Get your freebies
With everyone’s pockets empty from the holiday season, I thought it was a good time to offer you a column to address the question: “Who says there’s no free lunch?”. Well maybe not lunch, but certainly dessert. The best price to pay for anything is nothing. I love it when I can find things for you around town that are free (well just about almost in these cases). Why are companies giving away things without charging you, you ask?
In the first instance, the Canadian Ski Council Snow Pass, the best way to encourage newcomers to a sport is to let them try it out. One day on a ski hill may only give you a taste of the sport, but by the third time they probably have you hooked for life.
The second freebie, Kine-Concept, is a school that teaches various forms of massage therapy. At any school students need to practice their subject matter, and then they need to be tested to see how well they know it, or in this case, how well they perform. At the end of each semester, many students need bodies on which to practice their massage skills. That’s where you (and I) come in. We are helping out struggling students by offering our bods for them to massage. This is one of those places that I have tried to keep to myself, but in the spirit of the new year, I am willing to share it with you.
Ben and Jerry Corporation has always been a good corporate citizen. From their inception they have made it a point of giving back to their community. Once a year they offer free ice cream cones, but they do pass around a donation box for you to help out their causes.
Grade 5 SnowPass, c/o Canadian Ski Council, 5045 Orbitor Drive Bldg 7, Suite 100, Mississauga, ON L4W 4Y4. Tel: 905-212-9040. Fax: 905-212-9041. www.snowpass.org or Sports Experts stores (see addresses below). For the past ten years, in order to encourage kids to take up skiing or to ski more, most major ski centers across Canada have teamed up to offer a free Grade 5 SnowPass™ to kids who are ten years old, which can be used three times at each hill. In each of the last three years, over 30,000 ten-year-olds have taken advantage of this. You can pick up the flyers about it at Sports Experts or sign up online. I was a bit dismayed to find out that there is $15 handling/mailing fee. The SnowPass™ is divided into two regions. Ours, the East, covers the hills in the Eastern Townships: Ski Bromont, Mont Orford, Sutton Ma Station de Montagne, Owls Head, Mont Bellevue and Centre recreotouristique Montjoye, and in the Laurentians: Belle Neige, Ski Morin Heights, Mont St. Sauveur, Vallee Bleu, Gray Rocks, Mont Habitant, Mont Alta, Mont Avila, Mont Tremblant, Mont Blanc, Mont Olympia, Ski Chantecler, Ski Mont Gabriel, Station de Sports, Mont Avalanche and Les Pentes 40,80. Look around also for coupons to get price reductions for lessons and rentals. Also, ask about the offer for a one-day lift ticket coupon for next winter. Sports Experts locations: Châteauguay, 298 d’Anjou Blvd., Jardins Dorval, Galeries d’Anjou, Promenades Montarville, Carrefour de la Rive-Sud, Place Longueuil, Fairview Centre, Rockland Centre, Champlain Mall, Quartier DIX30, Carrefour Angrignon, Place Vertu, Chambly 533 Perigny Blvd., Centre Laval, Notre-Dame Mega Centre, Carrefour Laval, Place Alexis Nihon, Place Versailles, Place Capitol, 930 St. Catherine St. West
Kine-concept Institute, 760 St. Zotique St. East at Chateaubriand Ave. Phone: 514-272-5463. Hours: Daily 8:30 a.m. to 10:15 p.m. www.kineconcept.com There are many kinds of treatments taught here: chair massage, fasciatherapy, massage for pregnant women, reflexology, stone massage, shiatsu and thai yoga massage, etc. The do “charge” an $18 donation fee (you get a receipt) which goes to the Excellence Fund at the Kine Concept Institute for researching the benefits of massage. The ones you are most likely going to be called up for are the masso-kinesitherapy and Swedish style massages. A massage by the graduates’ group costs $55 – $75. A health questionnaire needs to be filled out before you begin. Call to get on a client list for students needing to practice (your name stays on for 3 months).
Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day, 1316 De Maisonneuve Blvd. West at Crescent St. Tel: 514-286-6073. Hours: Sunday to Wednesday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m, Thursday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. www.benjerry.com Mark your calendars, because usually it’s the last Tuesday in April, to welcome Spring, that you can get in line as many times as you want and try out as many flavors (Chunky Monkey, Phish Food, Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz, Chocolate Therapy NewYork Super Fudge Chunk, frozen yogurt (half-baked, Cherry Garcia, Chocolate Fudge Brownie) as your tummy can hold. Don’t worry if the line seems really long – it moves quickly because there is no money changing hands. Ben & Jerry’s was one of the first corporations to set community support as a founding value of the company. It pairs Free Cone Day with a charity, and each franchisee gets to choose his own. In Montreal, it’s the Children’s Wish Foundation, and you can, if you so choose, make a donation. Other locations: 5582 Monkland Ave. (514-488-6524); Old Montreal, Place Jacques Cartier (514-876-4121); 2172 Ste-Catherine Est (514-524-3672); Laval: 920 Desserte Ouest/Autoroute 13 (450-689-3611); McGill College (514-392-1226).