Jackie Marshall started making soap in her kitchen as a hobby.  Now her business, 1000 Islands Soap Company, offers dozens of types and scents of soap, bath and shower products, and more. It’s all natural, and it’s all made by hand in her store at 339 King Street East.  

These days, of course, with COVID-19, business isn’t life as usual. While Jackie is still in the store, making products, taking calls, and filling online orders, she misses talking to customers in person. “People have always loved coming into the store and seeing me make the products,” she says. Customers (and Jackie’s own family members) have also had a hand in developing some of the new scents and products that 1000 Islands Soap offers.   

Take, for instance, a lotion that Jackie made for her mother-in-law back in 2012. That sore muscle rub is now a best seller, shipping to customers across Canada and internationally. Blended with aloe vera gel and eight different essential oils, the sore muscle rub works on arthritis pain, headache, and sore muscles. Some of Jackie’s customers use it preventatively before their jog or their golf game, to warm and relax their muscles. 

Jackie now makes a variety of specialty products, including a hot flash spray, a tick spray, and cold and flu products (including body butter, body spray, and shower steamer). And while many of these products utilize specially blended essential oils, there are unscented products, too. These include an unscented lotion bar specially made to soothe eczema.

A new product in 2020 was hand sanitizer, which Jackie initially made to help out local restaurants when there was a sanitizer shortage. “There was none on the shelves, so I had to do something quickly!” she says. She added aloe and vitamin E to her hand sanitizer, so it doesn’t dry out skin like harsher sanitizers (and it smells nice, too, thanks to a little lavender essential oil.) Due to customer demand, Jackie then offered the sanitizer for sale to the public. 

Another product created for a client, but now available for purchase, is the “Secret” line of bath and body products. Jackie created a special blend of patchouli, vanilla, mint, and grapefruit for Kingston’s Secret Garden Inn. The blend is an earthy and uplifting scent recreating the experience of being in the inn’s namesake garden.  The product line became so popular with the Secret Garden’s visitors that they – and others – can now bring the “Secret” experience home with them.  

As well as supplying products for local business, Jackie also purchases from them whenever she can. Her olive oil comes from Kingston Olive Oil Company.  Baking soda, citric acid, and herbs come from Tara Foods. And the coffee grounds for her exfoliating coffee scrubs come from Coffee & Company.  

“The local community is very supportive of each other,” says Jackie. “Right now, we’re all in the same boat and we don’t know what’s going to happen with COVID. But I’m still here.”  She’s also thinking of ideas to help people get through the pandemic together. One of her newest offerings is a bath bomb kit, which makes an excellent at-home craft project with the kids (or just a nice pampering exercise for yourself.)  

You can order online from 1000 Islands Soap Company at https://1000islandssoapco.com 

And follow the store on Facebook as well: Jackie often posts special offers (like the bath bomb kits) on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1000islandssoapco.  1000 Islands Soap Company offers curbside pick-up and free delivery within Kingston, as well as Canadian and international shipping. 

Tips from Jackie Marshall 

Feeling stressed? Different essential oils can help you relax or give you a boost.  Jackie recommends products with lavender to help you relax, and rose geranium for calming anxiety. Anything citrus-scented – orange, lemongrass, grapefruit – is uplifting, and peppermint is energizing. 

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Introducing Kingstonlicious 2022

Treat your tastebuds to a unique culinary experience with Kingstonlicious. With over a dozen participating restaurants from downtown to the west end, these special $45 prix fixe dine-in and/or takeout menus highlight heartwarming and cozy dishes. Meat-lovers, plant-based foodies, and culinary adventurists alike will enjoy the variety of dishes crafted to warm your tummy in the most delicious way possible.

The Kingstonlicious program launched in late January to reveal a vibrant mix of menus from Kingston’s finest eateries. Foodies can enjoy a night out (or a night in) with meals ranging from British to Mexican to German-themed flavours.

Course 2 at Smoke ‘N’ Barrel is a brisket plate comprising an eight ounce slow- smoked Texas-style brisket served with southern slaw and house-made BBQ baked beans.

AquaTerra offers sweet potato and lentil soup for their first course and chermoula tempeh or Moroccan lamb stew for the second. The experience gets even sweeter with vegan lassi cheesecake for dessert, made with salted pistachio sponge toffee, mango purée, and lemongrass-infused syrup.

Explore the flavours of Trinidad at Sally’s Roti Shop. Their takeout option is perfect for those looking to cozy up and dig in. Enjoy two roti shells, one meat, and one curry potato, plus rice and beans. This place is a local favourite for good reason!

Indulge your sweet tooth at Mesa Fresca with their apple chimichanga filled with tequila and Honeycrisp apple, fried in a flour tortilla, and topped with toasted oat and cinnamon crumble and salted whipped cream.

Dig into some crispy coconut shrimp, a creamy bean dip, or fresh Peruvian salad with Mesa Fresca’s appetizer options. This Mexican-fusion dinner also includes five options for the main course, along with apple chimichanga or lime pie for dessert. A bright hibiscus margarita as an add-on makes this experience a true treat.

Looking for a unique brunch option? Juniper Café’s exclusive menu is available seven days a week for dine-in and takeout. Select two breakfast sandwiches made with a fresh buttermilk biscuit (there’s a meat and a veggie option). Choose salad or coffee/tea and enjoy two white chocolate ganache and raspberry-topped brownies.

