Whether you’re in the Montreal or Ottawa area, I bet you didn’t know that you are only 1 1/2 hours away from an exciting safari adventure. Parc Omega is the perfect day outing for kids (and folks) of all ages. It’s an 800 hectare park where the animals roam free and you are “caged” in your car. It’s such an easy drive to be able to come face to face with Canadian wildlife: reindeer, elk, arctic wolf and fox, bison, musk ox, turkey, boar, coyote, black bear, and many kinds of deer.

Along a 12-kilometere safari nature route which takes you past lakes, meadows, small valleys, forests and rocky hills, you meander at your own pace. You can pick up bag of carrots at the visitor center (or bring your own), and as you slowly make your way through, you are allowed to open the windows to feed the wildlife. Kids are thrilled that they do not have to be in their car seats here and can flit from side to side of the vehicle to say hello to the animals.

You tune your radio to a station which fills you in on all sorts of information about the species you will be seeing.

• We learned which males are good daddies and stay around to raise the youngsters and which ones only show up for mating season.
• I never knew that the musk oxen’s heads are strong as hammers and they butt and knock everything down. Their quarters are specially built to withstand their strength.
•  You pass by low slung “condos” for boars designed to keep the big predators out.
• Coming here in winter gives you the opportunity to see how the arctic fox blends into the snowscape.

About 2/3 through, there’s a place to stop,  get out to stretch legs and visit some wooden buildings for bathrooms, gifts, food and hot cocoa. Friendly deer are in the parking area to get a snack too – those carrots – buy lots.

This is one experience that all Canadian families should take advantage of. It’s not only educational and fun, but will bring lasting memories for the whole family.

Location: Parc Omega is a safari park in Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours, Quebec, Canada
Address: 399 Route 323 North, Montebello, QC J0V 1L0 Click for map 

Phone: (819) 423-5487
www.parcomega.ca

You certainly can cheer up the bleak winter with beautiful art works on your walls.

It’s the 50th Edition of Art Rental and Sales Service in Pointe Claire which offers you, for as little as $6 per month, art to rent. With more than 100 works of art to choose from created by many local artists, you can certainly find something beautiful to rent which would liven up your home or office.

Any kind of art you may like: watercolours, prints, photographs, sketches and mixed media are there to peruse on their web site – or in person in Stewart Hall. Over 450 works of art were submitted this year and they selected 113 to offer you.

When you fall in love with your art work, you can buy it too.

Location  , 176 Lakeshore Rd. 2nd floor Stewart Hall Cultural Center
To view collection: www.pointe-claire.ca/en/art-rental-sales-services

Now that the holidays are over and we have more time to play, why not take a quick getaway with your family to Almonte, ON which is only about 2-1/2 hours from Montreal. The very first reason is that Ed Atwell of Healthy Food Technologies (hft) has figured out how to make low-fat donuts that are scrumptious. He “tricks” the donuts by frying them (in zero trans fat oil) for 1/2 the time and then baking them at the same temperature. Watch the video to see him explain the process he invented.

Now take a walk around the corner and pick up your to-go-with coffee at fair trade high quality Equator Coffee Roasters. They roast the beans right there, having bought them from small-scale farming communities and paid the farmers well. Do not  miss the Oh-so-Canadian maple-flavored latte. It’s worth driving there just for that! Kids can enjoy the hot chocolate.

Next you can pick up snacks for the car or yummies to take home at Dandelion Foods co-op before a 45 min. drive to Wheelers Pancake House and Maple Sugar Camp. D andelion Foods co-op sells whole, local and organic foods and some for specialty diets. Here you can buy the famous Hummingbird chocolate bars favored by Prime Minister Trudeau. Note the PB & Joy (with peanut butter) and the spicy Mayan.  Please bring back the Empire Cheese caramelized onion cheddar cheese for me.

For lunch and fun, at Wheelers Pancake House you can visit the Maple Museum and the Chainsaw & Logging museum and the kids can have fun in the playground. Handy men and women will be mesmerized by Mark Wheeler’s dad Vernon’s collection of hundreds of chainsaws. Everyone will enjoy his “largest collection of pure maple syrup artifacts” which help explain the history of the maple sugar industry. From First Nations wooden spigots to the plastic lines of today, syrup pour-ers, molds, pails, and everything else related to this sweet topic, it’s all here at this 38-year family business. Don’t forget to leave room for the freshly made pancakes and delicious syrup right from their trees.

