Tourism Burlington celebrates National Tourism Week with 2 contests!

Every day the staff at Tourism Burlington are busy working to promote our great city to visitors and residents.  Once a year Canada takes a week to celebrate tourism and we couldn’t be more excited!  National Tourism Week runs from Monday May 14th to Sunday May 20th and we are going to be promoting the “hidden gems” of Burlington.

At tourism we love to have fun and what is more fun than a contest with a chance to win great prizes?  We’ll tell you – it’s two contests!

The first contest is our Attractions “Hidden Gems” contest.  Each day a member of our tourism team will become a hidden gem at our local attractions.  Follow us on Twitter with hashtag #HiddenGemsBurl for hints to help you be the first person to find us on location* and win a gift valued at $50.00 compliments of the attraction we are visiting. *you must find us in person to win

Once we are found we will tweet our exact location at the attraction so you can meet up with us and pick up your free Tourism souvenir and our 2012-13 visitor guide. We will give you a hint now…we’ll be the ones wearing the green tourism golf shirt or jacket. Plus we’re giving you a schedule of where we will be so you just need to follow us on Twitter and head to the location(s) of the day to find us.

Monday May 14th we will be heading to Bronte Creek Provincial Park** and Springridge Farm.  At Bronte Creek you will be challenged to find us in the park that includes over 10km of trails, an 1800’s farmhouse, a children’s play barn and a campground.  The first person to find us at this location will win Ontario Parks gift certificates and a 500ml bottle of Bronte Creek Maple Syrup. What a delicious prize! With so many great hiding places we don’t know where to pick.  Next we will head to Springridge Farm and while we would like to just sit in the bakery all day and enjoy their delicious baked goods we might be a bit too obvious.  However, there are lots of nooks and crannies within the gift shop and bakery/café or maybe we’ll head outside and spend our time in the family fun yard or a top the escarpment lookout.  One thing is for sure, we never leave the farm empty handed and neither will you.

Tuesday May 15th you can find us at the Royal Botanical Gardens** and The Crossroads Centre.  The Royal Botanical Gardens is a great location to explore and you might find us inside the RBG Centre hiding amongst the indoor blooms or checking out the gift shop.  Maybe we’ll tuck ourselves away somewhere in the 400 acres of display gardens. Our choices include the Rose Garden/Hendrie Park Gardens, the Laking Garden or with the tulips (which are in bloom) at the Rock Garden.  Be sure to leave some extra time to visit the RBG after you find us, you won’t be disappointed. We are looking forward to heading to Crossroads Centre for the afternoon.  This hidden gem is celebrating it's 50th anniversary this year with many excitingevents.  We are excited about with all the unique hiding spots we have to choose from. Will we be in the studio where 100 Huntley Street is telecast live daily. Maybe we will be at one of the stops along the way during a tour of their state-of-the-art facilities. (Conducted every Monday through Friday at 8:30 am - 1:00 pm).  We could be enjoying a bite at the Towne Square Cafe or maybe relaxing somewhere along the Walk Of Faith. If you have not had the chance to visit Crossroads Centre, we would encourage you to make this one of your stops.  The first person to find us at this location will win a gift bag with some goodies inside, a free lunch at the Towne Square (for that day) and a $50 donation in your name to one of the various humanitarian projects Crossroads has partnered with this year (Wells for clean water in Uganda, Children in Cambodia who are victims of human trafficking, an orphanage in Ukraine, or slums of Calcutta).  Wow something for you and something to give back!

Wednesday May 16th we head mid-town to Burlington Mall & the Burlington Mall Farmers’ Market.  We’ll start our day outdoors at the Burlington Farmers’ Market (open 8am-2pm). You will find everything from apples to zucchini at the market and I know we will be loading up on delicious local food while we are here. Will you find us munching on Shriner's Creek Kettle Popcorn, buying some spring annuals from  Hutchinson Farm or noshing on some yummy produce from one of the many vendors here at the market…you’ll have to wait and see.  Next we head indoors to the Burlington Mall. You will need to stay focused which is challenging when there are so many great stores to shop in.  From department stores to specialty shops we have a lot of choices if we decide to go “in-store” or we might hunker down in the food court and enjoy a bite to eat. We’d probably stand out on the kids rides in the mall but there are lots of spots for us to sit and people watch while we wait for you to find us. 