Take some time to connect with a friend or partner at the Secret Garden Inn. Afternoon tea or a two-course dinner is available from Wednesday to Sunday. Afternoon tea includes one savoury box (including delicious bites such as a chicken and cranberry salad sandwich) and one sweet box (ranging from scones to tarts and, of course, clotted cream). Two tins of loose-leaf tea plus sparkling wine are included. You can call to order takeout 24 hours in advance.

Plant-based and veggie diners are embraced at Kingstonlicious. There are several vegetarian options at AquaTerra and the Secret Garden Inn. Miss Bao offers a four-course menu that’s entirely plant-based, featuring mushroom bao and a warm spice-poached pear for dessert.

Jazz up date night with takeout from The Everly Wine Shop. You can browse and order online for pick up from Wednesday to Saturday. You’ll be wowed with wine and fresh charcuterie including olives, cheese, house-made terrine and truffle chips.

One of three options for your main at Wharf and Feather is the braised short rib (Ontario AAA). The dish includes beef short rib, crushed cheddar mash, wine-braised cabbage, braising jus reduction, and winter veggies. Every dinner option is made with local ingredients. Dine-in or takeout options are available Tuesday to Saturday evenings.

Many of the Kingstonlicious restaurants offer add-on options to take your experience to the next level. You can add desserts, cocktails, wine, or even local craft beer.

If you’re still hungry for more, Toast to Tapas offers unique appetizers using locally sourced ingredients for a special fixed price of $11.95 or $16.95 with a locally sourced beverage. Several restaurants are participating – with dine-in only – evenings from 5 to 7 pm for the month of February.

With food cooked from the heart, each Kingston eatery has carefully crafted their Kingstonlicious menus around what it means to be truly cozy.

You can discover this year’s exclusive Kingstonlicious experiences here: visitkingston.ca/kingstonlicious

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Insider Itinerary: Matt Salton, Reelout Queer Film Festival

I’ve been blessed to be making a living following my passions for film and social justice advocacy in my hometown of Kingston, Ontario as the executive director of the Reelout Arts Project. Representation, Respect, Inclusivity, and Education are pillars of my practice as an artist and as an advocate. Over the past 22 years, Reelout has given audiences a chance to see under-represented communities in the spotlight; it has also raised challenging dialogue amongst the LGBTQ+ communities and the larger community.  People are always surprised to learn that Kingston has sustained a large-scale queer film festival all these years. Here are my top five reasons why Kingston’s Reelout Queer Film Festival continues to dazzle.

The 22nd annual Reelout Queer Film Festival kicks off with our Reelout/Three Things Consulting Opening Selection films…

Posted by Reelout Queer Film + Video Festival on Monday, January 11, 2021

1. Local Business

Reelout’s sponsors are all locally owned businesses, many of which have supported the festival since its inception back in 1999. Even our current presenting sponsors are locally owned: Three Things Consulting and the Queen’s Positive Space program (through the Queen’s Human Rights Office). Our loyal family of sponsors and advertisers includes Novel Idea, The Optical Factory, HARS, Luce Hair Studio, Tir Nan Og, Shiva’s Delights, Sarah MacInnis Real Estate Team, Annie Clifford Barrister & Solicitor, and The Grand Theatre, just to name a few.

 

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2. Collaboration and Inclusivity

Reelout collaborates with Kingston City Hall, Tourism Kingston, Kingston Film Office, Downtown Kingston BIA, Queen’s University, and other arts and service organizations in many ways. The most important connection for all parties is to promote inclusivity. We all share the desire to reach out and acknowledge our region’s diverse populations; Reelout’s mission is to serve audiences focusing on films focused on age, race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and health. We all recognize that together we can achieve social progress by learning from our history and building a future that is inclusive and conscientious of its privilege. Kingston’s cultural communities and institutions work stronger in tandem and it shows.

 

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3. Volunteerism

For the 2021 festival, Reelout received seven times our usual number of submissions, with roughly 1020 titles submitted between May and September. The festival is programmed by a committee of 12 local volunteers who represent a microcosm of our diverse audiences. It was their daunting task to review all the submissions and then make their official selections. Our board of directors includes artists, business owners, administrators, health care workers, and students and we have roughly 40 volunteers (who we’ll miss in 2021) many of whom return year after year to help put smiles on faces.

 

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4. The Films

In 2021, we ended up with 68 films from 18 different countries. It is important that our festival represent the vast diversity of the LGBTQ+ communities but also that the films themselves include a wide variety of styles and genres. One of my favorite highlights for this year would be the shorts program, She’s Realing Out: Documentary Shorts by Women. It features some intimate, experimental storytelling but also more traditional-style documentary shorts, including Sarah Wylie’s The Garden Collective, about formerly incarcerated women of the Prison for Women Memorial Collective as they work to build a memorial garden on the grounds of the former prison in Kingston, Ontario.

