The unique craft of adding a watermark to the paper originated in Italy around 14th century in a small town Fabriano on Marche Island, Italy. Originally watermarks were made as a simple initial or trademark symbol. Over the centuries the art evolved from primitive to the artistic – reproducing the works of art, famous portraits or coat of arms. The technique is based on fixed-wire mould used for the insertion of distinctive marks that can be seen against the light…
Old Tradition
Watermark Mould used in paper making
In older days the Fabriano paper-makers used the water driven stamping mills. Several mills were present where the old linen or cotton rugs were used to create the fine pulp. The pulp is the base of what would become the raw paper. In turn that raw paper will be submerged in the gelatin derived from animal bones – another invention of the Fabriano artisans. Even in our days this technique is used to produce some of the banknotes, shares, cheques, some other fancy business papers and special papers for pencil, pen, wash and watercolour drawings.
Watermark on raw hand-paper made from the mould
Our experience
As a visitors of the special workshop organized by St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura held by Federico Salvatori, Mastro Cartaio (“master papermaker”) of the Paper and Watermark Museum in Fabriano, along with Professor Paolo Granata of the UofT. We have a chance to make our own paper with watermark using this truly unique experience to feel the value of creation and appreciate the artistic approach to paper-making.
Roberta Bondar, Canadian Astronaut, Ontario Science Centre
It’s 6 pm and we are at the Ontario Science Centre, and yes, it’s closed for the public. But we are here for a very special event – we are going to be the first to see the “Apollo 11: First Steps Edition” at the well known IMAX theater and later chat with Mark Armstrong (son of Neil Armstrong ), Roberta Bondar (Canadian Astronaut), Natalie Panek (Aerospace Engineer), Shawna Pandya (Astronaut Candidate) and some other really interesting people working in the industry. We met Bob Thirsk, Canadian Astronaut, and had a chance to talk about the path to success… “Stay focused on what you are doing and you will surely achieve your goals!… ” And this applies not just to space exploration.
Summer of Space at Ontario Science Centre
On July 20th 2019 the Science Centre commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing with special lunar-themed programming featuring Canadian astronauts. The adventure begins with “Apollo 11: First Steps Edition” that unfolds on theIMAX Dome screen and features never-before-seen 70 mm footage and more than 11,000 hours of uncatalogued audio recordings. The film recounts the most extraordinary of human achievements and puts audiences at the centre of NASA’s historic lunar landing, capturing every moment of the mission.
Summer of Space, Ontario Science Centre, Space Lab
The special exhibitions “Astronaut” and “Women in Space” tap into what it takes to break the boundaries of life on Earth and unlock the mysteries of our universe. You will see and touch a piece of the Moon, spend an evening gazing at the stars or go to a space camp (fitness level and age restrictions apply)! Or, experience the G-force powers… feel the powers of the Shuttle right in the seat of the spacecraft… check your knowledge and test how well you are prepared for a long space journey!
Summer of Space at Ontario Science Centre, Space Lab
Lots of fascinating facts, hands on experiences and challenges await those ready to conquer space and travel the universe!
The house and the park located on 11.5 acre property covered with mature trees. The park offers perfect place for walks and picnincs, beautiful shaded lawns and paths during the summer. The house opens for visitors from October till Chrismas.
Woodside National Historic Site, Entrance
Mackenzie King House
The house dates back to Victorian period, was built by James Colquhoun. After his death in 1877 varuois tenants occupied the house. One of them was the Kings family. They lived in this house from 1886 till 1893. The house was a home for a boy who later became Canada’s tenth Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. The family had four children, and while visiting the house we can see their rooms and well kept personal items. His father John King was a lawyer, and he taught his kids English, French, math and science. There is a large collection of boks, many of them are rare originals…
Woodside National Historic SIte, house of William Lyon Mackenzie King
The house has a spacious living room with piano. The room was filing up with various guests during many holidays…
Living room in William Lyon Mackenzie King House
Travel at that time was a challenge, so the house has a nice guest bedroom with all the necessary items…
Guest bedroom in William Lyon Mackenzie King House, Kitchener
The sisters were sharing the bedroom, we can see some of the clothing and original furniture.
We had a chance to enter the room of William, quite small and with very modest furnishings. The bedrooms are all on the second floor and interestingly, there is no heating – only the first floor of the house is heated, so in the winter the heavy blanket and the hot water bottle did the job!
Woodside National Historic SIte, house of William Lyon Mackenzie King
The most important item of the kitchen is the original wood-buning stove. It is fully operational and if you visit the place during Christmas Holidays you may be lucky to try fresh baked cookies or bread! They say tastes amazing!
