Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dreamscapes.ca/i/375781
Fun WITh FuRRy FRIEnds children are always delighted with the Pizza Pizza Petting Farm, where they can touch and feed animals, including alpacas, chickens, donkeys, goats, llamas, sheep and rab- bits. In addition, the President's choice animal Theatre showcases animals at work and play including horses, Goats on the Go, rabbit jumping, and the famous President's choice super dogs. Farm animal competitions entertain and educate visi- tors. They get insider information and rare facts about ani- mals while they view prime examples of numerous breeds. among the animals competing for championship banners are more than 1,400 cows, 450 sheep, 250 goats, 800 birds, and 600 rabbits and cavies. some of their owners are young farmers of the future whose careers will get off to a winning start. Food and lIFEsTylE The big news here is the Royal International chef challenge at the Royal Food and lifestyle stage. Top chefs from Toronto will face off against the best from new york and chicago. chef collin Thornton of Toronto's Fairmont Royal york—and winner of the Royal chef challenge in 2013—will throw down the gauntlet to the top chefs from the Waldorf astoria in new york city and a star chef from chicago. eTalk canada's ben Mulroney and Ted Reader, "Godfather of the Grill," will host the event on november 9. local foods and beverages are also among the Royal's features. For casual dining, the Food court and kiosks dish up traditional goodies such as rosti, apple dumpling, lamb- on-a-bun and sticky cinnamon rolls. serving more sophisti- cated fare to discerning diners are The Royal's six premier restaurants. These include The hitching Ring café and bar, The Royal Vineyard and brew house—and the exclu- sive Tanbark club. Food in the raw is overflowing in baskets and crates along the harvest Path display. on show are award-win- ning pumpkins, apples, onion ropes, potatoes and more. not to be missed is the Giant Vegetable competition with more than 60 classes of vegetables competing. last year's champion was a 50.8-kilogram cabbage; the Royal record for giant pumpkins is 641.65 kilograms. aRT and EducaTIon The Royal Education centres offer experiential learning about many aspects of rural life and the environment. Education and creativity are also built into events and com- petitions. For example, the "sheep to shawl" contest show- cases a different kind of art: Teams of six artisans weave raw fleece with other natural fibres into beautiful shawls— all in four hours. and for The Royal christmas Tree com- petition, artists and artisans display their creations in the sheridan nursery Winter Gallery. "There's no better way to get an appreciation of the contribution that agriculture makes to our world," con- cludes Poncelet. "living the rural experience even for a day is one of the greatest gifts that visitors can take home." travel planner The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair is held at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, from November 7 to 16, 2014. Visitors can park onsite in more than 4,000 spots, or in nearby Liberty Village. The premises are also easy to access via public transit—both GO and TTC stop right at Exhibition Place. For more information, visit royalfair.org. above: eTalk Canada's Ben Mulroney (left) will host the 2014 Royal International Chef Challenge. At the Road to the Royal Chef Challenge in 2013, he and co-host Bob Blumer congratulate chef Justin Downes (centre). ben Radvanyi below: Young farmers of tomorrow have a chance to enter their prize animals in competitions. nina linton 20 Fa l l 2 0 1 4