 

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5. Good Vibrations

It’s no accident that the festival reels out in the dead of winter. Yes, the weather at the end of January/early February can be frightful; we’ve felt it was important to create a space that promotes good vibrations during the darkest period in many of our lives annually.  Film has a transformative power to help us escape from our troubles or even just the cold, grey environment around us. We take pride in our welcoming, inclusive environment and we know that many friendships and relationships have been sparked at our festival. We know that kindling that type of community will be difficult this year, but we are busy at work creating virtual chat spaces that will go online after several of our programs so that people can connect and chat about the movies they’ve just watched. Now more than ever, Reelout wants to give our audiences a reason to smile and to add some warmth to their hearts.

To view all films playing at Reelout 2021, please visit their website.

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Insider Itinerary: Anna Ruck of StruckBlog

It’s that time of year again. The holidays are over and things can start to feel dreary. When you compound that with living through a pandemic, lockdown life, and everything we have endured in 2020, it’s understandable if you feel bleak about the coming weeks of January.

January can be a tough month. Although the new year brings with it a fresh start, here in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, we’ll be heading into the new year in quarantine.

Credit: Rob Whelan Photography

Like many, you may be asking yourself the following questions:

What activities can we do and how do I keep my kids entertained this winter?

How can we keep our spirits up during dreary winter days in lockdown?

If you’re looking for safe activities to do in town this winter, things in Downtown Kingston are looking bright! Witnessing my toddler gawk in awe at all the lights and festivities that our downtown core has to offer reminded me to appreciate the beauty.

Credit: Rob Whelan Photography

Why Visit Downtown Kingston?

Exploring Downtown Kingston and taking in the sights is a great family activity at any time, but this year the city has gone all out decorating with the most stellar light installation to date. We headed downtown to check it out as a family of three (and a half) and it was a great way to spend an evening. If you’re looking for something to do with the whole family in the middle of a pandemic winter, exploring Downtown Kingston is a safe, outdoor activity you can do any day of the week. A little sparkle and local love are sure to lift your spirits even in the darkest days of January.

Credit: Rob Whelan Photography

What to do while in Downtown Kingston?

Food & Dining: Although many businesses have been forced to shut their doors during the Ontario-wide lockdown (until Jan. 23rd, 2021 at present time), our local restaurants will still be offering take-out/delivery. You can see a full updated list of your options for dining here.

Which Kingston restaurants are offering delivery and take-out? Find the full list here.

If you’d rather pick up a few ingredients to whip up a meal at home, consider supporting local and stocking up at our downtown food and grocery stores. You can refer to a list here if you’re not sure where to find the ingredients you’ll need (just be sure to call ahead/do your research so you’re aware of hours and restrictions).

For some recipe inspiration, you could make these ginger-spiced cookies, a charcuterie board, dips, or cocktails and mocktails by following tutorials from Kingston’s finest culinary professionals.

Credit: Rob Whelan Photography

Skating: take a skate with our historic City Hall as your backdrop. Be aware, that safety precautions are in effect (you can review them here). In the evenings the ice surface is beautifully lit, as is the surrounding area. Bring the kids along and let them work up a sweat. They’ll surely sleep well that night!

Credit: Rob Whelan Photography

Take a Stroll: the city has gone above and beyond this year with the light installations in and around Springer Market Square, City Hall, and the Visitor Information Centre. The best part is, they’ll be up well past the holiday season, all the way through to March! Use the opportunity to have a family photo shoot (just as we did with Rob Whelan who did an amazing job) while basking in the glow of the lights. You’ll find the lights easily in the immediate area of the square, with many optimal spots for a photo op. Dozens of local businesses are also displaying glowing neon hearts in their storefront windows. Why not have the kids count how many they can spot as you meander down the street to keep them entertained? And if you haven’t already played tourist in your own city and stood in place of the “I” in Kingston, now is the time!

For the full list of things to do, visit Anna’s website here.

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Meet the Maker: Cha Cha Tea

Cha Cha Tea | 506 Days Road | Website

The word for “tea” in Japanese is “cha.” And “tea” in Chinese is also “cha.” And when Kaoru Miller’s first daughter was just a toddler, she called her mom “Cha Cha.” So it was obvious to Kaoru exactly what she should name her tea store when she opened the Kingston business in 2006: Cha Cha Tea.

Kaoru loves tea – so much so that she became a certified tea sommelier. She has studied the various types of camellia senensis, the plant from which all teas – white, green, and black – come, and the regions where it is grown. She is knowledgeable in food pairings and tea blending. (She created the house blend of tea for Days on Front restaurant.)

Cha Cha Tea carries a wide selection – about 80 different kinds – of black, green, and white teas, as well as herbal infusions.

Kaoru Miller carries more than 80 kinds of tea at Cha Cha Tea | Credit: Garrett Elliott

Black tea comes in many varieties. There are those that come from a single estate: these include Assam, Ceylon, Darjeeling, and Kenyan. Like wine grapes that come from a single vineyard, single estate tea leaves are picked from a single tea garden.

There are also blended black teas, like the popular Breakfast types (English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, and Canadian Breakfast). And there are flavoured varieties, like Earl Grey, a black tea with bergamot oil for a citrus twist. Cha Cha Tea has a number of variations on the Earl Grey classic, like its Buckingham Palace Garden Tea Party blend, which includes jasmine and green tea leaves for a more delicate flavour.

And then there’s the green tea. “Ninety-five per cent of the green tea grown in Japan stays in Japan,” says Kaoru. “It was really hard for me to find good-quality, fresh green tea outside of Japan.” But she persevered, finally connecting with the owner of a small Japanese tea garden. Now she buys directly from the grower and is able to offer fresh green tea, from this year’s crop, to her discerning customers.

