ONTARIO - On September 15 and 16, the Ontario chapter hosted its first Munch and Mingle outside of the GTA region in quite a long time, in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The program was extremely successful with 16 media and 16 industry members attending. On the first day, members were picked up in Toronto and transported to Hillebrand Winery where lunch, tour and presentation by the winery were made. TMAC media member Lynn Ogryzlo made an excellent presentation on the local culinary scene and how important local foods have become in conjunction with touring and dining. From there we went to Kurtz Farms and finished at Southbrook Vineyards for the official Munch and Mingle evening event. The highlight was having our national president Hélèna Katz in attendance with Bob and Rob from Visit Wales, who briefed the members on the upcoming AGM (in Cardiff, March 2010). Tina Hutchinson from TO Corp also attended to assist the members after the M&M - industry members were taken back to Toronto, and media stayed to participate in a tour of the area that was co-ordinated by Betsy Foster from the Niagara region. The tour included an evening at the Shaw Festival to see Born Yesterday and overnight at the Sterling Inn & Spa. The next day the group visited revitalized Queen Street in Niagara Falls, the Seneca Theatre, Table Rock, Royal DeMaria Winery and Rosewood Estates Winery and Meadery. The group was then transported back to Toronto later in the afternoon.



Our next Munch and Mingle will be hosted by Ottawa in October.

ATLANTIC -Members from the Atlantic chapter gathered in Shelburne on September 18-20 for our annual fall mini-press trip and meeting. Although most of our members were at GoMedia, six media made the trek to Shelburne, along with a companion for the weekend. This was all made possible with the generous assistance of Randy Brooks (N.S. Tourism, Culture and Heritage), who picked up the tab for accommodation and meals while our chapter covered entertainment and guides for the weekend. For a small town, Shelburne has some "wow" places to eat (Charlotte's Lane Cafe and Lothar's) and the community hums with activity.



The main draw was the annual Whirligig & Weathervane Festival, which was pure delight, but we also crammed in a boat tour to McNutt's Island, a historical walk on Dock Street (did you know that Shelburne has the largest number of original/historical wooden homes circa 1700s and 1800s in Canada?), and a culinary potluck dinner-theatre at the Osprey Arts Centre. Oh yes . . . some of our members braved the winds to man oars in a longboat with costumed members of the Shelburne Longboat Society. Another highlight was a tour of Birchtown on the outskirts of Shelburne, where 1500 Black Loyalists settled 226 years ago. At the time, it was the largest settlement of blacks outside of Africa. It's a powerful story. So we came away with lots of fodder for articles. And, hopefully, a new TMAC member! We invited a local author and freelance writer, Darcy Rhyno, to join us for lunch. He was so impressed with the camaraderie and professionalism of the group that he went home, downloaded the membership application, filled it out and mailed it!



- Sandra Phinney, Atlantic chapter chair

s.phinney@ns.sympatico.ca