Venture into Kingston’s Brand New Co-Working Space

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Co-working spaces are becoming more and more common as more people decide to embrace their entrepreneurial spirits and launch small businesses. These spaces fill a niche, by providing a place that offers more than a home office can as well as a community of like-minded people.

There is a new co-working space in Kingston, Venture Club, offering that and more. The new space on the corner of Queen Street and Barrie offers reception service, printing services, meeting rooms, fast internet in full furnished spaces to those looking to rent an office space. Continue reading →

Enright Cattle Company’s Crop Circle Dinner: Farm to Table at its Finest

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When I arrive at Enright Cattle Company‘s property, I am greeted by Kara and Darold Enright’s 9-year-old son, Corben, “If you’d like to head over to those three ladies, they will help you get ready for a tour,” he instructs politely with a smile. This is farm life. Everyone, no matter how young, plays a role in the magic that happens here.

I am arriving with friends for the Crop Circle dinner event. It’s exactly what it sounds like, a dinner hosted in a crop circle on the farm. After a tour of the farm, an explanation of how the cattle is raised, a glimpse (and feel) of their leather bags made from their hide (in an effort to not waste any of the animal), we are escorted through the tunnels of corn and met with boards of charcuterie featuring the classic Enright summer sausage and bresola (marinated in red wine) on our way. Once we turn the final corner the beautiful dinner setting is unveiled, long tables dressed with fresh flowers, hay bales covered in handmade quilts for seating. It’s the perfect farm dinner setting. Continue reading →

Bluboho’s Beautiful Bloomfield Location

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Update: This location is no longer in operation. Bluboho Bloomfield When I was initially invited to visit Bluboho I was excited to see the beautiful new space and stunning pieces of jewellery. What I didn’t anticipate was the experience I had when I stepped through their doors.

Yes, the space IS absolutely stunning. A century building on Bloomfield’s Main Street, with its intricate details beautifully preserved and light airy decor to complement. The space holds lovely one-of-kind pieces in gold, rose gold and silver accented with unique stones but it also holds a warmth that I can’t do justice through a few filtered Instagram images. Continue reading →

Grab Your Besties for Hochelaga Inn’s High Tea

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Hochelaga Inn High Tea
Do you love tea? Do you love treats? Do you love beautiful Victorian-style houses? Do you love to enjoy all of these things while in the company of your favourite people? Then this post is for you! Last week I was invited to attend High Tea at the Hochelaga Inn. The Inn has teamed up with local bakery, Top Tier to bring guests their fresh take on High Tea with a menu featuring locally curated ingredients.  Continue reading →

Q&A: Luther Wright and Colleen Brown of Major Love

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Major Love is the moniker of Canadian songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Colleen Brown. They will be performing as a part of Skeleton Park Arts Festival this Saturday! In honour of their upcoming performance, read about the band’s latest album, learn who Colleen considers to be her guitar heroes as well as her advice for budding musicians in the interview below with fellow beloved musician and this year’s SPAF host, Luther Wright. 

Luther Wright: This is not your first time playing the festival but you have since settled in the area.  How are you enjoying being part of the Kingston arts/music scene? Continue reading →

#DKShopfest Feature: Owner of The Jungle, Melody Morrison

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If you’re a plant-lover you’ve probably already stepped into The Jungle, a new shop on Wellington street, serving up all of the beautiful green plants you can think of. In celebration of upcoming #DKShopfest – a time to celebrate our amazing downtown businesses – owner Melody Morrison shares why she opened her shop and what she loves about being a Downtown Kingston business owner.