White tea is also very delicate in flavour: it is white because its leaves hadn’t yet opened when they were picked. “When sunshine hits tea leaves, they start to produce tannin,” Kaoru explains. Tannin creates the colour in black tea and also its bitterness.

Kaoru holds a mug made by local potter Ikuko Hall. Cha Cha Tea carries a number of pieces by local artisans, as well as tea accessories | Credit: Garrett Elliott

Kaoru likes to start her day with a cup of black tea. In the afternoon, she switches to Oolong tea. (Oolong leaves are partially oxidized, somewhere between white and black leaves.) “And with Oolong tea, you can re-use the same leaves many times,” she says. And at night, a soothing peppermint tisane is a favourite.

She also sells children’s teas, for kids who want to join their parents in an at-home tea party. But the children’s “teas” are made with dried herbs and fruits, not the actual leaf of camellia senensis, so they don’t have any caffeine.

So, what’s your preference? A cup of fruity Rooibos tea or a calming infusion of lemongrass with turmeric? If you’re overwhelmed about the selection at Cha Cha Tea, or just want to try something new, Kaoru can point you to a tea that matches your mood or the occasion. Each package of tea comes with specific steeping instructions according to its type, so you can brew each cup to perfection. You can visit Cha Cha Tea at 506 Days Road (at Gardiners Road) or shop online at www.chachatea.com (free shipping in Canada is offered for orders of $58 or more.)

Sidebar: How long can you keep tea?

Tea doesn’t go bad, but it does lose its flavour over time. Kaoru recommends that green and white teas be consumed within three months, and black teas within six months, of purchasing.

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Kingston Culinary Guide: the Holidays

Last updated December 10, 2020. 

Kingston is known for its vibrant culinary scene: holiday dinners are taken seriously here. From classic turkey dinners to snackable boxes with local goodies, discover what offerings Kingston restaurants have for you to enjoy for the holidays.

Are we missing a holiday special? Please contact Lexy (lexy@tourismkingston.com) to add it to the list.

AquaTerra

Christmas Day prix fixe

Includes one appetizer, one main, and a dessert trilogy. Dig into your choice of parsnip and apple soup or butternut squash and quinoa salad for an appetizer. A main of maple Dijon-crusted prime rib, pistachio and cranberry stuffed turkey, berbere Chinook salmon, or yam and mushroom arancini. Finally, finish off with three desserts: pumpkin and dark chocolate bread pudding, egg nog crème brulée, and peppermint bark cheesecake. Order by December 23 for pickup or eat in and make a reservation!

Price: $62 per person | $28 wine pairing

New Year’s Eve tasting menus

Looking for the perfect New Year’s Eve feast? AquaTerra is hosting a six-course tasting menu with a vegan-friendly option. This menu has everything, from ceviche, soup, pastas, striploin or ponzu marinated seitan, and a triple chocolate dessert! Order by December 28 for pickup on New Year’s Eve or make a reservation to dine in!

NYE tasting menu price: $90 per person | $40 wine pairing

NYE vegan tasting menu: $70 per person | $40 wine pairing

The Grocery Basket

You’ll be the talk of the party when you bring along one of the Grocery Basket’s delicious charcuterie boards made with local meats, cheeses, and spreads. Choose between their regular board (serves 2–4) or try their large board (serves 6–8). These curated boards feature familiar local suppliers like Seed to Sausage, Stonetown Cheese, Bresaola, and Henderson Farms.

Price: $44 for a regular board, $125 for a large board

Black Dog Hospitality Group

All Black Dog Hospitality Group restaurant locations will be open for in-house dining and takeout. They will be offering their regular in-house menus along with special features. Want to dine at home for New Year’s Eve? They will be offering a take-home dinner to be re-heated at home. Check out these specials from Atomica, Black Dog Tavern, and Dianne’s Fish Shack and Smokehouse below!

Atomica Kitchen and Cocktails

Start off with seared Nova Scotia scallops (with butternut squash velouté, chorizo jam, pea shoots) followed by delicious Enright Cattle Co. beef short ribs. Finally, dig into a chocolate dome (luxardo cherries, chocolate torte, whipped cream, chocolate shell) dessert! Email info@atomica.ca by Monday, December 27 at 5pm for pickup on Friday, December 31.

Price: $100 for two

Black Dog Tavern

Black Dog Tavern will be serving up a wedge salad (iceberg lettuce, bacon lardons, slow-roasted cherry tomatoes, blue cheese dressing, and crispy shallots), Enright Cattle Co. prime rib au jus, and a dessert of eggnog crème brulée! Email info@bdtavern.com by Monday, December 27 at 5pm for pickup on Friday, December 31.

Price: $110 for two

Dianne’s Fish Shack & Smokehouse

Dig into a southwestern clam chowder, a slow-braised lamb (braising liquid reduction, garlic-spun mashed potatoes, and sauteed rapini) at Dianne’s Fish Shack & Smokehouse. Finally, finish off with an Opera Cake for dessert (almond cake, coffee buttercream, and chocolate ganache)! Email info@dianneskingston.com by Monday, December 27 at 5pm for pickup on Friday, December 31.

