picture from maplesyrupfest.com

I have to admit that before going to my very first maple syrup festival at Bruce’s Mill. Yes, my very first one after 21 years of being born and raised in Canada. I imagined it to be the stereotypical Canadian farm boy atmosphere – flannel shirts everywhere (and yes there were many) and all white people (perhaps racist). As a jest, I even attempted to get my whole family – brother, mom and niece to “dress like farmers” just so we’d fit in. As it turns out, my attempt to “fit in” was highly unnecessary because practically a quarter of the people I saw there were Asian. Heck, even our tour guide was Asian and also an immigrant! As a Canadian, I should have known better, my assumptions were racist and ignorant.

The Sugarbush Maple Syrup festival was not just a time to drink maple syrup (the best syrup I have ever tasted by the way!), eat pancakes, pet animals, and learn the good ol’ Canadian tradition of getting our beloved Maple sap, but it was also a time to rejoice and bring people of all backgrounds together. Don’t get me wrong though, I was primarily there for the maple syrup and delicious pancakes. It’s just that I didn’t expect it to be much more than that. No it wasn’t a flashy place to go, not like some major theme park or mesmerizing live concert but it was still fun and more importantly, just a great place to bring a family to. It was hilarious to see my one year old niece get so jacked up from all that syrup we gave her and to see her go nuts, flailing her arms like crazy when she saw chickens.

I met some interesting people along the way too and apologize for forgetting some of their actual names: Easter Bunny Mascot Woman, Pioneer Woman, Tom (the Asian tour guide) and Bill (who tried explaining to my mom that she can’t really just make her own syrup). They were friendly, outgoing, and eager to answer any questions we had for them.

Did you know it takes about 40 litres of sap to make one litre of syrup and that Mid-February is around the best time to start getting sap? I can’t believe my mom seriously considered making her own maple syrup since we have two whole maple trees. By the way, assuming we could, it would take about 35 hours per week, plus an intensive boiling and filtering process, which has to be done outside because otherwise the syrup would stick to the walls of our house inside. At best, we would get one whole litre of syrup after perhaps months of hard work. No, mom no, that is crazy. I will go to the store and purchase my beloved maple syrup instead, yum.

The Sugarbush Maple Syrup festival is still running until April 11th. Also, money to this festival also goes towards the work of Toronto and Region Conservation (TRCA).

For more information go here.

photo from blogTO.com

What can I possibly say that could even remotely capture the feeling that was the 2010 Olympic games? For seventeen days, this entire nation, the entire world, was glued to their TVs reveling in all the competition and the excitement. For seventeen days, Canada demonstrated to the world its incredible hospitality, the amazing talent of its athletes, and the absolute spirit of this great nation. For seventeen days, it was as if all the citizens of Canada were as one. We celebrated together when Bilodeau won that first gold on Canadian soil.  We mourned with Joannie Rochette after hearing about her loss and cheered her on as she courageously took the ice. We drank with Jon Montgomery as he marched the streets of Vancouver. Our hearts went a flutter watching the heavenly Virtue and Moir. We randomly burst into song, belting out our national anthem night after night. We rejoiced and wept together every time our athletes won (or lost). We groaned and moaned collectively when Parise scored that wretched goal in the last few seconds of last night’s game. And of course, we screamed, drank, celebrated and paraded down the streets together when Sid the Kid won us that glorious hockey gold! It has been riveting. Electrifying. Straight-up magical. Never before have I ever felt so proud to be Canadian and I can’t even count the number of times I’ve gotten misty eyed because of all this pride welling up inside of me! With a total of 14 gold medals, not only have our athletes set a personal best for our nation, they’ve set a record that the entire world has yet to beat! It’s been an amazing ride and regardless of whether you were watching the games from Vancouver, the local pub, or just your own living room, the feeling of euphoria has been undeniable and unstoppable.

And so, if I may indulge myself for one last time (everyone shout it with me now)…CA-NA-DA! CA-NA-DA! CA-NA-DA!

photo from blogTO.com