A Success!!

The Northern Owls Opening Day was a great success! I was sure happy to fly by and see all the children enjoying themselves. The Owl Foundation’s zoologist Annick Gionet was wonderful; she brought a very interesting presentation on owls and her foundation http://www.theowlfoundation.ca/. Mark Ricker was another great addition displaying his artistic work involving owls http://www.markricker.com/. There was a ton of giveaways, including Warner Brothers Canada “Legend of the Guardians” movie http://legendoftheguardians.warnerbros.com/ giveaways and Owl magazines http://www.owlkids.com/ for all. The owl cupcakes from Sweetcakes Cupcakery were devoured by all in attendance http://www.sweetcakescupcakes.ca/. Also there were 11 raffle draws held! These included great Owl Magazine gift bags, Warner Brothers Canada supersized posters, and Pen Centre Empire Theaters family movie packs. The guided hike was very interesting; I followed along and found out where the owls like to hide, always helpful when they try to eat me! Back inside the children’s craft area was always packed and I saw many great pictures, masks and owl trees made there. All in all it was an amazing opening day event! There will be more exciting things happening with the exhibit and more draws to be won over Thanksgiving weekend so be sure to come by.

Festival Time is coming!!

It’s that time again! Thanksgiving Festival Time! October 8-11 is the 36^th annual Ball’s Falls Thanksgiving Festival. Each day the festival will run next weekend from 10am to 5pm and the admission is $6 a person, children under 14 are free when accompanied by an adult and seniors are $4 on Friday October 8. Or if you think you may come for a few days a weekend long pass is $14. 

There is plenty for all to do and see. High quality, handcrafted merchandise booths will be set up for you to enjoy. Also an assortment of food and beverages, including a gourmet food tent will be ready to tempt your tastebuds. There will be live entertainment as well as children’s activities daily. Don’t forget the heritage buildings are open during the festival and demonstrations will be set up.  There is a live raptor display that includes owls.   And that reminds me of something cool after you see the live birds you can check out the Northern Owls exhibit up at my favourite building which will be open the whole weekend, the Centre for Conservation! Let me tell you they have a great weekend planned up there. There will be wine tastings in the main room and the museum exhibits will be open for visitors. The “Northern Owls” exhibit will be in full swing at this time with many special events happening over the weekend, Wildlife artist Mark Ricker will be demonstrating his owl paintings on feathers and displaying his amazing work, there are owl children’s crafts and activities, Warner Brothers Canada Legend of the Guardians: the Owls of Ga’hoole giveaways and a prize drawing of an Owl magazine gift bag! So be sure to stop by Ball’s Falls on festival weekend and have a memorable day! Maybe I will see you there! For more information please call 905-562-5235 ext. 26.

Birds get sick too!

Hello everyone, I am back! I was under the weather there for about a week but am feeling much better now. While I was sick I heard a lot of information around the forest about some great people that help sick birds. One amazing group is The Owl Foundation which takes in sick and injured owls and helps them get better. Once the owl has recuperated they release it back into the wild. The Owl Foundation was the first facility of its kind in North America to both breed and foster wild owls to release status. For those owls that cannot be released because of great injuries The Owl Foundation cares for them permanently.  Some of these owls help in the rehabilitation process as foster parents teaching young owlets to survive and provide a family for them.  The Owl Foundation has also partnered with Ball’s Falls for the current Northern Owls exhibit . and they have Included in this exhibit is a National Film Board Documentary about the founders Katherine and Larry McKeever entitled “The Lady and the Owl”. This is a really are a great organization that really cares about Owls, for more information please visit http://www.theowlfoundation.ca/.  There is also a very cool woodworking project below to create a screech owl roost box! This would be a great activity to do with a family member.

http://www.theowlfoundation.ca/screechroostbox.htm

Blacksmithing At Ball's Falls

You have seen it on television but have you ever seen it in real life? I am talking about Blacksmithing! For those of you unfamiliar with this it is the practice of making objects out of metal by heating it to a high degree. The metal is put into a superheated fire until it glows red hot. Then is taken out and pounded into new shapes and once cooled a new object is formed! At Ball’s Falls there are traditional, fully functioning Blacksmith workshops. Many Sundays from spring to fall you can hear the hammering of metal at these workshops. You can make something to take home from beginner workshops to Intermediate and Advanced workshops for participants over 18. It is an all day event 9 am until 4pm. Lunch is included as well as all materials for the cost of $100 a person. Workshops are limited to 4 participants to ensure hand-on experiences and quality instruction. The workshops run throughout the summer into the early fall. It is a wonderful experience and a perfect gift for that person who has everything! Just call 905-562-5235 ext. 26 to book or for further information.

It's Northern Owls Opening Day!!

The Northern Owls have arrived! Join us today, Saturday September 18th, for a special opening day to celebrate this unique exhibit. The main event will happen from 1-3 pm on Saturday, but the exhibit is open from 9am to 4pm. There will be a guided nature walk starting at 12 noon which will show you the local habitat of these owls. Then at 1pm come inside to talk to Annick Gionet a zoologist specializing in owls. Also check out great owl art by local artist Mark Ricker and join in a staff lead owl craft! There will be super cute cupcakes throughout the day, compliments of Sweetcakes Cupcakery and giveaways for all who attend, compliments of Owl magazine and Warner Brothers Canada! Two amazing prize drawings will be happening at 1pm and 3pm so be sure to get your ballot on the way in! Today will surely be a HOOT hope to see you there!