Price: $90 for two

Knifey Spooney Kingston

This year, Knifey Spooney Kingston will be offering packaged, ready-to-bake meals for an easy holiday feast! Their holiday menu includes a seitan wellington, pecan-orange sweet potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, roasted potatoes, pomegranate roast Brussels sprouts, and eggnog cheesecake with cranberry coulis! Order by December 17 or until they sell out.

Price: $50 for one, $150 for family

Just looking for holiday treats? Try out their gluten-free cookie box featuring toasted walnut snowballs, almond peppermint brownies, Nanaimo bars, iced sugar cookies, and brownie cookie bars. Order by December 17 or until they sell out.

Price: $45

Jessup Food and Heritage, Renaissance

Christmas candlelight dining

This year, Renaissance will be offering both Christmas candlelight dining and a turkey takeout dinner. Dine in and enjoy a three-course meal. The first course includes your choice of the chef’s soup of the day or holiday garden salad. For the second course, enjoy a roast turkey dinner, beef bourguignon, baked salmon napoleon, or mixed rustic mushroom étouffée. Finally, dig into French Canadian sugar pie, English sherry trifle, or apple-cranberry crumble for dessert! Reserve your spot online.

Price: $35 per person | $25 for main course only | $8 for any starter with dessert

Turkey takeout dinner

Enjoy a classic roast turkey dinner for $18.95 that includes dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, turnip casserole, and cranberry sauce (individually packed and chilled with reheat instructions). Order online or by phone (613-530-2550) for pickup from December 22 through December 23.

Price: $18.95 per person

Pan Chancho Bakery

Let Pan Chancho Bakery & Café take care of you this holiday season. Their holiday feast for six includes roasted turkey breast with a pear-brandy glaze and stuffed with dried fruit chutney, plus cranberry sauce, turkey gravy, green beans with tarragon and orange zest, garlic-and-herb mashed potatoes, freshly baked buns, and dessert. Available December 22, 23, and 24 only. Order online.

Price: $40 holiday feast for one | $200 holiday feast for six

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The sights and sounds of the holidays

As the December days grow darker, downtown Kingston has grown a little – no, make that a lot –  brighter. Now’s the perfect time to bundle up and take in – safely – the sights and sounds of the city.

Princess Street trees and lampposts from Division to Ontario Street have been festooned with lights. The street is lit up every night, making an evening stroll downtown feel a little more magical.

Credit: Tim Forbes

Businesses all around the downtown core are showing their love for Kingston, each with a neon heart displayed in the window. If you want to show your own love for Kingston, walk over to Ontario Street and grab a selfie in front of the Love sign at Confederation Basin or with the giant heart next to the Kingston sign at the Visitor Information Centre. Across the street, Kingston City Hall is lit up each night with blue and white snowflake projections.

Credit: Garrett Elliott

While the Visitor Information Centre will be lit up with festive decor, you can also experience a variety of live music at this iconic spot. Music Made in Kingston at the Visitor Information Centre takes place Saturday and Sunday from December 4th to December 19th, 12:00 pm to 2 pm. For more information, check out the Facebook Event page and discover who you’ll be listening to the next time you’d like to take a weekend, wintry stroll.

Starting December 13th right until the 24th participating downtown businesses will be keeping the lights on and doors open longer for extended shopping hours so you can take your time finding the perfect holiday gift. Don’t forget your Downtown Dollars – they work exactly like a gift card and can be purchased in $10, $20, and $50 increments. Downtown Dollars can be used at over 120 businesses in Downtown Kingston and are used just like cash. Not only are Downtown Dollars a great gift for someone you love, but they also help support our small businesses by encouraging local shopping and dining.

Looking for a way to make your holiday shopping even better? Shoppers can pick up their Holiday Shopping Passport at participating businesses and for a purchase of $10 or more collect a winter sticker to begin filling in their passport. Once you gather 5 stickers on your passport, you can submit it online or at participating businesses to win Downtown Kingston’s weekly $500 Downtown Dollar draw. All passports will also be entered into a grand prize draw for a $2500 Downtown Dollar Shopping Spree. Businesses will be giving out stickers and collecting passports until December 24th and winners are drawn weekly. You can view participating businesses and submit your Holiday Shopping passport here.

Just window shopping? A number of downtown businesses have put up special holiday window displays. Vote online for your favourite Window Wonderland display, and you’ll be entered into a draw for a $50 certificate to the winning store.

Credit: Tim Forbes

If you’re wandering around downtown, make sure to stop at Santa’s Village for a quick picture with the 24/7 Selfie Santa. Make sure to bring a letter for Santa to drop in the mailbox too — located on the corner of Brock St right next to the Zamboni hut at City Hall.

You can celebrate the season at the Holiday Market, featuring a variety of local artisans and musicians. From December 10th until the 12th, you can browse and shop at this family-friendly event while being serenaded by local musicians. The tented market will be located at the corner of Ontario St and Brock St, right beside City Hall. For more information about the market, live events, and opening hours, visit the Downtown Kingston website.

The skating rink at the square will be opening any day now, for you and your family to take a spin on the ice. (Check the City of Kingston website for rink hours and physical distancing guidelines.).