Keep up with Kingston: Tell me why you wanted to open The Jungle?
Melody Morrison: I opened The Jungle to fulfill a dream of owning my own business since I was a little girl. The store allows me to be creative in design and be surrounded by plants all day long. It’s a place for me to connect with others that love plants and design just as much as I do. Continue reading →

Q&A: Don Maynard on his upcoming Art Installation at the Skeleton Park Arts Festival

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Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of I love this city because I make at least one new friend every day and each is more inspiring and fantastic to be around than the last (3)
Have you heard? The Skeleton Park Arts Festival   is kicking off on June 20-24! This festival does a beautiful job at sharing and displaying the work of Kingston’s most talented artists and brings the community together for great food and music. A very exciting installation being featured is by Don Maynard called the Skeye Project. It will feature the work of local filmmakers on a floating movie screen held up by helium balloons. Oh the whimsy! Something you should be sure to check out. Don has answered a few questions via email about his work and upcoming show (June 22 – 9 pm in Friendship Park) below. Read on to learn more.

Keep up with Kingston: Please share a bit of your background in creative projects like the Skeye Project?
Don Maynard: It was ten years ago in 2007 in Kingston that I did a similar project, Tidal Mass at the NGB studios, which involved a large public installation in collaboration with about 13 musicians. NGB Studios, Kingston. There were 1,850 used fluorescent light bulbs, steel, 250 compact fluorescent light bulbs, steel rods and it was 29″ x 32′ x 54′.

Continue reading →

#DKShopfest Feature: Fancy That/Roundstone Owner Maria Cronk

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If you’ve found yourself at the corner of Princess and King street in the past 20 years or so, you’ve likely stopped in to clothing stores Fancy That or Roundstone. These shops are a staple of Kingston’s downtown and where you’ll find great deals on June 16 as downtown Kingston celebrates DKShopfest. DKShopfest is a day dedicated to celebrating and supporting our locally owned shops while scoring great deals. I wanted to learn a little more about Fancy That owner, Maria Cronk. She was kind enough to answer a few questions via email. Read below to learn how Fancy That started and what Maria loves most about being a Kingston shop owner.

Keep up with Kingston: Please share how Fancy That started? How many years have you been open?

Maria Cronk: Fancy That Group started in 1974 by Inger Sparring (my mother) in Brockville, ON. We started as one small store in Brockville, ON and grew over the years. At one point we had nine stores across Eastern Ontario! Now, we have two stores in downtown Kingston (Fancy That & the Roundstone) and one store in Brockville (Limestone & Ivy). IN 1979, my brother, Dan, joined in the business, he runs our store in Brockville, and I joined in 1985 to run the Kingston stores.

We came to downtown Kingston in May 1985 with Fancy That. Continue reading →

Immerse Yourself in Peace and Quiet at Kingston’s West End Float Spa

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Let me preface this post by sharing that I am terrible at floating in big bodies of water. I tend to tense up and don’t find it calming in the slightest. When Immerse Spa opened, the person in me who loves trying new health trends loved this concept and the other person in me who panics in deep water was not really down. I was conflicted. But the more I read about the health benefits, the more intrigued I was to give it a try.

If you haven’t heard of Immerse Spa (located on Gardiners road) yet, let me share a few details with you. First, it’s locally owned (#supportlocal), and the concept is that an hour floating in the 7 x 4 foot epsom salt bath dome will rejuvenate you to the equivalent of a 4-6 hour sleep and help melt away stress. It also helps detoxify the body, increases blood circulation and helps manage chronic pain, among other benefits. Sounds pretty good, right? I decided to take advantage of an opportunity to give it a try. Here, I share my experience with you. Continue reading →

Learn from the Wilderness Pros at Maclachlan Woodworking Museum

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Perhaps it’s just me, but if I were stuck in the middle of the woods with no resources, I would have a pretty rough time surviving. I am not proud of this fact! Luckily, Maclachlan Woodworking Museum is looking out for people like me as well as people with a stronger knowledge of wilderness survival that are interested in learning more. They are hosting an event called The Lumberjack, a Saturday (June 2) tailored to teaching outdoorsmen, outdoorswomen and those who want to be more familiar with the outdoors, how to hone their skills. I chatted with organizer Keely Maddock about the upcoming event. Continue reading →