For the grand finale, we visited Keith and Elizabeth Adam’s alpacas and llamas at their  Serendipity Farm. For retirement they decided to raise alpacas for the fun of it. The couple exudes their enjoyment of spending their golden years with these elegant, fluffy friends. They’ll chatter about the little quirks of each of the animals as well as the work associated with raising them.

Alpacas produce fiber that is as fine as cashmere, soft, silky and much warmer than sheep’s wool, while also wicking moisture away from the body.
In their little shop you can buy scarves, gloves, purses, as well as fiber felted sheets, alpaca and fiber rovings and handspun yarn.

Leave some time too for the local shops which wind their way along the downtown streets. Yes there’s plenty to do in Lanark County for a low-key interesting getaway weekend. We are not sure how this area attracted so many hippie/free trade/entrepreneurial types who seem to care for the planet. You can feel virtuous spending time and money in this town.

Equator Coffee Roasters, 451-A Ottawa St, Almonte, ON K0A 1A0, Tel: 613-256-5960
www.equator.ca

Dandelion Foods, 541 Ottawa St, Almonte, ON K0A 1A0,  Tel: 1-613-256-4545
www.dandelionfoods.ca

Healthy Food Technologies, 25 Industrial Rd., Almonte ON  Tel: 613-256-9900
(HFT) https://www.facebook.com/HFTinc

Wheelers Pancake House and Maple Sugar Camp, 1001 Highland Line, McDonalds Corners(Lanark Highlands), ON K0G 1M0 Tel: 613-278-2090
www.wheelersmaple.com

Serendipity Farm Alpacas & Llamas,  929 South Lavant Rd, Lanark, ON K0G1K0  Tel: 613-259-3304 or 613-222-6303
www.serendipityalpacas.ca

www.lanarkcounty.ca

Moose Knuckles sells coats and jackets for both men and women. Up until March 2017, you can head to their factory outlet store at Mirabel Premium Outlets and save up to 60% off designer coats, as in: Esprit, Buffalo David Bitton, Hilary Radley, Perry Ellis, Laundry by Shelli Segal, William Rast, Liz Claiborne outerwear and Betsey Johnson.

New merchandise comes in weekly.

Location: Mirabel Premium Outlets, 19001 ch. Notre-Dame, Mirabel, QC J7J0T1
Hours: Mon-Fri 10-9, Sat 9-5, Sun 10-5
Dates: til March 2017

Hanger 16, where the SOS Labyrinthe is created and re-created constantly, was home to tireless longshoremen. In respecting that history, they’ve used canvas, pipes, crates and barrels to transform Hangar 16 into a megamaze. Your job is to find four historical objects they’ve hidden: the captain’s hook, the travel wallet, the wooden shoes and a Cuban pitchfork. Here’s a bit of the background on the last one:

Fidel Castro loves ice cream, but Cuban cows couldn’t produce enough milk to feed his people. So dreaming of creating a race of “supercows”, he decided to breed Cuban cattle with Holsteins from Canada. This breed was known to produce up to 9 times more milk. For 48 hours, after cattleman J.G. Trudeau trucked the first batch of 300 heads of cattle to Hangar 16 for transfer to Cuba, the shed morphed into a cowshed, and the longshoremen turned into farmhands using pitchforks. From 1966 to 1971, this port handled over 35,000 Cuban-bound animals.

In 1972, Fidel’s supercow was finally born. Named Ubre Blanca (White Udder), it holds the Guinness world record for milk production in 24 hours: 110 liters of milk per day!
And that is why a Cuban pitchfork is one of the treasures to hunt for in Hangar 16.

The 2 km. maze is great fun for kids of all ages. Families can bond trying to outwit the course, teens can spend a fun evening with friends, and it’s perfect for a date. Many challenges and false alleys lead to much laughter and enthusiastic cries. If you do get stuck, look for the pirate in the corner, and he may let you sing a song for a clue! This is a memorable adventure to experience with family and friends.