Looking for a new holiday playlist? Here it is: “A Very YGK Holiday,” featuring talented local musicians Miss Emily, Leonid Nediak, Cameron Wyatt, and Abby Stewart. Stream it on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/visitkingston/sets/a-very-ygk-holiday

Mondays just got a little more fun! Every Monday until December 13th, Downtown Kingston will release a new Pewter ornament from their annual five-piece series of historic Kingston buildings & landmarks. For $10 each, you can take home a limited edition item to celebrate your love for Kingston. For more information about where you can purchase and a glimpse at some of the ornaments that have been already released, visit the Downtown Kingston website.

If you’re craving more seasonal activities to do at home, check out the activities in the Together at Home video series holiday edition. Take in a concert, make spiced ginger cookies with the kids, create your own holiday wreath, or take a dance class with some of the Limestone City’s most talented artists and creators.

Credit: Tim Forbes
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Meet the Maker: Begin Again Group

A bag from Begin Again Group is elegant in its simplicity. Each sleek, black bag boasts subtle details: tiny silver rivets, a delicately braided handle, elegant hardware.  Each bag also incorporates a small snowflake in its design, a symbol of its unique nature, and a connection with its maker.

Begin Again Group is a social enterprise that creates unique, stylish bags out of recycled rubber. But it’s more than that.  It is also a small community of women, most of whom are new Canadians. Through the group, they have learned design, construction, marketing, and business skills, all while building their new lives in Kingston.

Designer Carolyn Butts has been working with recycled materials for several years at her studio Bon Eco Design in Tamworth. Her work, she says, “is rooted in appreciation of nature and honouring the material, the human resources, and the natural resources that go into making these commodities that we consume, and often discard.”  By recycling materials in her design work, she says, “I’m respecting the materials, I’m respecting the people that made them, and I’m respecting nature.”

Members of the Begin Again Group putting together bags.

Carolyn started Begin Again Group in 2017 as a project with KEYS Employment Centre through its mentorship program for refugee women. The collaboration grew, becoming a profit-sharing social enterprise. It was incorporated last year.

The material used in the bags is rubber. So not only are the bags made from recycled material, they are also waterproof, easy to clean, and vegan. But that rubber is also from tractor tire inner tubes, adding another layer to the story of new beginnings. “Those tires once helped plough fields, and grow food,” says Carolyn. The material is imbued with identity, just as the purse is then imbued with the identity of the woman who manufactured it.

Each bag incorporates a snowflake pattern unique to its creator. “I wanted to celebrate each person, their uniqueness and style,” says Carolyn. On the Begin Again Group website, you can read about each of the creators. As well as Carolyn, there’s Eman, Farah, and Mariam, all originally from Syria; there’s Sitelbanat, from Sudan; there’s Fatima, from Morocco; and there’s Sanaa, who came to Kingston originally from Iraq and then Syria.

Sanaa Zaki is no stranger to starting over.  In Iraq, she once had a career in public relations for a government ministry. But she and her family had to flee their country, leaving everything behind, their home, all their possessions. “I left with my family because of the miserable conditions there,” she says.” They found their way to Syria, where they lived for eight years.  Then, in 2015, Sanaa and her family were able to come to Canada. In Kingston, she started studying English language classes, began volunteering at a retirement home, and also found her way to KEYS, where she became involved in the Begin Again Group.

“My work in my country was very different from this,” Sanaa says. “We all had to learn how to fabricate and to design the purses. But we all also brought something of our culture to the project.  And with this project, I have learned to communicate with other people in English. I have developed my language skills.”  She also credits her son and daughter for encouraging her not to give up.  “And after a few months, we were able to produce handbags. Each of these purses carry the unique story of each of us, as well as the material we use.”

The communal aspect of their work has always been a big part of the enterprise. Friday afternoons were always when the group gathered, most recently at Cooke’s-Portsmouth United Church in Kingston. However, they haven’t been able to work together since March.

But you can still purchase the bags they each made before the pandemic started. On their website, you can explore their work and their stories, and become a part of new beginnings. www.beginagaingroup.ca

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A takeout food tour of Kingston

Atomica pizza

Bored with your own cooking? Want to sample some terrific local cuisine? Heather Ford, of Kingston Food Tours, helps us discover some of the best dining experiences in Kingston to take out.

Heather Ford has a passion for food, and she loves introducing people to the talented restaurateurs and chefs of Kingston. And though her in-person food tours of downtown Kingston are on hold for now, she wants to share some of her recommendations for your next dinner. And they include not just the restaurants of downtown Kingston, but some west end gems.

West End Restaurants

Days on Front carrot cake

Days on Front

730 Front Road
Open Wednesday through Saturday
613-766-9000

“Days on Front is one of my favourite spots,” she says. “I think Matt [Day] is doing such an excellent job. he’s just true to the kind of cuisine; it’s fresh and local. The menu is not huge, but I respect that, because you know it’s going to be super fresh.”

Days on Front lists all the local ingredients used in its menu, from fruits and vegetables to meats and cheeses. Its takeout menu offers six appetizers (one vegetarian) and six mains (one vegetarian) with gluten-free options for some dishes. Wine and desserts are also available for takeout, for those who want to create a full romantic dinner at home.

