HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!

No doubt we're a 'young' country by many standards, though we've been here for a few more than the official 150 years. There are archeological findings of Norse settlements at L'Anse aux Meadows, in Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Norseman Leif Eriksson mentioned "Vinland" in the year 1000 A.D.. It was also written about by Adam of Bremen, a historian and geographer, in 1075 A.D., after he met King Svend Estridson of Denmark and discussed the northern lands of which he had knowledge.

Landing at L'Anse aux Meadows reenactment 2000

Years later, around 1504, Jaques Cartier explored Canada in the St. Lawrence River area after France and various other European explorers had ventured to NewFoundland and Labrador. To put that in perspective, the first established city in North America was St. Augustine, Florida, in 1513, The French controlled New France for many years but ceded the territories to Britain and Spain in 1763, after losing the "7 Years War". Quebec City was established in 1608 and is the oldest French speaking community in North America. it's also the only walled city north of mexico and has 4.3 km of walls.

In 1867, The Dominion Of Canada was formed, as Sir john A McDonald and the other Fathers of Confederation united British colonies in North America. It was the first time the term 'Dominion" was used to describe a country and indicated that Canada was a self governing colony of the British Empire.

Jacques Cartier meets with the Iroquois people in what is now Montreal.

The Iroqouis word for village or settlement is kanata (Canada) and European explorers used the name to describe the new lands

Canada 150: Things You May Not Have Known About Canada

"Sioux Playing Ball" by Charles Deas circa 1843

Though most people think hockey is Canada's National Sport, it's more of the national pastime and it's actually Lacrosse that is holds that claim. Played by the native Canadian Algonquin tribes in and around the St. Lawrence valley and Great Lakes regions, it was first seen by Jesuit priests in 1630, who called it the "la crosse", which is French for "the stick".

Actual box score from game in 1946

Quite a few people seem to know that the game of basketball was invented by a Canadian but not many know that the first Canadian team to play in the NBA was the Toronto Huskies, way back in 1946.

Molson Brewery circa 1800

The oldest brewery in North America is Molson's, which started making beer in Montreal in 1786. Sadly, it is now owned by Coors, an American brewery.

St. John's harbour in the 1500's

The oldest city in Canada is St.John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, founded in 1583.

Even though Canada was established in 1867, it did not get it's official flag until 1965.



























Canada has more doughnut shops per capita than anywhere else in the world. Tim who?

The green ink used for American money was invented at McGill University in Montreal in 1857.

Wood Buffalo National Park, in Alberta, is bigger than the entire country of Switzerland. The park is home to the worlds' largest herd of roaming Wood Bison (there are no buffalo in Canada!) and also the last known nesting site of Whooping Cranes.

That's what I said...there are no buffalo in Canada, or North America for that matter. Bison are a distinct breed unto themselves ( Bison bison), though they are related to Buffalo since both are in the Bovid family. The only other bison in the world are European Bison ( Bison Bonasus)

Carnival Cocktails for Cancer 2017

This is a bit of a late post about a great event I recently attended called Carnival Cocktails For Cancer, but better late than never and certainly well worth the mention. It's an annual fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Centre and it's not only a lot of fun but gives you a chance to sample some fine food and libations from a lot of amazing eateries in Calgary, as well as a few from Edmonton, Vancouver and Toronto. Think...Proof, Model Milk , Anejo and her sister restaurant Blanco Cantina, Provision and  Native Tongues Taquria, to name a few locals. And how about Bar Clementine and Meat from Edmonton or Shameful Tiki Room in Vancouver and Toronto, both of whom brought all their goodness to Calgary to help the cause. 

The fundraising event is the brainstorm of Jesse Willis and Laura Dunnigan in honour of Jennifer Gardiner, aka Jen UnPlugged. Jen's journey is an amazing story unto itself and the link will give you a good idea of what she is all about, so please check it out for some inspiration. 

This year, the fabulous and fun event raised $66,000.00 for the Cancer Society, so kudos to everyone who helped make Carnival Cocktails For Cancer a huge success!!

The "2 Inch Hot Dog"

Rouge used "Frozen Memories" for this cool sculpture

Lovely needlepoint! haha

Buckskin Dunny brought his Wild West Show to the carnival

Mad as a hatter I'd say!

"Step right up, folks!"

Kathey is Kurious?

Behind the red velvet curtain.....

Artist Lee Nielsen did a live painting, with a carnival theme of course

Fortunes told by Sugar Water

The mystic eye

The mystery box

Renowned artist Jason Gogo donated this beautiful triptych to the silent auction

Jesse Willis, of Vine Arts and Proof, and Laura Dunnigan, of Blakes Law Firm, were the masterminds of the Carnival

Ride For Dad 2017

BlueCircle was proud to be a part of the 2017 Calgary Motorcycle Ride For Dad, which was held this past weekend and was, by all accounts, a great success. No exact numbers at this time but kudos to the hard working Executive and volunteers who spent many, many hours of their time and a whole lot of energy to put this event together and run so smoothly. 

Here's a sampling of photos of the day and watch for a future post where I share the results of the fundraiser for prostate cancer research through the Prostate Cancer Centre.

BlueCircle gave this small cheque to Co-Chair Ron Parkinson

Lots of volunteers help this great cause

Many riders join the event to honour someone they knew that was affected by prostate cancer

Troy, from Ride Stop n Go, was riding on his new Indian

This ride is a family event

The police were there to help out, with this member riding his dual sport bike

Tina was the VIP guest of BlueCircle

Based on last years' ride, the Ride For Dad donated almost $43000 to prostate cancer research with Dr. Tarek Bismar

More police presence to help escort eh riders on to the highway

Alberta Sheriffs also play an integral role in making this event work

The 2017 Calgary Ride For Dad Executive 

Troy and Paul with some of the 300+ bikes that showed up to ride

Dr. Bismar's family came to support the ride too

We're getting ready to fire up the bikes

Michelle rides ad volunteers on the RFD Executive

The "big cheque" presentation of $10,000 from BlueCircle

Ride to Work Day

Don't forget that Monday, June 19th is "Ride To Work Day". See you on the road!

ROTM Winners Circle

As mentioned in the recent post ROTM, we had a great time on our ride in and around the Millarville area with a whole bunch of great people, ending up at Big Sky BBQ Pit for some food and beverages.
Of course we gave away a bunch of stuff to those who joined in and filled out a ballot, plus the extra ballot given to anyone who pre-registered. here's the photos of our winners, along with Angela and myself.

Cullin won himself a fill up of gas for his bike

Mike also won a tasty meal for him and a guest at the Blue Star Diner.

$50 gift card for Cycle Works Calgary went to Bernie 

Ron also got to fill up the tank on his bike with some gas cards he won

Since he pre-registered, Cullin got his name in the draw twice and won two prizes. This grand prize was courtesy of the good people at Motology School, who gave away a basic course which Cullin planned to give to his brother. Here's a photo of the lucky winner, along with Rebecca Wong of Motology, and Ang and myself.