Woodside National Historic SIte, house of William Lyon Mackenzie King
The House is not just a museum, there are different events and workshops offered for students.
Noreen Young’s “Under the Umbrella Tree” now on YouTube
Gloria the Gopher, from CBC’s vintage “Under the Umbrella Tree” children’s series, is very happy to tell everybody that she and her friends Holly, Iggy the Iguana and Jacob Blue Jay, are now streaming on Canada Media Fund’s new channel, Encore+ on YouTube. This is a channel that features Canadian television classics that viewers will enjoy seeing again and again.
Saturday August 25, 2 pm. Rock the Arts performance
Rock The Arts puppets performance will perform at the museum on Saturday August 25, starting at 2 pm to complement Noreen Young’s Puppet Retrospective exhibition, which runs July 14 to September 22. They will perform “Animal Adventure.” More details on the website rockthearts.ca
Saturday September 22, 2018, 1pm. Come play puppets with a PRO
Ever wonder what it would be like to puppeteer on a TV show? Always wanted to give it a try?
Well, here’s your chance.
Puppeteer, Bob Stutt, has decades of TV and film experience including seven years with the Friendly Giant, ten years with the Muppets and ten years as Basil Bear on Canadian Sesame Street where he was also lead writer. He performed Iggy Iguana on CBC’s “Under the Umbrella Tree” and also “Molly Doll” on The Big Comfy Couch. Bob has also filmed over 100 TV commercials in Denmark for the Danish National Railway.
And now he would love to spend some time playing puppets with you!
We’ll provide the cameras, monitors and a few puppets. You provide enthusiasm, imagination and any puppets of your own that tickle your fancy.
Come be a star for a day and experience first-hand the challenging, inspiring, silly world behind the puppets you see on TV.
Admission is $20 per person. This three-hour workshop is open to adults and kids over the age of 10 with a limit of ten to twelve people.
After lunch at the (nearby) Boston Pizza, we came in to the Bingeman’s Big Splash. After changing into our bathing suits we stepped out on to the deck exited about all of the slides that awaited us. They had many slides to choose from and better yet, the height restrictions are very reasonable so that everyone can go (most of the required heights are around forty inches). My personal favourite slide was the Cyclone.
Entertainment Area in Bingman’s Splash Park, 425 Bingeman’s Centre Drive, Kitchener, Ontario
Over all, the park quite fairly spread out which makes it feel like there is less of a crowd, there also is a big wave pool
Entertainment Area in Bingman’s Splash Park, 425 Bingeman’s Centre Drive, Kitchener, Ontario
which has a shallow end
Entertainment Area in Bingman’s Splash Park, 425 Bingeman’s Centre Drive, Kitchener, Ontario
and a deep end however the tubes have to be rented for five dollars each and Cabana rentals are also available, another thing to note is that most of the rides are one person at a time, however there are a couple that two people can ride on at the same time.
Entertainment Area in Bingman’s Splash Park, 425 Bingeman’s Centre Drive, Kitchener, Ontario
We highly recommend that you try it out especially if traveling with young ones.
Entertainment Area in Bingman’s Splash Park, 425 Bingeman’s Centre Drive, Kitchener, Ontario
Entertainment Area in Bingman’s Splash Park, 425 Bingeman’s Centre Drive, Kitchener, Ontario
Entertainment Area in Bingman’s Splash Park, 425 Bingeman’s Centre Drive, Kitchener, Ontario
Entertainment Area in Bingman’s Splash Park, 425 Bingeman’s Centre Drive, Kitchener, Ontario
Overall it is the most fun water park in the region.
African Lion Safari first opened its doors to the visitors in 1969 and since then went through a lot expansions and animal additions… About 6,000 visitors come here daily to see the exotic animals that are roaming free in the fields or just enjoying the warm summer day in their artfully created habitats on land and water.
To start our visit we boarded the “African Queen” boat that took us around the island where we saw monkeys jumping in the ropes and multiple birds such as vultures and pelicans. One of the spots was taken by two lemur families. The boat operators told us about animals routine and some funny life stories…
A day with Family in African Lion Safari, Ontario, Canada
The boat came back to the pierce and we decided to take a bus that goes to African savanna . We had to enter through the specially designed gate system that allows buses and cars to safely go in and out of that area. “Keep your arms and heads inside, no windows opening”…. The bus tour goes through multiple enclosures each housing different wild animals. We are surrounded by lions, then we pass by cheetahs… We got to see many mountain goats as well as rhinos and many giraffes…
A day with Family in African Lion Safari, Ontario, Canada
The best part of the bus tour was visiting the giraffes, they came up very closely so we had around four of them circling around the bus, one of them even licked the bus mirrors. It is quite a spectacular view – one of them gracefully approaching our window, the other is in the front of the bus… oh, one more is in the front!