Bella Bistro/Bella Market

4050 Bath Road
613-634-4050
Open Wednesday through Saturday

Farther west, Heather recommends Bella Bistro. Family favourites include a variety of pizzas like arancine (risotto croquettes served with marinara sauce). Attached to the restaurant is Bella Market, where you can pick up many of the restaurant’s frozen entrees, from soups to pizza, as well as fresh baguettes and sourdough loaves.

The Red House West

629 Fortune Crescent
613-384-3999
Open daily

The Red House Downtown

369 King Street East
613-767-2558
Open daily

In the mood for comfort food? Heather recommends The Red House (which has both downtown and west end locations). “They also have these most amazing buttermilk breaded chicken bites, which are delectable. So, they do a nice turn on things that are classic pub cuisine, but at a higher level. They really focus on local ingredients as well.”

Downtown Restaurants

“Downtown Kingston is perfect for a self-guided food tour,” says Heather. “It’s very easy to walk from place to place. Even before I did food tours, I would often have a bit of a progressive dinner: a drink and tapas here, a main course somewhere else, and stop somewhere for dessert on the way home. It’s a fun way to eat.”

Pan Chancho Bakery

44 Princess Street
(613) 544-7790
Open daily

If you want to do a picnic at home, Heather recommends ordering online from Pan Chancho, where you can choose from a dizzying array of breads, cheeses, salads and sandwiches, prepared meals, and desserts. Heather’s favourite Pan Chancho treat is a decadent maple chômeur, a traditional Quebecois pudding cake.

 

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Tango Nuevo

331 King Street East
(613) 548-3778
Open Tuesday through Sunday

Tango Nuevo also offers many of its menu items to go, from charcuterie to tacos (and gluten-free options are available on request). So you can still enjoy the communal tapas experience at home with family: just pick up two or three small plates per person. “Tango Nuevo has so many interesting things,” says Heather, “not just Spanish tapas but tapas from all over the world. Their Brussels sprouts [served with garlic yoghurt, almond dukkah, and pomegranate jelly] are super. I’ve never been disappointed with any of their plates.”

Atomica pizza

Black Dog Tavern

69 Brock Street
613-549-5635
Open Tuesday through Sunday

Atomica

71 Brock Street
613-530-2118
Open daily

The Black Dog Tavern also offers a number of sharing plates that are perfect for an at-home picnic. It also offers main courses that you might want to keep all to yourself, like its lobster mac and cheese, a favourite of Heather’s. “Then you can go next door to Atomica, where they have a very interesting selection of vegan offerings. They’ve done a really good job of that. And I think their thin-crust pizza is the best in town.”

Olivea pasta

Olivea

39 Brock Street
613-547-5483
Open daily

Olivea offers a weekly dinner-for-two series (Friday and Saturday only: limited quantities available). Order ahead of time, pick up curbside, and reheat and enjoy at home. Check the website to see what the next special will be: past offerings have included lasagne al forno and osso buco with saffron risotto (one of Heather’s personal favourites). But if you miss out on the weekly special, you can still enjoy the restaurant’s regular offerings, in-house or to take out. The restaurant also now has an in-house pantry, where you can grab to-go salads and sandwiches as well as frozen entrees and more.

Restaurant hours and menu items are subject to change; contact each restaurant directly for up-to-date dining options.

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25 of our favourite things during the holidays

We’ll say it. Winter is the most wonderful time of the year, especially with a list as hot as this! This year, we asked you to share your favourite things to do during the holiday season. From brunching at your favourite restaurants to hiking snowy trails, Kingston will keep you busy all winter long.

The Tourism Kingston staff and partner organizations also picked their favourites for the holidays. You can get in touch with us here.

Do you have an event you’d like featured on our monthly list? Add it to our Kingston events calendar for consideration!

Click each image for more information.

1. Kingston Brew Pub’s delish wings + the best grilled cheese

Kingston Brew Pub's delish wings + the best grilled cheese

2. Skating downtown with City Hall as the backdrop

Skating downtown with City Hall as the backdrop

3. Picking up baked goodies at Card’s Bakery

Picking up baked goodies at Card's Bakery

4. Listening to the latest Miss Emily Album “Live at the Isabel”

Listening to the latest Miss Emily Album "Live at the Isabel"

