Summer 2010

Hey everyone!

Its me again, Shanna Crispo. I am back for another summer with Sudbury Tourism. I am so excited to be back, it is going to be another amazing summer with a lot of things to see and do. This week all the summer students are visiting our local attractions such as Science North and Dynamic Earth. We get the opportunity to tour our local attractions to see what they are all about and check out the newer attractions. Stay posted for blogs about our experiences with these local attractions.

As some of you might know our visitor information kiosk is moving from VIA Rail to the Market Square downtown. We will be opening June 7th and we will be there til the end of the summer. Come check out our new kiosk and come join us on the weekends to see all the great vendors Market Square will have set up.

For more information on local upcoming events and to see what we are up to...

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End of Summer 2009

It has been an amazing summer, but unfortunately the end is near. I had a great time this summer, going to all the events and learning so much about Sudbury. I had the opportunity to do things I wouldn't think of doing and I am really excited that I was able to do it. For example I probably wouldn't have went to all the festivals, but this summer I attended more than half of them and I was not disappointed by any of them. I had a great time visiting Science North and Dynamic Earth. I hadn't been to either of those places since I was younger, so it was good to catch up on everything and it was good to see how much they have expanded and added to their facilities. This summer made me realize that Sudbury is a beautiful place to live and has more to offer than people think. I can now say that I love and respect Sudbury much more than I did before. I think more people should go out and experience what Sudbury has to offer, whether it's visiting Science North or attending the festivals and events that go on around the Sudbury area.

Even though the summer is almost over that doesn't mean the fun has to stop! Visit the Sudbury Tourism website to find out what events are taking place during the 2009- 2010 season.
www.sudburytourism.ca

I had a great time blogging about everything I did this summer, unfortunately this will be my last blog for this summer. Thank you for reading and hopefully I will be back next year :)

Sudbury Hiking Trails

Sara and I decided to take a hike down a couple of Sudburys Trails. There about 30 trails in the Sudbury area. Unfortunately we only had time to do 3 of them.

The first trail Sara and I hiked was the Rotary Park Trail behind Adanac Ski Hill. This trail crosses Junction Creek, passing by wetlands, and runs along the base of Adanac Ski Hill. Part of the trail runs parallel to Junction Creek, and along the trail you will see raspberry bushes that are ripe for picking midsummer. This trails is about 2.9 km and is considered an easy trail. This trail is full of nature, so many beautiful views and you are always surrounded by trees and bushes. You are even able to see the BMX course they are building for the 2010 Summer Games. If you are feeling adventurous try climbing up Adanac Ski Hill, I used to do that when I was younger. It has a great view of the city and a great place to have a picnic.

The second trail we concurred, which is one of my favorite trails in Sudbury was The Lake Laurentian Conservation Area. There are two entrances to this trail, the first being at Ramsey Lake (which is where we started) and the second is at Lake Laurentian Nature Chalet. This hike is about 23.o, perfect hike to pack a lunch and a couple of snacks. There are so many great views on this trail, for example a little spot that outlooks Ramsey Lake. A perfect spot to stop for a picnic or even a little rest. This trail is perfect for hikers, bikers and joggers. The trails are well marked and provide excellent bird watching and photo opportunities. When I was younger my parents would take my sister and I down this trail every weekend during the summer. It was a perfect way to spend time with my family as well as get some good exercise. We would pack a lunch and a couple of snacks, and when we were down our hike we always looked forward to swimming at Moonlight Beach.

The final trial we did for the day was Bell Park (aka the Boardwalk) one of the most popular trails in Sudbury. This trail is absolutely beautiful. The trail is well groomed and paved. The walkway follows the west shoreline of Ramsey Lake, curving around the lake, passing through beaches and other little stops along the way. This is another one of my favorite trails in Sudbury. It is such a beautiful hike, with so many great views of Ramsey Lake.

I wish we had time to do more of the trails around Sudbury. Hiking is one of my favorite past times and it is a great way to stay fit. I suggest you try a couple of Sudburys trails if you haven't already done so.
For more information about Sudburys Trails and where they are located visit:
www.rainbowroutes.com

Respect is Burning Supperclub

Earlier this month in my weekly blog I wrote about the downtown core and how it has transformed into a prime location for shopping, cafes, clubs and fine dining. Well the Tourism group got an opportunity to visit one of downtown Sudbury's finest restaurants, Respect is Burning. Rob Gregorini owner of Respect is Burning was nice enough to invite us to his restaurant to taste his delightful food. As we walked through the doors we were quickly greeted by the hostess. I quickly glanced around and was immediately impressed with the decor, lighting and overall ambiance of the restaurant. As we were escorted to our seats I couldn't help but notice the various kinds of artwork and photographs scattered through out the restaurant. The staff were very polite and friendly, and offered us drinks as soon as we got seated.

Shortly after Rob Gregorini came to our table to introduce himself to us and enlightened us with a short story of the history of RiB (Respect is Burning). His story was touching and it was great to see how passionate he is about food and the work he puts into his restaurant. One of his
goals was to make Downtown Sudbury a better place to be. RiB truly adds something to the downtown and it is a great place to hang out and eat or drink.

