Superior Outdoors Summer 2010 Issue on the Stands

Superior Outdoors (http://www.superioroutdoors.ca/) has just released its summer 2010 issue and is sure to get avid outdoor enthusiasts stoked about experiencing the Lake Basin's plethora of outdoor adventure experiences.

Launched several years ago, the magazine and website are produced by Thunder Bay's own Darren and Michelle McChristie and focus on the sustainable outdoor adventure experiences that the Lake basin offer up. What I personally love is that the magazine strives, and delivers, to cover the experiences of the entire lake and not just the Canadian North Shore.

This summer's issue enlightens readers about sailing through the National Marine Conservation Area, Hiking the Canadian Shield, Kayaking the Islands f Ney's Provincial Park and Road Tripping Superior's South shore beaches.

Look for a copy at your local bookstore or purveyor of magazines or visit their website. I'm sure a lot of visitors will want to keep this issue handy as they explore the shores of Superior this summer.

GREAT CANADIAN GIVEAWAY CONTEST CAMPAIGN

Tourism Thunder Bay, in collaboration with Fort William Historical Park, the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium and the Thunder Bay Blues Festival, has launched the Great Canadian Giveaway Contest. Local residents are encouraged to call, email or text message all family and friends who live out of town and invite them to enter at www.VisitThunderBay.com

Two Contests have been created around two awesome signature events – the 9th Annual Thunder Bay Blues Festival July 9 – 11th at Marina Park and the Great Canadian Rendezvous Festival July 9 – 18th at Fort William Historical Park. Visitors can enter one or both contests. Both Prize Packages include accommodations, meals, free admission to the events and other activities and attractions in Thunder Bay.

The Thunder Bay Blues Festival is one of the largest and most anticipated events of the summer. Blues fans gather on the shores of Lake Superior to enjoy a spectacular line-up of well known international musicians and an all-star line-up of national and local talent.
And this year is no exception!

Plan your “”staycation” around the Great Canadian Rendezvous Festival at Fort William Historical Park. Ten exciting days of themed concerts featuring classic rock, jazz, bluegrass, and folk, plus camping, heritage events, good food and outdoor fun. Load the RV or pack the tent and celebrate summer.

“This campaign encourages locals to become ambassadors and invite their friends and family to visit Thunder Bay this summer with a fun contest theme that showcases just how much there is to see and do in our great city.” According to Tourism Manager Paul Pepe.

And there is no better time to consider a Great Canadian Getaway to Thunder Bay than during the summer. Come for one fabulous event and plan to stay for more! If you have the time, we have the perfect festive adventure to keep you entertained for a couple of days or a couple of weeks! Some favorites in the month of July that continue to entertain local and visitors include Summer in the Parks, Thunder Fest Super Weekend, Teddy Bear’s Picnic, Thunder Bay Dragon, Boat Race Festival and the Superior Youth Music Festival.

Join us for a Media Launch this Friday, May 28th at 11:00 am at Fort William Historical Park’s Visitor Centre

Tourism Thunder Bay Helps Tourism’s Front Line Professionals Rediscover the City

Tourism Thunder Bay is helping tourism’s front line professionals discover Thunder Bay in a whole new way. The Tourism Division of the City, in partnership with the Prince Arthur Hotel and Lake Superior Visits, is providing a one day tour on Thursday May 27th of the city’s main attractions to educate visitor centre, hotel front desk, restaurant and tourism related retail partners.

Front line tourism professionals in hotels, visitor centers, gas stations and restaurants play an important role in promoting the City’s attractions and events to visitors who come into their businesses and often ask questions about what to see and do. Giving them the knowledge of all there is to see and do helps improve the visitor experience. The tour builds awareness and pride among the tourism professionals and allows them to network with each other. To sell Thunder Bay to the world, we have to start by selling it to ourselves.”

The day long motor coach tour, beginning at 8:30 AM at the Terry Fox Visitor Centre, will wind its way through the city exploring the communities major attractions and hidden gems. Lois Nuttal of Lake Superior Visits, a local tour operator, will share stories, legends and other information with the tour participants that reveal the diverse fabric of our culture and our connection to our natural environment. Lunch is sponsored by the Prince Arthur Hotel and ABC Embroidery is providing “Thunder Bay bucket list” tote bags. Given the overwhelming interest by the industry with this tour, Tourism Thunder Bay is considering additional opportunities to repeat the educational program throughout the spring.

A media opportunity is available at 8:30 AM at the Terry Fox Visitor Centre this Thursday, May 27th.

New Culinary Attraction Adds to the Bay & Algoma Flavour

Thunder Bay's culinary offerings have expanded yet again with the addition of the Growing Season Juice Collective at 201 South Algoma.

This tiny gem opened in late 2009 and focuses on good healthy well prepared food using local and regional ingredients wherever possible. For me its quickly become a favorite lunch meeting location and Sunday afternoon treat. Serving local Thunder Oak gouda, Both Hands Bread, fresh greens and regionally sourced elk sausage, this culinary adventure makes a point of supporting the local food supply network and offers a unique option for locals and visitors alike.

Despite their name they offer a lot more than just fresh squeezed juice combinations. The food is fresh, the presentation fantastic and the atmosphere bright, cheery and Thunder Bay eclectic.

Growing Season represents the innovation, creativity and passion of Thunder Bay's new breed of youthful entrepreneurs, bringing something unique to market that celebrates our local culinary culture, adds to the choices for visitors and locals alike and contributes another story about who we are as a city.

