Pack Away the Parka, Baby!

Spring took its own sweet time getting here, but now that it’s arrived, let’s celebrate! Pack away the parka, ditch the boots, lose the mittens and enjoy! Here are a few thoughts for kick-starting your warm weather adventures:

Farmer’ Market:

The asparagus and strawberries won’t start for a few weeks, but you can still start nosing around the farmer’s market in downtown St. Catharines for homemade baked goods, meat, cheese and all kinds of artisanal goodies. It’s open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The best stuff goes early, so get there in the morning. Most vendors are packing up by 1:30-2pm.

Lure Something Fishy:

Play hookey with a hook some sunny afternoon and go fishing off the pier in Port Dalhousie. Take a lawn chair – the concrete is pretty hard on the bum.

Green Your Thumbs:

Get down and dirty. Clean up the mess winter left behind and get some exercise digging in your garden. Then, treat yourself to a greenhouse visit so you can buy pretty things to plant. Sit back and feel like you’re Mother Nature herself. Or, don’t do any gardening at all and instead drown yourself in a glorious shower of hydrangeas at the Niagara Horticultural Centre’s show, starting May 7.

Hit the Beach:

Be daring and be the first on the beach with or without your itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini. If you stay out of the wind and in the sun, Crystal Beach is fabulous now that the snow has gone. Pack a picnic…and a sweater, just in case…and you’ll be very likely to have the whole place to yourself.

Catch a Performance:

Be a culture-vulture and catch the new shows opening at the Shaw Festival in April….all at preview and special matinee prices! In April, they’re debuting Shaw’s “Mrs. Warren’s Profession”, and a perennial favourite, “Our Town”, two great choices!

Laugh Out Loud:

Did you know there’s a comedy club in St. Catharines, right on St. Paul Street? Showtime Comedy Club’s shows are hilarious, inexpensive, and there’s a bar with yummy snacks like deep fried pickles and wings. What more could you want?  Shows run at various times Wednesday-Saturday nights. Check it out!