A day with Family in African Lion Safari, Ontario, Canada
Following the bus tour we went on the ”Nature Boy” scenic railway, the tour lasts around fifteen minutes. On the way we got to see the elephants habitat, a donkey and many turtles that came out of the pond for summer sun. It was a nice way to give our feet some rest and enjoy the fresh air coming from the lake and trees…
A day with Family in African Lion Safari, Ontario, Canada
Elephants Bath time was now up, so we headed to the lake to see them coming gracefully – leading was a large male elephant and then smaller ones – females and young siblings. Elephants got in the water, it looked like they are walking on the bottom of the lake – but no, some places are deep and they do have to swim, sometimes we could only see the very top of the head and the trunk… they had some fun time splashing and spraying each other; later rangers came and started throwing apples to the elephants – which was a lot of fun for all!!
Elephant swim
A day with Family in African Lion Safari, Ontario, Canada
A day with Family in African Lion Safari, Ontario, Canada
It was a hot day – we would not mind to go for a plunge too – and we could at the Safari’s water park area – however, we were quite hungry and went to the café to have lunch…. We had to say goodbye to all the animals big and small before heading of to our next destination.
We arrived in Valcourt QC to see the place where the man known as the pride of Valcourt created his company that would be renowned by the world. The visit begins with the simple garage where Joseph Armand Bombardier decides to overcome the challenges of driving in the deep snow.
Museum of Ingenuity, Valcourt, Quebec
By adapting the tractor wheels into treads and skis to become parts of the vehicle he was able to make the first snowmobile- the B7 – that within a very short period of time became in great demand not just in Quebec but all over Canada. In the garage there is still his officefilled with tools and papers, as if he just stepped out for a moment.
And you can see the first original snowmobile that looks quite bulky, since it was made of wood and various parts from other machines, stands in the middle of the garage.
Museum of Ingenuity, Valcourt, Quebec
The new creation became so popular that the company moved to the new larger building and was supported by the whole community of Valcourt. The larger sized vehicles followed and the business was prospering until… after World War II, the Quebec government passed a law that required cities to remove the snow from highways and streets and the need for the snowmobile as a transportation quickly faded. The creativity of Joseph Armand Bombardier never stopped and he
brought new ideas into growing the business… a few months later the “Ski-Doo” comes out of his production and quickly gives raise to the new sport and gives all new outlook for winter fun.
Museum of Ingenuity, Valcourt, Quebec
Museum of Ingenuity, Valcourt, Quebec
From section to section we could see the machines created in different times for the variety of purposes – snowmobiles of all sizes, all terrain vehicles, the rail transport – here you can get on the actual streetcar and image being on the streets of the busy downtown.
In the next hall we were impressed by the original subway wheels that are used in Montreal Metro – and these are produced by Bombardier Inc. as well.
Museum of Ingenuity, Valcourt, Quebec
One of the expositions is dedicated to the aircraft industry, here the imagination will take you up to the skies – yes, you can fly! And feel like a pilot of the commercial aircraft, which destination is any place of your choice!
Museum of Ingenuity, Valcourt, Quebec
And not just the destinations you can reach here, you can build the totally new vehicle of your own creation. In the room filled with I-pads there is big screen with the images of all sorts of surrealistic machines moving, floating, flying, zooming… it’s a wonderful world of imagination; and no matter the age – it is a great fun for all!
FabLab, Museum of Ingenuity, Valcourt, Quebec
One more surprise at the end of our tour – so called ‘’ FabLabs’’. Anyone who likes to create, is in need of tools and good technical advice can come here and for a very reasonable fee get it all including materials, software and a helping hand! Really impressive and well done! And so encouraging!
Bombardier Original Garage, Museum of Ingenuity, Valcourt, Quebec
During the last couple of years the topic of visiting Quebec was coming up several times in our discussions. Kids were asking if there is a zoo there, so we found out that Granby Zoo is not too far… Finally in May 2017 we booked a hotel and planned out the itinerary that would include some of the places that we thought would be interesting for everyone in the family and the zoo was one of those.