The Growing Season is part of a transformation of the Bay and Algoma neighborhood, long anchored by the Hoito (which turns 100 years old this year). Villedge Art's relocation next door to the Growing Season, The Bean Fiend Coffee House, The Loop and Red Earth Imports join the company of established places like Madhouse, Scandanavian Home, Calico, Authentique, Finnish Book Store and Maier Hardware (yes, visitors even pop in there to find everything an old fashioned real hardware store should be). The community garden, across the street on the grounds of the old Cornwall School, is filled with volunteers every weekend growing crops locally. When we talk about becoming leaders in sustainability and being one of Canada's best outdoor cities, these gems all come together to help support that vision.

The Growing Season Juice Collective is a place every tourism professional in Thunder Bay should know and where we can all learn a lesson from. Judging by the crowds there every time I've visited, good word spreads quickly when great quality food, value, commitment to supporting local suppliers and funky atmosphere are combined.

The Growing Season can be found at 201 S Algoma St. and on Facebook. They're open 7 days a week from 11 AM to 4 PM

Parks Canada Is Looking for a Few Good People

There is no doubt that The Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area is one of the most significant recent catalyst investments in our local and regional tourism economy. Parks Canada is an essential and valued partner to us in our efforts to elevate our City to become regarded as one of North America's best outdoor community. The development of the NMCA will enhance our Lake Superior road and water based touring segments as well as creating new opportunities for "trophy" outdoor experiences that capitalize upon the significant ecological and geographical attributes of this part of the world.

As part of the development of the LSNMCA program, they are rolling out a number of critical positions and I'd like to share two of the newest positions released this morning. If you or someone you know is interested in applying, feel free to read on.

Applicants are advised to read the information and follow the instructions
carefully. Should you have any questions about the positions or the
competition process, please contact Emil Engler by e-mail
(emil.engler@pc.gc.ca) or phone (807-346-2900).

Promotion Officer III – PM03
Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area (LSNMCA)
Northern Ontario Field Unit
SELECTION PROCESS NO: 2010-PCA-NMCA-OC-11
LOCATION: Nipigon Ontario
SALARY: $54,676 - $58,912
TENURE: Indeterminate,
LANGUAGE: English Essential
CLOSING DATE: June 4, 2010:
OPEN TO: Persons employed by Parks Canada in the Northern Ontario Field
Unit, people living or working within a 160 kilometer radius of Nipigon,
Ontario and members of the Robinson Superior Treaty Group. Preference may
be given to qualified applicants who are members of the Robinson Superior
Treaty Group.


Visitor Experience Product Development Officer IV – PM04
Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area (LSNMCA)
Northern Ontario Field Unit
SELECTION PROCESS NO: 2010-PCA-NMCA-OC-10:
LOCATION: Nipigon Ontario
SALARY: $59,727 - $64,539
TENURE: Indeterminate,
LANGUAGE: English Essential
CLOSING DATE: June 4, 2010
OPEN TO: Persons employed by Parks Canada in the Northern Ontario Field
Unit, people living or working within a 160 kilometer radius of Nipigon,
Ontario and members of the Robinson Superior Treaty Group. Preference may
be given to qualified applicants who are members of the Robinson Superior
Treaty Group.

March and April Terry Fox Visitor Centre Stats Show Encouraging Activity

March and April 2010 visitor numbers at the Terry Fox Visitor Information Center are encouraging and we hope they signal an increase in local visitation in 2010 and a recovery to what was a very challenging 2009 for the North American tourism economy.

2097 visitors used the facility in March 2010, up from 1443 in March 2009, a 31% jump. Of these users, 87% wwere Canadian, the majority from the Northwest region, 12% were from the US, primarily Minnesota and Wisconsin and 1% were international overseas.

In April, 2806 visitors used the facility, up from 2266 the previous April, an increase of 19%. 86% wer Canadian, 9% US and 5% overseas.

Obviously, being located on the Trans Canada and an almost obligatory overnight stop for cross Canada traffic, approximately 23% of visitors were seeking information on accommodation and food. 27% were visiting for recreational purposes, while 10% were visiting on business.

March and April are traditionaly shoulder season leisure market months for Thunder Bay and its encouraging to see the increases and range of activities bringing people to or through the community.

Have Your Say About Thunder Bay's Proposed New Multiplex.

The City of Thunder Bay wants to hear from the community regarding a proposed new multiplex facility for the community.

The multiplex is proposed in the City's Renew Thunder Bay plan as a high priority major legacy project for the city of Thunder Bay over the next 5 years. Council has approved completion of a Phase 2 feasibility study to be conducted later in 2010. No other decisions regarding the project have been made and public input into the project is currently being sought.

In 2009, Deloitte and Touche completed a phase 1 economic impact study with respect to a new facility and concluded that the facility would bring significant economic benefits to the sport tourism, arts, hospitality and retail segments of the community. The preliminary construction costs would be approximately $60 million, generating $90 million in total local ecvonomic impacts and creating over 550 person years of employment in the construction phase. The report also looked at 10 comparable cities throughout North America that had recently built multi plex facilities.

From Tourism's perspective, a new multiplex would increase our competitiveness in attracting specific sport tourism events to the community as well as larger conferences that exceed our current capacity.

You can have your say at one of two public input sessions and online.

Thursday May 6, 2010
6:30 - 9:00 PM
Davinci Centre, Marco Polo Room
340 S Waterloo St

Thursday May 13, 2010
6:30 to 9:00 PM
Italian Cultural Centre. Main Hall
132 South Algoma St

If you can't make it to either session or want to add your input afterwards, visit www.thunderbay.ca/haveyoursay or www.facebook.com/TBayMultiplex