Now lets talk about the food, one word describes it all... AMAZING!

Rob wanted to give us a little taste of everything (tour of Italy). First, Rob and his staff brought out two different types of brushetta. The first, a Deep Woods Brushetta (made with mushrooms) the second, the Original Bruschetta (made with ripened tomatoes), both of them were fabulous! With that he brought out a delicious ceaser salad. The last item he brought out for an appetizer. Yes there is more... yup, Pizza. The pizza was simply amazing, it was made with with prosciutto, mushrooms, and green olives.

After we completed our appetizers Rob brought us out baby back season ribs that were so tasty, everyone at the table just loved them!

Now it was on the main dish pasta, yummy my favorite! We were able to try two different pastas. One was penne with tomatoe sauce and white wine and procutto (my favorite) and the second one was a linguine with mushroom. Both of them were exquisite, I just couldn't get enough!

By that time I was stuffed, but of course I saved room for dessert. We went with the tiramisu; it was a great way to finish the meal because it was so light and delicious.

I had a great time at RiB, the food and the atmosphere are astonishing. The staff are all very friendly, quick and professional. Iwas very interested in the story Rob shared with us and I'm very glad he did. Its people like Rob who make Sudbury a better place for locals and visitors. I left RiB satisfied and stuffed. I can't wait for my next visit back to RiB, I sure hope its soon! I would recommend RiB to anyone who wants to taste excellent quality food in a sophisticated atmosphere. You wont be disappointed!

HEY...RiB also caters!

For more information on RiB and to check out there menu visit there
website at:
www.ribsupperclub.com

For reservations call:
705.675.5777

Dragon Boat Festival

This past weekend the Dragon Boat Festival celebrated its 10th anniversary on beautiful Ramsey Lake. The opening ceremonies took place Friday night with the Chinese Heritage group performing the pre-race ritual dance and the races began on the Saturday. They were calling for rain on Saturday (race day), but that didn't stop hundreds of people from attending this years events and with close to 60 teams participating. The Dragon Boat Races was once again a big hit. The rain ended up holding off and the weather was just perfect! The Dragon Boat Festival is always a popular one. Not only do people come out to enjoy the races but the great entertainment , good food, crafts and wonderful games and activities for the children. The entertainment was fabulous, they had Chinese performers doing different dances, playing music and other amazing arts. Jenna and I were able to capture some amazing pictures and video footage of the races and the entertainment. While walking around Bell Park we were able to see all the different teams and it was nice to see how they designed their own unique team uniforms. Team spirit was alive and well at the participants village. Everyone looked awesome and it looked like they were having a really good time. We were able to catch a couple of the races and it was great to see how well some of the teams could paddle. It sure doesn't look easy. It turned out to be yet another amazing Dragon Boat Festival. If you weren't able to make it out to this one, hopefully we will see you out next year! :)

Italian Festival

This past weekend was a busy one! Both the Italian Festival and Northern Lights Festival Boreal were going on. There were so many things to see and do, with so little time.

I always look forward to the Italian Festival every year, mainly because I am Italian. The Italian Festival always has something going on, whether it is the pageant or the pasta night. This festival is great for people of all ages. It is great to see how many people come to Sudbury from Italy just for the festival. They had a beer tent set up outside the Caruso Club where they had tables set up, live music, and food. Throughout the weekend they had different events set up, such as, the pageant with so much amazing talent, a soccer game, and activities for kids to participate in. The best thing about the Italian Festival is the food. They have so much delicious food. If you are planning to attend make sure you are ready to eat, because after all Italians love to eat! There is no way you can attend this festival without trying some of the food because it all smells so good, and it just draws you in. They always had a big lunch going on (porketta, sausage lunch), and even bigger dinner (the pasta dinner). You don't have to be Italian to attend, everyone is welcome. If you didn't have the chance to check it out this year, I suggest you try and make it next year! :)

Northern Lights Festival Boreal

Hey!

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Sara and I arrived at the NLFB at noon, just in time for all the fun to begin. It was gorgeous out, the sun was finally shining, but it wasn't overly hot, just right! The NLFB is one of Sudbury largest festivals of the summer. If you like live music, unique crafts, and good food then the NLFB was the place to be this past weekend. Sara and I were shocked at how fast the festival filled up with people. The NLFB is so overwhelming, there were so many people and so many amazing things to see and do. There were SO many people out just having a good time! Sara and I decided to walk around and take a look at everything they had. They had a lot of booths set up with homemade crafts, jewelry, pictures, and clothing.They had a lot of different types of food places set up for people to enjoy (it all smelt amazing!). It was great to see how many kids activities they had going on. For example kids yoga, face painting and arts and crafts. They even had a stage set up for kid to enjoy some story telling and sing-alongs. The moment the gates opened people were rushing to the music tents near by to catch some of the opening acts. There was always something fun and exciting going and the music never stopped. It turned out to be a great three days of music, entertainment and arts. It was great to see such a good turnout and I'm anxious to attend the NLFB next year.