Trails Open Ontario promotes year-round enjoyment of province's vast trail systems

TORONTO, October 30, 2009 /Canada NewsWire/ - With many of the province's trail systems open year-round to the public, visitors will have an opportunity to explore and enjoy Ontario's unique natural heritage throughout the fall and winter seasons.

Several programs and organizations participating in Trails Open Ontario 2009 are coordinating free public events and activities in the coming months. Recreational opportunities range from guided hikes to cross-country skiing, to snowshoeing and dog sledding.

For more information on this year's program, visit www.heritagetrust.on.ca and click on Trails Open Ontario under the Spotlight on Heritage. Participating trail systems and organizations are also featured in a special eight-page section in the Doors Open Ontario 2009 Guide. To obtain a free copy, call 1-800-ONTARIO (668-2746).

Trails Open Ontario is designed to promote year-round trail use and education, support natural heritage conservation and stewardship, and encourage physical activity and a healthy lifestyle.

Trails Open Ontario is a program of the Ontario Heritage Trust, with funding support from the Government of Ontario. The program's media sponsor is The Globe and Mail.


The Ontario Heritage Trust is an agency of the Government of Ontario dedicated to identifying, preserving, protecting and promoting Ontario's heritage for present and future generations.

Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall to kick off spectacular opening weekend at The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

- Free admission to attend The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair's Royal Opening Ceremony -


TORONTO, October 27, 2009 /Canada NewsWire/ - Looking for some pageantry and thrills? Be sure to book off the entire weekend of November 6th to 8th because you'll be down at The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, where the most spectacular line-up of events will be taking place, from The Royal Visit to an action packed rodeo show.

As part of their Canadian tour, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, will officially open this year's Royal Agricultural Winter Fair on Friday, November 6th. Admission will be free to Royal spectators and fairgoers alike who want to welcome the famous couple at the grand opening ceremonies taking place in The Ricoh Coliseum.

For Royal watchers wishing to welcome Prince Charles and Camilla, The Royal will grant free admission between 8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Before the famous couple's arrival, savvy spectators will be treated to equestrian entertainment, including performances by The Canadian Cowgirls Precision Riding Team, Pony Club members and hunter jumper competitors.

Rounding out The Royal Visit on opening weekend, The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair will keep guests entertained with the first-ever new country music concert series, produced by Bayfest Music Festival, featuring Emerson Drive on Friday, November 6th at 7:30 p.m. and the Road Hammers on Saturday, November 7th at 7:30 p.m. On Friday and Saturday nights of opening weekend, The Royal will also feature the Canadian Show Jumping Championships, pitting the country's best riders against one another. Be sure to keep your spurs on until Sunday, November 8th for The Ontario Toyota Dealers Royal Rodeo taking place at 1:00 p.m. Barrel racing, rodeo clowns, bareback and bronco riding will thrill adults and children alike.

The excitement will continue at The Brew House, The Wine Tasting Bar and Vintners' Terrace restaurant where guest chef Corbin Tomaszeski of Holt's Café and Restaurant Makeover will be featured.

"This year's Royal Agricultural Winter Fair opening weekend will be the most spectacular one we have ever had," said Bill Duron, chief executive, The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. "Starting with free admission to see Prince Charles and Camilla, followed by the new country concert series, Canadian Show Jumping Championships and The Royal Rodeo, fairgoers will receive the royal treatment the entire weekend."

The largest of its kind in the world, The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair is an experiential event that takes place in Toronto every November at Exhibition Place. Now in its 87th year, The Royal offers urban adults and children alike a chance to see, smell, hear and taste authentic country life.

Running from Friday, November 6 to Sunday, November 15, 2009, The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair will showcase innovations in food and agriculture, thousands of livestock animals, and dozens of the world's top equestrian horses and riders.

For more information on The Royal, visit www.royalfair.org

ONTARIO: One call you ARE allowed to make

TORONTO, October 26, 2009 /Canada NewsWire/ - Calls to 9-1-1 are exempt from Ontario's new ban on using any hand-held electronic devices while driving. "Drunk, drugged and fatigued drivers put us all at risk on our roads", said Brian Mitchell, President of arrive alive DRIVE SOBER, "so calling 9-1-1 to report such a driver as a crime in progress is a call you should continue to make - and as always, please make the call safely".

Operation Lookout(R) intervenes to remove unsafe drivers from the roads, and also deters potential impaired drivers by communicating an increased likelihood of apprehension. Operation Lookout was recognized by Health Canada in 2005 as a valuable program to deal with persistent drunk drivers. Trade-marked in 1992 by Against Drunk Driving, Operation Lookout has been credited for increasing the number of suspected impaired drivers reported to police four-fold. About 65 communities in Canada currently run Operation Lookout.

Find out more about Operation Lookout by visiting www.call911.ca

Olympic Flame Lighting Ceremony for Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay

VANCOUVER, October 18,2009 /Canada NewsWire/ - The time-honoured Lighting Ceremony for the Olympic Flame will take place in Olympia, site of the first Olympic Games in ancient Greece, on Thursday, October 22 to light the Olympic Flame for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay.

The first torchbearer for the Greek portion of the relay will depart from the historic grounds of Olympia's ancient stadium at the conclusion of the event for a relay through Greece that will conclude on October 29 at the Olympic Flame Handover Ceremony in Athens, Greece. These events are hosted by and require media accreditation arrangements through the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC).

The longest domestic torch relay in Olympic history will start in Victoria, BC, on October 30 with the arrival of the Olympic Flame on Canadian soil. The 106-day Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay is presented by Coca-Cola and RBC, and supported by the Government of Canada.

More details on events for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay that take place after October 22 will be released in the coming days. Information on the relay, including background on the Lighting Ceremony, Greek portion of the relay and Handover Ceremony is available at www.vancouver2010.com/torchrelay.

Don't Blow Your Leaves: Rake Instead

...seen at The Daily Green ... By Brian Clark Howard

Although leaf blowers may seem cool and convenient, they are extremely polluting, and much less green than simply raking fallen leaves the old-fashioned way.

In one year's time, that little leaf blower engine you hear buzzing up the street pumps out as much smog-forming pollution as 80 cars, each driven 12,500 miles, according to a California air quality agency. Fortunately, regulators have taken notice, and are encouraging manufacturers and the buying public to upgrade to newer, cleaner (as well as quieter) models. But it is still cleanest of all to hand out the rakes.

Raking leaves is a simple task that can be shared by the whole family, and it's a good way to get some exercise while enjoying the crisp autumn air. Why not reward your helpers with a steaming cup of fair trade cocoa or mulled local cider?

How Google really does it

A huge appetite for takeovers is the main driver of tech's 'great innovator'

TORONTO, Oct. 13 /Canada NewsWire/ - Google: It allows us to cruise the streets of New York and Rome, scour the surfaces of the moon and email and phone our friends. We can track global flu trends, monitor our household energy usage or edit photos. Soon, we'll be able to do even more.

But while Google enjoys an almost unmatched reputation for innovation, many of the services that have generated the biggest buzz and made stock market values soar didn't originate from its engineers' brains. Rather, they came from Google's appetite for takeovers - and its gigantic bank account.

With Google set to embark on another round of acquisitions, there's no telling into which new directions it will expand. Canadian Business goes behind the hype and examines the strategies behind one of the most influential corporations on earth.