Happy Canada Day: 150 Reasons To Love Kingston

With Canada’s 150th birthday coming up in a few days, the team couldn’t be more excited to celebrate how much we love being Canadian. Part of what makes being a Canadian so great is getting to call Kingston home. In honour of Canada 150, we thought it would be cool to list the 150 things we love most about Kingston.

1. Playing with pets at our city dog parks
2. Splashing around the water access at Lake Ontario Park
3. Getting schooled at St Lawrence College and Queen’s University
4. Enjoying free concerts at “Music in the Park” at Confederation Park
5. Taking in Sunset Ceremonies at Fort Henry every Wednesday
6. Having drinks on the rooftop patio at Jack Astors
7. Experiencing culture during Skeleton Park Arts festival
8. Going to Bellevue House Museum …try not to break anything
9. Cruising down the St Lawrence with 1000 Islands Cruise
10. Watching Free movies in the square
11. Kingston Glass Blowing Classes
12. Running with friends at local Running Groups
13. Closing deals at Kingston Young Professionals Networking events
14. Sailing with the Kingston Yacht Club
15. Getting scared during a Haunted Walk of Kingston
16. Hitching a ride with Kingston Trolley Tours
17. Trying new food during the Kingston Food Tours
18. Renting movies from Classic Video
19. Relaxing at Immerse Spa
20. Renting N64 Games at Barcadia
21. Learning about science, tech, and engineering at Pump House Steam Museum
22. Kingston Pen Tours
23. Enjoying beans from around the world at Coffeeco
24. Taking a tour of Canada’s Penitentiary Museum
25. Listening to Smitty play at the Brass Pub
26. Seeing a show at The Grand Theatre
27. Walking along Kingston Waterfront Trail
28. The view from Battery Bistro
29. Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts
30. Lumpia from Woodenheads
31. Purchasing beautiful pieces of art from Martello Alley
32. Hot Chocolate from Crave on a cold day
33. Curry Mussels from Diane’s Fish Shack
34. The “Red House” cocktail at Red House
35. Eggplant Parmesan from Casa
36. Charcuterie Boards from Stone City Ales
37. A trip to the Mackinnon Brother’s Farm
38. Drinks on the patio of the DOX waterfront.
39. Renting a kayak from Ahoy Rentals
40. Shopping at the Loft Girls Mobile Fashion Truck
41. Perusing the art at Studio 22
42. The hidden patio at Amadeus
43. Formal gown shopping at Agent 99
44. A hangover slushie from Simply Well
45. Yoga at MacDonald Park
46. Workshops at The Tett Centre
47. Enjoying nature at Barriefield Rock Garden
48. Pizza Night at Bella Bistro
49. Date night at the Bayview Farm Restaurant
50. Classic movies at The Screening Room
51. Watching the Kingston Frontenacs play some #RockSolidHockey
52. Taylor Hall’s annual charity ball hockey tournament #CAR!
53. Watching amazing street performers at The Buskers Rendezvous Festival
54. Devouring poutine from Bubba’s
55. Relieving the glory days in KSSC Sports Leagues
56. Kingston Ribfest And Craft Beer Show
57. Becoming Picasso at 4Cats Kingston art workshops
58. Tasting pints at the Kingston Craft Beer Fest
59. Helping strengthen youth at the Kingston Boys and Girls Club
60. Listening to great bands at The Mansion
61. Delicious frozen yogurt at Simply Parfait

61. Going for a hike at Lemoine Point Conservation Area
62. Happy hour at Old Speckled Hen Pub
63. Attending concerts at Rogers KRock Centre
64. Lunchtime chicken rotis from Sally’s Roti Shop
65. Drive in movies at Kingston Family Fun World
66. Fresh produce at the Memorial Centre Farmers’ Market
67. Steak night at Raxx
68. Playing pool at The Grizzly Grill
69. Glow in the dark mini golf at Putt N’ Blast
70. Fresh pies from Bread and Butter Bakery
71. Learning to rock climb at the Boiler Room
72. Watching fireworks at Fort Henry
73. Pretending to be a rock star at Little Texas Road House karaoke
74. Large cut steaks from Pig & Olive

