Tourism Industry Ambassador Training

During National Tourism Week, Tourism Burlington together with the Burlington Hotel Association are offering a complimentary Tourism Industry Ambassador Training session for frontline, seasonal and middle management staff that support or work within the Hospitality Industry.

Our goal is to develop local Tourism Ambassadors who are aware of the many attractions, accommodations, events and activities that are of interest to tourists coming to Burlington. With this information, ambassadors are then able to encourage visitors to extend their stay by making light of all the great things beautiful Burlington has to offer.

This interactive and informative training session is suitable for tour guides, front desk and reception staff, bus and taxi drivers, restaurant hosts and anyone who has regular contact with visitors to Burlington. If you have new staff that are unfamiliar with the city, it is a great orientation or serves as a refresher to learn what’s new.

This year we will be awarding the 3rd Annual Pickle Awards to employees who have been recognized by their peers as demonstrating exemplary customer service who have also gone above and beyond the call of duty. We’ll also feature speakers from Bronte Creek Provincial Park, the Museums of Burlington, the Burlington Art Centre, the Historical Society as well as the Burlington Performing Arts Centre to highlight all the great things to see and do in our wonderful city.

Participants will receive a wealth of knowledge about our city as well as an Ambassador Pin and Certificate for attending. We look forward to seeing you at this session.

When: Thursday, June 9, 2011 from 8:30 am – 12 noon

Where: Burlington Art Centre (parking available at BAC parking lot)

To register, please see our registration form or for any other inquiries, please contact us by May 31st.

March Break 2011

How can you NOT have fun on March Break? I remember when I was a young chicken - March Break was the highlight of my March; no school, no (or very little) snow and lots and lots of things to do. Burlington and the Halton region has always excelled in providing tons of entertainment to keep parents from going crazy, or having to take the whole week off work, whether their kids are 6 or 15 years old. This year, March Break is from March 14 to the 20 (not like your kids haven’t been reminding you every day for the past month or two). Whether your kids like to ski, hike, skate, swim, learn, explore or be creative – there is an activity for them to take part in this March Break.

There are March Break camps, skating, and swimming available at city facilities. The camps are for kids of all ages as well as camps available for kids and adults with disabilities. Click HERE to learn more about these camps and to see the schedules for skating and swimming. Please visit the City of Burlington website.

Do you have a 12-16 year old? Why not enroll them in Babysitter Training at the Tansley Woods Community Centre? During this 2-day course they will be trained in childcare, safety and their rights and responsibilities as a childcare provider. They will be given a babysitters certificate upon completion. This is a great way for young adults to gain experience and have the knowledge and skills to help out with younger siblings or even get a summer job! Click HERE to register.

The Royal Botanical Gardens has a multitude of activities planned to keep the children busy all week long. Wild Music: Sounds and Songs of Life, on daily, are holding an interactive drumming program on Tuesday, March 15, from 1pm-2pm. This program allows the participants a chance to play the drums and learn about the history around different instruments. There are also various day camps available for kids from 4-13 years old at the RBG; they range in topics from the forest, environmental science, frogs to maple syrup! Check out their website for more information and event registration.

Crawford Lake’s Sappy Strolls and Sweet Water Demonstrations are learning opportunities for the young and young at heart. These events include walking tours to learn about the First Nations’ maple tapping techniques and demonstrations about the origins of maple syrup. Sappy Strolls will happen twice daily at 11am and 2pm and Sweet Water Demonstrations will happen twice daily at 12pm and 3pm on March 12, 13, 19, and 20; for more information on these events and to see some of Crawford Lake’s other March Break activities visit Conservation Haltons’ website.

If your child has a love for the snow, and an interest in adventure, then Glen Eden’s ski and snowboarding camps would be perfect for them! Running from 9:30am to 3pm daily during March Break, these lessons are sure to be a hoot! No, I don’t mean there will be owls, you would be more likely to see owl’s at Mountsberg!

Speaking of Mountsberg, they also have exciting activities planned! Maple Town features horse drawn sleigh rides, maple syrup samples and best of all, the Pancake Pavilion; for more information read our previous blog, It’s Maple Syrup Time; we delve into Maple Town, Sweet Water Season and the Maple Syrup Festival held at Bronte Creek Provincial Park where guided tours of Maple Lane, wagon rides, the pancake house, maple museum and the Maple Gift Shoppe are all offered daily from 9:30am to 3pm.

Arts and Crafts are always something kids enjoy; why not check out the Burlington Art Centre’s various camps for ages 4-13. These aren’t just for children either! They have a great variety of adult studio classes. Or if you want to keep them active, Burlington Gymnastics offers half-day and full-day camps for ages 3-13. It’s bound to be a high-jumping of a tumbling good time!

Want to make your March Break a staycation? Holiday Inn Burlington is offering a one night standard room accommodation with daily live shows, movies and scavenger hunts to get the feeling of going away without really leaving our beautiful city!

Want to raise a little chef or just get your family more involved with dinner at home? Paradiso Restaurant hosts cooking classes throughout the seasons but during March Break, it’s Kids Only Kooking Klass! Paradiso has put together a collection of 3 hour classes to introduce some basic techniques to kids in the kitchen with the use of household items.

Heritage is an important topic for some families, why not have your children understand the history of Burlington and Chief Joseph Brant and the Ireland Family. Both Joseph Brant Museum and Ireland House at Oakridge farm are open this March Break and offering Mystery Investigations workshops, make SWEET stuff and beware of the wild things with special guests and a mix of activities, crafts and entertainment.

We know March Break can’t be frustrating and sometimes expensive. We hope you enjoy all that Burlington has to offer, like our Coupon Book with deals from Burlington Bowl, Climber’s Rock, Conservation Halton, Lil’ Monkeys Indoor Playground, Royal Botanical Gardens and other great restaurants and shopping destinations!

Busy Art Centre

Wearable Art Sale

It has been a busy month at the Burlington Art Centre, with many events happening.  On the 13^th the second Wearable Art Sale was held with absolutely beautiful jewellery, scarves, clothes and accessories made by local artists.  They were demonstrating various techniques and we found it quite fascinating the amount of creativity and time that went into each item.  On the 17^th Shopapoolza was held which was a perfect event to shop for gifts and try various foods from participating downtown restaurants (Water St. Cooker, Pepperwoods, La Costa, Siam Dish, Kindfood, Pearl St. Café etc.)  I loved the red pepper soup from Water St., the Shrimp from La Costa and the apple cake from Pearl St.  There was quite a gang us of who attended and many had treasures to take home. 

If you missed these two terrific events, there is still time to take in the Soup Bowl Event and Christmas Sale this weekend.  The Soup Bowl event is one of my favorites.  For your admission you get your choice of home made soup by local restaurants, bread, salad, ice cream and coffee/tea, PLUS you get to take home the hand made bowl.  I have a variety of bowls now from attending this event over the years and have made it an annual part of my Christmas.  There are still tickets left for some of the sittings, you do need to book ahead.  After your meal you can then check out the Christmas Sale.  The guilds of Arts Burlington come together to sell beautiful hand-crafted art and fine craft—think Christmas gifts for friends, family and colleagues! Admission to the sale is free and it runs Thursday at lunch and then Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Check out thebac.ca for specific times.  We are going to the Thursday lunch sitting so I will fill you in on the best soups, and the best finds at the sale.

Tourburl Girl