Location: Old Port of Montreal, Hangar 16
Hours: 11 am to 7:30 pm, weekends and holidays only
Tel: 514-499-0099
www.soslabyrinthe.com

Google Map: Click for map 

Imagine you are a pirate climbing the ropes of your ship at sea. Now take that thought and multiply it by a few rope courses with dozens of challenges on each one. You put on a harness and attach yourself by a safety hook to a guide wire to climb like a monkey at Voiles en Voiles.

Aerial courses on the pirate ship in the port of Montreal start at 2 ft high for ages 3-6, where they can climb on hanging ladders, flat nets, a rocking bridge, a footbridge and more. The next level up is 13 ft high, and can be done be 5 year olds and up and challenged doing alternating logs, bridges, and a maze.

The 24 ft high ropes have you passing bags, holding on to hanging logs, and crossing a net, while the double diamond 35 ft challenge has angled discs, jump ropes, logs, hanging beams and a surprise footbridge.

For the wee ones, there’s a climbing wall and at least 1/2 dozen inflatable games. Prices range from $12 for one person for one hour to $89 for a family of four for 2 hours, or a 4-hour package. It takes the full 4 hours to accomplish all of the rope challenges.

Spectators can watch all the fun for free. There’s no charge to sit on the Adirondack chairs and glean a breeze from the St Lawrence River. You can bring or buy some snacks and eat at the picnic tables too.

Location: Old Port of Montreal
Hours: 10 am to 8 pm, weekends and holidays only
Tel: 514-473-1458
www.voilesenvoiles.com

Google Map: Click for map 

Skyllas & Sunstrum is a high-end bathroom furniture and accessories brand whose products are made from natural resources like stone and semi-precious stone vessel sinks: sinks of river stone, petrified wood, teak, teak wood rot, onyx, marble, ceramic, porcelain, granite and concrete. The sinks are artistically fabulous.

They also feature custom-made, rustic premium quality teak wood bathroom vanities and recycled wood vanities which exude a modern, industrial or Scandinavian look. All of their furniture is made from quality Indonesian teak wood which is very resistant and rot-proof. They can create teak bathtubs and also sell benches and stools, decor, lighting and tables.

You can add matching bathroom accessories to your decor: cups, mirrors, soap dispensers, soap holders, toothbrush holders, towel racks or trays. They can sell you drains and faucets too.

All of their products are the result of responsible and sustainable exploitation of the resources used.

Go take a look at their showroom on Masson street or admire their on-line boutique. They ship everywhere in Canada and in the United States.

Location: 3830 rue Masson Montréal, H1X 1S8 / Google Map: http://bit.ly/2ak27uZ
Tel: 514-303-8244
Hours: by appointment
Metro: Station Pix IX
www.skyllassunstrum.com

Steven Berke Custom Tailors is a Montreal based second-generation men’s custom tailor who brings 40 years of experience right to your door. He respects the fact that your time is at a premium, so he arranges consultations and fittings when and where it is most convenient for you either his showroom or your office.

When you know you look great, it makes you feel even more confident, so there is more value in getting fitted for a custom suit than the garment itself. Berke understands the importance his clients place on investing in impeccably fitted suits that enhance their wardrobe, their appearance and their business.

Steven’s expert guidance and design knowledge makes it so easy to assist you in selecting suit and shirt fabrics. Together you peruse his extensive collection of the finest Italian woolens and cottons from Vitale Barberis Canonico. www.vitalebarberiscanonico.com/

Every custom men’s suit begins with choices from this exclusive high quality fabric – updated each season – for a truly unique and individual addition to your wardrobe. The garment is finished to your specifications and with his attention to detail, for a truly custom fit and finish. After the suits, shirts or tuxedos are hand-crafted with care and attention, they are then delivered promptly to you in person.

In the past, Steven has dressed professional athletes, celebrities, well known musicians as well as busy executives.

Go to his web site www.stevenberke.com and read the testimonials from captains of industry in Montreal attesting to his outstanding service and the enjoyment of his fabulous clothes.

It feels good to give your business to an experienced local Montreal tailor. When you suit up in a Steven Berke suit, you will stand out at your next professional or personal event. Enjoy the superior fit of custom-tailored suits.

Steven Berke’s motto, “I suit you better”, really rings true.

Tel: (514) 481-9822
www.stevenberke.com
Email: steven@berke.com