The main destination was Quebec City and its beautiful downtown was so well preserved and such a distinct French heritage. We spent most of our time just strolling the streets, window shopping and watching the street performers who really amazed us with their skills – fire jugglers, drama characters and musicians…
Granby Zoo is about 3 hours drive from the downtown Quebec, and about an hour from Montreal. We were welcomed in the nice reception hall, got our tickets and went to explore the animal world.
Granby Zoo, Quebec
Right as we entered there was a gigantic size dinosaur’s head and a line up of kids willing to climb inside of it! No matter how big or small – they were very about the opportunity to see the real size dinosaurs! And there 21 of them right in front of you, so be very careful – but don’t try to feed or pat these creatures! Even in the Zoo!
Dinosaurs encounter
Enough of the dinosaurs – the kids forgot about dinosaurs right at the sight of the farm animals. And there were lots of them – pigs, sheep, and goats – so friendly and ready to make friends!
Farm animals
Granby Zoo, Quebec
After some hugs exchange with farm inhabitants we decided to go see some of the exotic creatures on display.
Up close encounter with tropical fish via aquarium glass, Granby Zoo, Quebec
Stingray in Aquarium
Oceania seemed to be a good place to start – first the stingrays and the variety of tropical fish and then all way around the Australian continent to see black swans, parrots, emus, and kangaroos. Stingrays seem to be attracted to the hand emerged in the water – some of them will come and allow us to gently touch their backs…
The Kangaroos were too busy to discuss any matters of their life, so the visit to the Oceania Garden was quite interesting as it is extremely rare you get to see kangaroos that close and with no fence!.
Granby Zoo, Quebec
Granby Zoo, Quebec
Australian Pavillion, Granby Zoo, Quebec
We entered the aviary and right away we were surrounded by many colorful parrots! For $1 you can buy a special nectar – just hold the cup tight and they will sit on your hand and drink it!
Granby Zoo Aviary, Quebec
We spend some good time there – the parrots are so colorful and it is such a great experience to see them so close.
Granby Zoo, Quebec
Granby Zoo, Quebec
But there was a lot see and the time was limited.
Our next destination was Africa! Who doesn’t like to observe the grace of big cats, see elephants shower using trunks, slowly moving zebras and giraffes, and the hilarious monkeys?
Meerkat, Granby Zoo, Quebec
Zebras, Granby Zoo, Quebec
Granby Zoo, Quebec
Granby Zoo, Quebec
Granby Zoo, Quebec
One of our major observations was the design of the areas, nice fences that imitate greenery and well maintained grounds. We later learned that Granby Zoo received an Award for the Energy Consumption Reduction Efforts project that was implemented during the renovation of 2005-2010.
The Zoo is well mapped and organized – it was no problem to find any continent or animal of interest. And yes, the zookeepers definitely speak many languages, no worries if you don’t speak French!
After Africa we had just a bit of time to make a short tour of South America. We stopped by llamas who stretched out their necks asking for treat… Sure!
Granby Zoo, Quebec
it was a lot of fun to feed them some green leaves that we found on the trees around; we were impressed by the spread of the wings of the Andean Condor and spent some time waiting for the alligators to wake up from the afternoon nap; finally one of them yawned and slowly moved towards the water… at the end of the South American trail we saw a powerful jaguar, at the moment it was quite relaxed and not interested in any aggression.
Granby Zoo, Quebec
Taking an afternoon nap….
On our way to South American continent we made a snack stop at “Le Marcher”. The restaurant offers a variety of foods and drinks and nice dining area; there is also a large area outside with tables under umbrellas.
Next to the Restaurant there is an Amusement Park – where kids found some free rides while we were resting our feet; there is also an Amazoo Water park that offers quite the variety of water rides, not now however… we may visit it some other time when the day will be hot enough for water fun…so long for now, the Zoo is closing and we are tired enough to get to our hotel and have some dinner.
16 March 2017: Over 250 iconic landmarks and sites around the world will be illuminated green over the coming days – as part of Tourism Ireland’s 2017 Global Greening initiative to celebrate the island of Ireland and St Patrick.
The annual initiative, now in its eighth year, which sees a host of major landmarks around the world turn green for St Patrick’s Day, has grown from strength to strength, with many new landmarks signing up to take part this year.
Stadiums, statues, castles and towers will go green to celebrate our national day (17 March) with exciting additions for 2017 including the One World Trade Center in New York – the main building of the re-built World Trade Center in New York and the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
Canadian landmarks going green this year include the Toronto Sign, Casa Loma, Whistler Ski Resort, Calgary Tower, Cabot Tower, The Big Fiddle, the Museum of Nature, the Big Nickel, the Distillery District, the Sails of Lights, the Futalognkosaurus (dinosaur) in the Royal Ontario Museum, Montreal City Hall, Complexe Desjardins, and La Tour McGill.
