COVID-19 is affecting the lives of every one of us.
The businesses that advertise on the pages of COUNTRY ROADS magazine are all doing their best to ride out this pandemic and still be here when the virus is not! To help we’ve put together a list with contact information for advertisers from the Spring 2020 issue. Check with them for their current operating details.
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Read More →By Heather-Anne Wakeling - Tourists travelling through Hastings County always mention the magnificent views. However, with interest in reducing carbon footprints and participating in eco-friendly excursions, vacationers are opting to trade their vehicles for bicycles. As they pedal along Heritage Trails and the TransCanada Highway, otherwise known as Highway 7, people create wonderful memories as they re-discover just how slow travel can unveil our area’s natural beauty in intimate, physical detail.
The beautiful municipality of Marmora & Lake is home to many unique businesses. Check out what you can find from the merchants of Marmora.
Story and photos by Victor Schukov - Natural born artists stand out at a very young age and usually, if not eventually, will display their multiple talents. Lorraine Shalitis was born in Kingston, and raised in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Her Mom often said that Shalitis was painting, drawing and singing before she could even talk.
Stirling-Rawdon is a charming rural community with vibrant towns and hamlets. Explore the many exciting businesses located in this beautiful part of Hastings County.
By Andy Sparling. - Missing two-year-old dogs don’t tend to survive outside for four days and nights in Belleville’s early November weather. But Lucy did. And it looks like Lucy may have made it on foot across a good chunk of southern Hastings County — and back again — before crawling into bed and waking her beloved owner Kristy Sinclair in an almost magical return home.
The Bancroft region offers residents and visitors access to lakes, forests, parks, golf courses, theatres and museums, cultural and sporting events, recreation trails, and is home to many unique businesses. CONTACT EACH BUSINESS TO LEARN THEIR OPERATING CONDITIONS AT THIS TIME. Learn more about this lovely community at www.bancroft.ca
By Barry Penhale- At a neighbourly gathering at our farmhouse, a guest now into her 80s brought up the topic of pen pals — a term that today seems quaint and out-of-fashion. As it turned out our neighbour has kept up a cherished correspondence with two childhood friends for over seventy years. Just imagine the history these three faithful friends have witnessed and documented as they recorded, page by page, their daily experiences, in letters that have regularly made their way across the country.
Madoc, located in the Community with the Big Heart in the Municipality of Centre Hastings is home to a wide variety of local businesses with exceptional products and services. CONTACT EACH BUSINESS TO LEARN THEIR CURRENT OPERATING CONDITIONS. Learn more about this lovely community at www.centrehastings.com
By Shelley Wildgen - Sleepy, slothy, comfy, cozy… everything that keeps us under the blankets all winter long. Just try to beat that cold-outside-no problem-inside, roll-over-after-the-snooze-alarm charm? Impossible. It’s the bliss enjoyed by all hibernating humans … unless, of course, you’re a morning person, all hopped up because your spring-time fresh season has just arrived!
One of the highest inhabited areas in Ontario, a short distance North of Bancroft on the way to Algonquin Park, Maynooth is noted for beautiful sunsets, a vibrant art scene, and friendly shop owners. Contact each business to learn their current operating details. To learn more about Maynooth and Hastings Highlands www.hastingshighlands.ca
By John Hopkins - We generally live in a world of trade offs in this part of the country. The price we pay for beautiful summer weather is the aggravation of a wide assortment of pesky bugs. On the other hand, while we deal with the cold, ice and snow of winter, traditionally we have the advantage of an absence of insects. This delicate balance is one of the most maddening, but also strangely beautiful aspects of nature.
By Angela Hawn.
One need only look at the plethora of annual studio tours, craft shows, galleries and art shops in Hastings County to know that there is plenty of talent out there. These clever and innovative artists and artisans come from all walks of life, some of them born and bred in the area, others are happy to call Hastings County their new home. And lovers of the arts are happy to welcome them. Thinking of setting off on your own art tour? Here are just a few ideas to help get you started.
By Lindi Pierce - The road heads north through the Cambrian Shield landscape, snaking around wetlands, climbing over rocky outcrops, past ancient maples and pine plantations.
By Victor Schukov - Born in Tomsk, Siberia, which is a university town of over 500,000 people, Antonia Vassilieva-Durham emigrated from her homeland at the age of 44, with a Ph.D. in microbiology, and extensive experience in the field of agricultural development by bio-technology.
By Barry Penhale- Since 1994, a charming sprawling building, known to many as the Houston House, has been adapted to serve as home to the Tweed & Area Heritage Centre. Here, all in one can be found: an information bureau, art gallery, museum, and archives. Annual visitors to this fascinating complex find themselves warmly greeted by one of Ontario’s best informed and most dedicated heritage advocates — the site’s genial curator Evan Morton.
By Shelley Wildgen - “If we line ‘em up in the banks, it’ll be amaaaaazing!” So my dear friend Susan said while prying a bedraggled, tinsel strewn tree off of its frozen landing-pad. We were strolling the wintry Belleville streets a week or so after the Christmas of ’72. Susan was a born leader.
By John Hopkins - In my last column I had indicated that we had adopted a dog, but my terminology might not have been completely accurate. Oh, she sleeps in our house, eats her meals here and torments our cats (for the most part unintentionally) but really we are just the current custodians of her. She in fact belongs to the whole community.
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Check out all that beautiful Stirling-Rawdon has to offer. Specialty shops and services, dining, events, and much more. CONTACT EACH BUSINESS FOR THEIR CURRENT OPERATING CONDITIONS.
Click here to find out more about THE ART SCENE in eastern Ontario. Browse the details of tours, artists, galleries and more.
Lamb shanks are my favourite thing to order in a restaurant. This recipe is so good that I may never go out to have them again…absolutely delicious! The perfect dinner for company and so easy.
Margaret Grotek, Manager at Farmtown Park says that once the park closes on September 30th, it’s an all hands-on focus as they immediately turn their attention toward their annual Christmas event, “the Festival of Trees.” While they get ready for this event, they have also rented their facilities, especially for weddings that she says are “extremely popular in September.”
As summer slips away I still crave the taste of a citrusy dessert...and this one is the best! It’s so easy and so delicious. At a dinner party that I hosted I looked down my table to see one of the guests licking out the dish...I mouthed, “Would you like more?” His response was to close his eyes and nod yes. Perfection.
Mark your calendar for August 17-19 and attend the 160th anniversary of the Stirling Agricultural Fair! Among this year’s roster is the return of the Blacksmith Show, and a new Mini-horse Chuck-wagon event. There is a strong-man competition that will run over two days. While the midway is provided by Homeniuk Rides Inc., these other exhibits are self-run, with an emphasis on family fun. The line-up features many traditional standards such as the Beef, Goat and 4-H Shows, the Big Daddy Derby (an old-fashioned derby, where guys and gals, smash their car wrecks for prize money)…
There is so much happening in Hastings County! Check out our list of events, music, theatre and arts venues, or submit your event so we can share it with our readers!