76. Local nights out with The Real Moms of YGK
77. Spin classes at Apex Indoor Cycling
78. Watching Miss Emily perform at The Merchant
79. 1000 Islands Poker Run
80. Getting spooked at Fort Fright
81. Queen’s Homecoming #WelcomeHome
82. Chef demos at Springer Market Square = no more Mr. Noodles
83. Coffee of the day at Sipps Coffee and Dessert Bar
84. Kingston Writersfest
85. Supporting local artists at The Kingston Collective
86. Checking out historic sports memorabilia at The Original Hockey Hall of Fame
87. Sunday brunch at Northside Espresso
88. Manis and Pedis with the girls at The Annex Spa
89. Working out at the Kingston Military Community Sports Centre
90. A fresh cut from The Loft Hair Studio

106. Scoring a delicious deal at Score Pizza
107. Eating a classic breakfast from Morrison’s Restaurant
108. Stand up paddleboarding on Lake Ontario
109. Running for a cause at Kingston Symphony Beat Beethoven Run
110. Touring ships at the Marine Museum of The Great Lakes at Kingston
111. Summer nights on the patio at Chez Piggy
112. Finger blasters from The Iron Duke on Wellington
113. Friday lunch at The Golden Rooster Deli
114. Walking around the Princess St Promenade
115. Wine tasting in Prince Edward County
116. Life’s a beach at Sandbanks Provincial Park
117. Feeling healthy with fresh pressed smoothies from Fuel House Nutrition
118. Teeing one up at The Landings Golf Course
119. Queen’s Football games at Richardson Stadium
120. Ice Skating in Springer Market Square
121. The Tragically Hip …they shot a movie once, in my hometown
122. Getting a history lesson at Murney Tower
123. Swimming at the Kingston Pier (soon to be Gord Edgar Downie Pier)
124. Enjoying sunsets from The Wolfe Island Grill
125. Watching a Blue Jays game at The Toucan
126. A glass of red and some bruschetta from Atomica Pizza & Wine Bar
127. Little dishes with big taste at Tango Nuevo
128. Window shopping Princess St. around Christmas
129. Jumbo wheels from Paradiso
130. Visiting Santa in the Square
131. Finding deals at Downtown Kingston Shopfest
132. Visiting the friendly staff at Vandervoort General Store
133. Watching tourists take pictures with the train at Confederation Park
134. Kite Boarding in Lake Ontario
135. Watching Queens square off against RMC in the Annual Car-Harris Cup
136. Hearing World Champion town crier Chris Whyman kickoff local events
137. Taste testing at the Kingston Olive Oil Co.
138. Classic Car Nights at Canadian Tire
139. Wedding dress shopping at Lovebird Bridal
140. Paninis at Saporia Bottega
141. An overnight stay at the Frontenac Inn
142. Frantically searching for clues at Improbable Escapes
143. Bringing out your inner lumberjack at Kingston Axe Throwing
144. Lunch specials at Blu Martini
145. Vegan Cupcakes from Small Batch Cafe
146. Hiking at Parrot’s Bay Conservation Area.
147. Finding the next Spielberg at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival
148. Breakfast Sandwiches at The Juniper Cafe
149. Wine tasting at the Fete Events
150. Watching the boats come in from Aquaterra

136. Following Mayor Bryan Paterson on Twitter
137. Picking apples at the Waddell Orchard
138. Grabbing some hot lasagna from Pasta Shelf
139. Picking out a Christmas Tree at The Christmas Farm in Harrowsmith
140. Architectural Walking Tours along King Street.
141. Decorating the walls with work from ArtFest in City Park
142. FebFest making the winter blues go away
143. Checking out the Tall Ships Regatta in Bath
144. Enjoying samples at Taste of Kingston
145. Open house tours at the Kingston Police Station
146. Following Make it Home YGK for all our traffic updates
147. Martha’s Table for providing 3 meals a day to those in need
148. Stracciatella flavour Gelato from Mio Gelato
149. The people that call this wonderful city home
150. It’s the most beautiful place in Canada

With over 8000 businesses and 161,000+ residents, many people contribute to making Kingston a great city to live in. We hope you have a safe and happy Canada Day from all of us. Here’s to the next 150.

Let us know what you love most about Kingston.