5. Wagon Rides and Carolers on Saturdays

Wagon Rides and Carolers on Saturdays

6. Enjoying cheesecake from Milestones

Enjoying cheesecake from Milestones

7. Grab a chai latte from Coffee & Company + walk along the Waterfront Path

Grab a chai latte from Coffee & Company + walk along the Waterfront Path

8. Enjoying a warm bowl of soup from The Soup Can on a cold day

Enjoying a warm bowl of soup from The Soup Can on a cold day

9. Lunch and a pint at Red House

Lunch and a pint at Red House

10. Brunch at Northside

Brunch at Northside

11. Collect all four of Kingston’s Classic Pewter Ornaments

Collect all four of Kingston's Classic Pewter Ornaments

12. Shop vintage finds at What’ll I Wear

Shop vintage finds at What'll I Wear

13. Together at Home for the Holidays videos

Together at Home for the Holidays videos

14. Exploring the Creativity Studios at the Tett Centre

Exploring the Creativity Studios at the Tett Centre

15. In-person and online performances at the Isabel Bader Centre

In-person and online performances at the Isabel Bader Centre

16. Snowy walks + feeding chickadees

Snowy walks + feeding chickadees

17. Deluxe red dragon rolls from Sima Sushi

Deluxe red dragon rolls from Sima Sushi

18. PumpHouse museum tours

PumpHouse museum tours

19. Perusing the cool toys at Minotaur

Perusing the cool toys at Minotaur

20. Spa treatment + pampering at Cher-Mere

Spa treatment + pampering at Cher-Mere

21. Enjoying the lights + tree at Market Square

Enjoying the lights + tree at Market Square

22. Playing board games at Wonderland Kingston

Playing board games at Wonderland Kingston

23. Walking the shoreline at Lemoine Point

Walking the shoreline at Lemoine Point

24. Shopping and viewing decorated window displays

Shopping and viewing decorated window displays

25. Craft beer from Daft Brewing Company

Craft beer from Daft Brewing Company

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On location in Kingston: Locke & Key

Series filmed partially in Kingston airs on Netflix Oct. 22

Eleven months ago, the block around Springer Market Square was transformed, thanks to a television production crew. The lower half of the square was cordoned off to foot traffic. Ontario Street was lined with mobile units, cranes, and lighting equipment. The sunken basin directly behind Kingston City Hall had been turned into a modern, unmistakably British, outdoor market, with booths featuring Union Jack flags and souvenir T-shirts promoting the English city of Bath.

But for several hours that day, all attention was focused just across the street, just next to the Tir Nan Og. Dozens of film crew, all wearing PPE, worked among the cameras and lighting equipment focused on one doorway. Two actors, dressed in contemporary clothes, moved in and out of the doorway, doing take after take. Just out of frame, extras dressed in Georgian period costume stood patiently, waiting for their cues. Around the corner, in front of City Hall, a double-decker bus promoted scenic tours of Bath. Was this a time travel scene? A flashback? The storyline is still a closely guarded secret, but for one day, a single Kingston block was transported in both time and space for an episode of the Netflix series Locke & Key.


This month, catch the second season of Locke & Key on Netflix and, in episode 4, see if you can spot some familiar places…and faces. if you’ve ever taken a winter wagon ride through downtown Kingston, then you’ve already met some of the cast of Locke & Key. Rick White, of White’s Rides on Wolfe Island, and his horses Kate and Allie were extras in the episode shot in Kingston.

The second season of Locke & Key premieres on Netflix on October 22.

Dennis Chapman, production manager on Locke & Key
Dennis Chapman, production manager on Locke & Key | Credit: Garrett Elliott

Production manager Dennis Chapman gave us a behind-the-scenes look at how the shoot came together:

“The script inspires the location, obviously,” he said, “and this script is set in Bath, England. But we’re not going to take our crew there for just a one-day shoot. So, the locations people do a lot of research; they look at all the resources in locations that might substitute for Bath. From the beginning, the designer of the show liked Kingston for the location…We always do what we can to honour the script and the vision of the director and the designer.”

“We showed the pictures [of Kingston] to the showrunners in Los Angeles; the director loved it. So, we did a scout here to see how it would all work out. Then the location manager took over and dealt with all the logistics. We brought in the key grip, the key gaffer, his riggers, the art department, the set decorators, and everyone figured out – in one day – how we are going to make this block of Kingston look like Bath. Then we went back to Toronto and got on with the rest of the shoot.”

Credit: Garrett Elliott

“A few days before we started shooting in Kingston, the decorators and rigging grips landed here.  [Members of the Locke & Key crew stayed in Kingston for six days in total, although the shoot itself was only one day.] They put up all the towers, they put up the lights for the night shoot, and they dressed the set. The whole process takes weeks to put together, and on a feature film, you might work on a scene for three months. Not continuously – you’re working on other scenes at the same time. I remember when I was working on [the 1997 film] Mimic with Guillermo del Toro: he had one shot set in Union Station in New York. I worked on that one shot for two or three months. I never accomplished exactly what Guillermo wanted in that shot, but I got close!”  [The shot involved a crane balanced on a scaffold to allow a camera to pull back, moving from a frame of a single person to one showing a crowd of 700 people.]

Locke & Key production crew on location in Kingston
Locke & Key production crew on location in Kingston | Credit: Garrett Elliott

Chapman, a 1975 Queen’s film graduate, loved being back in Kingston for the shoot. “Everybody has been enthusiastic about us being here. I would love to come back, to bring other shows here.”

The economic impact of the production for the local economy was significant. The cast and crew booked more than 500 hotel rooms during their stay. Overall, the shoot had more than $150,000 in direct economic impact for the community. And the Kingston community was so welcoming, the production team wanted to say thank you.

Credit: Garrett Elliott

“We were consistently impressed with the welcome that the city offered to us,” says producer Kevin Lafferty. “We found it to be a fantastic place to work and the shoot was a total success. We wanted to give back some of the goodwill we felt from the city, and as several of our crew members are graduates of Film and Media at Queen’s, we felt making a donation to the school to aid the up-and-coming filmmakers there was the best way of paying it forward.” The $10,000 donation will go towards workshops and other training for film students at Queen’s.

After the Kingston shoot wrapped up, the crew of Locke & Key moved on to their next location. This episode had shoots in both Toronto and Cambridge.  Season two of the supernatural drama series is scheduled to air on Netflix in late 2021.