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Brockville Pride Week Festival 2019

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June is almost upon us (though the weather feels otherwise) which means that is it almost time for Pride Week! Brockville Pride Week has moved to June to fall in line with the official Pride Month.

As the years have passed, Brockville’s Pride Week has evolved from its launch year to now. There are many events happening throughout the week, so make sure you check them out.

June 3rd

2019 Rainbow Flag Raising Ceremony

The flag raising ceremony is a staple of Pride festivals around the world and is a symbol of inclusion in Brockville. At the beginning of every Pride week, members of the Pride Committee and the City Council come together at Brockville’s Railway Tunnel to raise the rainbow flag.

The flag raising will take place at 11am.

June 4th

Pride Meet & Greet

Pride will host a meet and greet at the Spitfire Cafe on June 4th! Take the opportunity to meet friends new and old and get to talk about the full line up that Brockville Pride has planned for the week. Drinks and mocktails will be available.

The Spitfire Cafe can be found at 10 Victoria Avenue, and the event will take place from 4:30 to 7:30pm.

June 5th

Annual Potluck & Inspirational Speaker

The Brockville Library, who has been a huge supporter of Brockville Pride, will be hosting a potluck! Bring a favourite dish of yours and mingle with the community. There will also be an inspirational speaker in the Buell St Room to discuss inclusion and community.

The Brockville Library is on 23 Buell Street, and the potluck will begin at 6:00pm.

June 7th

2019 Drag Competition

Taking place at the Barley Mow, the competition for the title of Miss Brockville Pride will showcase the best in local drag talent and entertain the audience! This year, there will be a Ms Brockville Pride, Mr Brockville Pride and a Mx Brockville Pride to promote inclusivity.

The drag competition will take place at the Barley Mow Brockville, 2444 Parkedale Ave, and starts at 8pm. If interested in taking part, fill out the form here.

2019 Pride Pub Crawl

After the drag competition at the Barley Mow, participants will be transported to downtown Brockville to take part in a pub crawl! Make sure you look out for the “Gay Seal of Approval” at the entrance of participating bars and join in the festivities. Make sure you follow the Facebook event page to find out where the participating bars are.

June 8th

Rainbow Run: 5K Fun Run

A 5 kilometre run will be held once again this year, beginning at Hardy Park at 10:00 am. The run will go through downtown Brockville and along the waterfront. There will then be a 1.5 kilometre cool down walk as you take part in the Pride Parade. This event is proudly supported by the Brockville Road Runners Club.

Pride Parade

At noon, the Pride Parade will begin beside the Brockville Rowing Club. If you are part of a group, please assemble between 11 and 11:30 at the park to line up. The parade route will run north on Bethune Street, and then west on King Street towards the Brockville Arts Centre. The parade will then turn south on St.Paul Street and then east on Water Street to Hardy Park.

“Rainbow Village” Vendor Fair

After the Pride Parade, get ready to celebrate! It will be an afternoon filled with food, vendors, entertainment, and music from local musicians and live DJs. There will even be an all ages drag show taking place! The festivities begin at 12:30pm at Hardy Park.

June 9th

All-Inclusive Church Service

Wall Street United Church has been hosting an all-inclusive church service during Pride Week for many years. The tradition continues this year. The Sunday morning service is open to everyone. The service begins at 10am.

To find out more information about any of the events happening during Pride Week, please check the Brockville Pride website or Facebook Page.

What to do During the St Lawrence Science Fair

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This Friday, April 12th 2019, the Aquatarium will be playing host to the St Lawrence Science Fair. Students from all over the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties will be showing off their scientific skills with project presentations.

Whether you’re participating or there to support, the science fair will be a full day of STEM activities, and sometimes there might be some free time. Lucky for participants and supporters, there is a lot to do in and around the science fair!

Aquatarium

The first thing everyone should be checking out on Friday is the Aquatarium itself! Friday, April 12th is also community day, so there will be free admission for everyone going in to the aquatarium. This is a great opportunity for people to see everything on display, from the boat house to the otter experience. Make sure you check out everything the aquatarium and the science fair have to offer.

Time for a meal

Of course, the science fair can be a full day worth of fun. While you’re having fun though, make sure you take the time to keep your energy up. 

Buds On The Bay

This family friendly restaurant has something on the menu for any age. From kids meals to steaks, and everything in between, Buds On the Bay has a wide selection on their menu with a comfortable atmosphere to relax after your young Einstein has finished sharing their science projects.

Explore The Waterfront

With the science fair taking place right on the waterfront, you’ll have the chance to see some of Brockville’s most well known attractions! The Brockville Tunnel opened on April 6th, so you’ll be able to get to walk through the first railway tunnel in Canada, restored with a brand new sound and light show for 2019. As well, the river provides a lot to see while walking along Blockhouse Island. You never know when a ship will pass by, or a great photo opportunity will appear. With warm weather expected and only a chance of showers, it’s well worth a walk around the Brockville waterfront to see what you can find.

 
Those are just a few of the many things available to do in downtown Brockville! There’s so much to see and do as we go from winter to spring, and further to summer, so make sure you visit often to see everything this beautiful city has to offer.

A Sweet Maple Weekend

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As the snow finally begins to disappear and winter finally leaves us for another year, there is one thing that people in Eastern Ontario look forward to as we go through the awkward, muddy spring thaw days – Maple Syrup Season. The mild days and cool nights are what help make the sap run, and in those few weeks where we transition from winter to spring, our local farmers are working overtime to get every drop tapped, boiled and bottled.

On the first weekend of April, sugar bushes all across Ontario will be taking part in Maple Weekend. It’s an opportunity to see exactly what goes into making the sweet golden syrup, and a chance to buy from local farmers as well. In the Brockville area, we’re lucky to have three local sugar bushes taking part in this event – Golden Moments, Quabbin Hill, and Gibbons Family Farm.

 Gibbons Family Farm

The day starts early, with breakfast beginning at 8am. Check out the pancake breakfast first at Frankville Church Hall, and then swing by Gibbons at 9am for maple taffy on snow and to see the sap boiled down to syrup (weather conditions permitting). Gibbons uses just under 5000 taps and uses a combination traditional and modern techniques to boil down the sap into their famous maple syrup.

Golden Moments Farm

Next on our Maple Weekend is Golden Moments Farm. A 15 minute drive from Gibbons, Golden Moments Farm is a photographers dream. Not only does the farm tap over 1200 trees to make maple syrup that is environmentally friendly and organic, but they raise Clydesdale horses and breed Golden Retrievers. As you get to walk around a sample of their 350 acres of land, there are many photography opportunities. Song birds such as the Blue Bunting have been seen in their white pine forest during the summer, and the dogs and horses always make for good photography subjects. As well, coffee, hot chocolate, and maple glazed doughnuts will be available through the weekend.

Quabbin Hill Farm

Last but not least, travel 30 minutes south from Golden Moments to go visit Quabbin Hill Farm. This small and rustic sugar bush has been producing maple syrup for over 25 years, and will guarantee that you will be able to try maple taffy on snow – they have been saving up snow in their freezer all winter for this event! Quabbin Hill Farm will also be serving an outdoor breakfast from 8am, so if you want to reverse the order of these three locations, you’re going to be on time for breakfast no matter what! Make sure you check out their blueberry infused maple syrup as well.

Make sure you take advantage of the excellent weather being projected for this coming weekend, April 6th to 7th 2019, and check out all that our area has to offer in terms of all things maple! The maple syrup season is short, so take advantage of this great weekend event.