Click Tourism Ireland’s Global Greenings for footage of the world turning green.
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “This is the eighth year of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative and each year I am delighted to see even more well-known attractions and landmark sites wishing to get involved. The eagerness of cities and countries everywhere to take part underlines the strength of the deep connection that people all over the world feel to Ireland. More than 70 million people around the world claim links to the island of Ireland and St Patrick’s Day is a truly unique opportunity to reconnect them with their heritage.”
Of course, the ‘greenings’ are just one part of the St Patrick’s Day celebrations. The place to be on 17th March is Ireland where there are two festivals which shouldn’t be missed.
In Dublin, Ireland’s capital city, the ‘St Patrick’s Festival’ will last for four great days, taking in the weekend and running from 16-19 March. The city will be alive with music, film, arts, dance, culture, fun and even international rugby.
Each year the festival has a different theme with this year’s ‘Ireland We Are’ giving the city a chance to showcase all that Ireland stands for today. Festival favourites include the world’s largest outdoor céilí, world-class museums hosting free workshops and guided historic walks including famous sites such as the Guinness Storehouse. The main event, the St Patrick’s Festival parade, is held on Friday 17 March in Dublin’s city centre.
In Northern Ireland, the newly curated ‘Home of St Patrick Festival’ celebrates St Patrick, the man and the saint, as one of the world’s most inspiring and loved saints of all time. Taking place in the beautiful landscape of Counties Armagh and Down, which was once Patrick’s home, the festival will culminate on Sunday 19 March with ‘The Voice of the Irish’ closing concert in spectacular Newry Cathedral.
KITCHENER, Ont. — Get ready to pack the whole family into the car and drive through a Christmas
wonderland this season as Bingemans gears up to bring some spark and light to the holidays by hosting
the very first Gift of Lights exhibit in Southwestern Ontario.
Gift of Lights is a drive-thru holiday light display that has attracted many people to several cities across
the United States. This year for the first time, Gifts of Lights is coming to Southwestern Ontario and
Bingemans is proud to be the first to present and bring the luminous spectacle to Waterloo Region.
“Christmas is one of the best times of the year, and we are excited to bring this spectacular holiday
experience to the people of Waterloo Region and surrounding area. We’re excited to be hosting Gift of
Lights first-ever appearance in Southwestern Ontario,” says Mark Bingeman, President of Bingemans.
“We’re looking at this as the kick-off to many more new and exciting holiday experiences in future years.”
The display will stretch two kilometers through the Bingemans campground, featuring a combination of
30 static and animated displays and close to one million sparkling lights. Another prominent component
of the light extravaganza will be a 200-foot twinkling light tunnel.
“This will be a display of holiday lights unlike any other,” says Bingeman. “Best of all, you enjoy the lights
without ever having to leave the warmth and comfort of your car.”
Admission prices are $20 for cars, $40 for limos and $100 for buses and limo buses.
The grand opening of Bingemans’ Gift of Lights will be the weekend of November 18th from 5-10 pm. Preholiday
opening dates will include November 24th-27th and November 1st – December 4th. Regular holiday
hours begin December 8th.
For more information, please visit bingemans.com/gift-of-lights.php. Join the conversation on social
media; follow Bingemans on Instagram and Twitter @Bingemans, Like it on Facebook and watch exclusive
video on YouTube.
About Bingemans:
Waterloo Region’s leader in entertainment and hospitality, Bingemans is a multi-use amusement park and
campground located in Kitchener, Ont.,that provides the very best in family fun, recreation and family
camping. Explore FunworX all year long, a three-level indoor playground for children of all ages, boasting
an arcade, climbing wall, ropes course and more. Bingemans is also home to Canada’s largest Boston
Pizza, 28 lanes of 10-pin bowling at Kingpin Bowling, billiards, ping pong, outdoor beach volleyball and
outstanding banquet and catering facilities. And don’t miss Bingemans this winter season at their Annual
Holiday Gala, Christmas Day Buffet, Kids New Year’s Eve at FunworX and Gift of Lights – an absolute must-
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see this holiday. The camping resort features sites for tents, trailers and RVs, seasonal camping, yurts and
cabins. With a heated wave pool, Spray “n” Play for kids and huge waterslides, Big Splash Waterpark is a
great spot to cool down in summer’s heat.