Thursday May 17th we take on Downtown Burlington and because there are a plethora of locations to choose from we’ve decided to hide twice!  We love hunting for unique items at the downtown shops that feature everything from fashion to furnishings which would be perfect for multi-tasking – who says you can’t shop and be a “hidden gem” at the same time?  There is always the chance we will hide out at one of the great eateries - do we slip into a cosy bistro or chill out on a patio, so many choices.  Maybe we’ll park ourselves in Village Square in the heart of downtown or relax at an outdoor locale.  We know that we will find the perfect spots and we hope you have fun finding us.

Friday May 18th is going to be a great day.  We visit the Joseph Brant Museum** and the Burlington Art Centre.  Joseph Brant Museum is not only a big part of Burlington history, it’s also home to many collections and historical information and this year they celebrate their 70th anniversary! So the question is where will you find us? Will we be checking out The Gilded Age: In Pursuit of Pleasure - Fashion in Edwardian Times exhibit in the Eileen Collard Gallery or soaking up some history in the Burlington History Gallery. Even if you are not the first to find us your trip to the museum will be worth it. But if you are the first person to find us at this location you will win a prize pack of goodies from the Museums of Burlington gift shop!  After our visit to the museum we will be heading across the street to the Burlington Art Centre.  For those that haven’t been, we can tell you that it’s home to seven guilds and the world’s largest collection of contemporary Canadian ceramics.  But what you want to know is where to find us.  We could be viewing one of the many exhibits on display including High and Low, the work of Sour Cherry Pottery artists Tony and Sheila Clennell, Immigrant: New Works by Rosemary Sloot  or the Burlington Guild of Handweavers and Spinners - Juried Exhibition.  However, we do enjoy shopping as you have probably guessed by now so we might be found in the Art Etc. Gallery Shop wandering the aisles trying to decide which one of a kind piece we’d like to add to our collection.

Saturday May 19th we take on the great outdoors with a visit to Crawford Lake Conservation Area**.  Conservation Halton has six amazing parks and Crawford Lake is one of our favourites.  The 15th century Iroquoian Village would make a perfect hide-out with its rustic longhouses. Did you know that Crawford Lake is a rare meromictic lake? Perhaps we’ll spend our time cruising the surrounding boardwalk or find a spot along the 19km of trails (which connect to the Bruce Trail!).  Plan to spend the day at this location, there is so much to see and do!

Sunday May 20th we continue our visits to Conservation Halton parks with a trip to Mount Nemo** and we will also be heading to Ireland House at Oakridge Farm**. Mount Nemo has one of the best cliff ecosystems on Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment and your challenge will be to find us somewhere in the midst of the boulders and cedars along the trails.  Visiting Ireland House is like stepping back in time as you tour the house that reflects the life and times of three generations of the Ireland family. This means that we will probably be easy to spot in our modern garb – maybe they will lend us a period piece to wear.  Of course at Ireland House we also have the option to head outdoors and pick a spot somewhere on the 4 acres of woodland, gardens, outbuildings and picnic areas.  If you want to get a head start scoping out this location be sure to visit the Queen's Jubilee Mother's Day Royal Tea on Sunday May 13th. If you are the first person to find us at this location you will win a prize pack of goodies from the Museums of Burlington gift shop!

We hope you have an opportunity to get out and visit the attractions in our “Hidden Gems” contest.  Remember to follow us on twitter for exact times and location clues at #HiddenGemsBurl. 

**Entrance fees are applicable at these locations.

If you think you know Burlington then this is the contest for you. Our second and equally awesome contest is the “Hidden Gems” photo contest.  Every day from Monday May 14 – Sunday May 20 we will be posting the “hidden gem” photo on our website, facebook and twitter.  Name the location of the “hidden gem” photo of the day by commenting on the photo via facebook or tweeting the location to us with the hashtag #HiddenGemsBurl.  One correct entry will be chosen at random each day and will receive a prize valued at $50.00.

Last but not least we want to remind everyone that there are lots of ways to celebrate Burlington and be a tourism ambassador.  Send an e-card, enjoy our local sites and attractions with a stay-cation, and encourage your friends and family to come and visit (don’t worry we have the perfect guest suite for them).

Happy National Tourism Week from all of us at Tourism Burlington!