Peony Festival 2025

        Last weekend and I know I'm almost a week late but because of everything that has gone on this week and we kind of had a downward spiral but goes to show how strong we are as a community and our dedicated team. Now I represented ChrisBOnTheWeb Media at the Oshawa Peony Festival for 2025 and I was very impressed as they expanded the event a little bit more. Lots to see and do. There is even paint your name on our school bus company that runs here which was awesome and wish I did it myself. Not only kids but even adults we're doing that too so really cool. 

          Of course the main part of the event was the beautiful Peonies. Not all of them were bloomed technically and it was early into the month but last year it was later and we missed the peak of the peonies growing so it was most definitely a hit and miss when it came to this but I enjoyed myself, I had fun and there is one more post today at 1 pm EST. There will be a video explaining everything tonight at 6 pm EST. Be on the lookout for a stream tomorrow as well. Talk to you all this afternoon.

Chris

Kars on King 2024!

 

            Last week I went to Kars on King, locally. I've been doing this for many, many years with both my dad and my mom, my niece and nephew. But anyways I got to go to the event and we actually had a lot of fun. Lots of cars but I was under a lot of pressure in time to get back to record with Mary but that was rescheduled to this week but it will be done. I noticed on the main road, King Street it was only on one side and it's because of the changes to the road and extra sidewalk on the one side but I love the layout of the street now. Makes the downtown more lively. 

             Of course the Mr. Bean car made an appearance and obviously you guys know by now I am a big Mr. Bean fan. No DeLorean this time around and it was a few years ago they had one there which was really cool to see. But also there was entertainment and the one band was playing "My Girl" by the Temptations. Anyways that will be a wrap for this blog and I will talk to you all this afternoon for a second post to make up for yesterday.

Chris

Fiesta Week 2024

      So last week, I got to attend Fiesta Week here locally and first up was last Wednesday, my parents and I went to the Portugal Pavilion for some good Portuguese Food and I was a little scared to try it out for the first time but I shouldn't have been scared whatsoever. Because honestly it was really good! I had pork cutlet on a bun with some good juice to season it with French fries. However both were a little too salty but they use more salt and I was totally fine with it, just an observation I made eating it. Also we grabbed a dessert, Custard Tart which was gooey and really delicious! We enjoyed it! Also we got to watch the junior and senior groups dance and I could of actually got up and danced with the seniors group but maybe next time perhaps.

Two days later, my dad went up to the Krakow Pavilion for some Polish food and this is our second time going actually. I had cabbage rolls, potatoes, perogies and polish sausage and my replaced the sausage with sauerkraut and I think he had a cutlet perhaps. No entertainment as this was around lunch hour this time around and that's honestly OK. We enjoyed Fiesta Week last week and look forward to it in 2025 for another amazing week of food and entertainment. Anyways that is the post for today and as always I will talk to you all tomorrow.

Chris
           

Fiesta Week 2024 Schedule for CBOTW Media!

            As you guys know this week I'm attending Fiesta Week and trying to eat less so I can try the food. I believe I have told my dad I want to try food from Portugal which I am a little apprehensive about but only way I will know is by trying it. The other one is Italian or Ukrainian Food, not sure about that as of yet but we will see. However here is the schedule for the rest of the week for this blog:

Today: Talking about the Fiesta Week plans this week

Tomorrow: 10th Anniversary Celebration Countdown has begun.

Thursday: Fiesta Week Blog

Friday: End of the Week Updates

Saturday: Fiesta Week Blog

          The schedule is a bit wonky this week and we didn't plan this out too well. But it is what it is and all we can do is to try and fit everything in this week as good as we can. Anyways that is the blog post and I will speak to you all tomorrow! 

Chris

Peony Festival 2024

 

On Sunday, I got to go to the Peony Festival with my parents and it was a lot of fun despite the rainy weather that we had here but rain or shine I will do the event as long as there isn't a major downpour of rain we will do it or I will do it. Had a lot of hand crafts, food vendors, the local nursey was there as well. 

Was a judging the Peonies inside the arens and I am sorry I apparently lose those photos of the Peonies but a bunch of them were going out of season. Either way I enjoy myself my parents did as well and was nice to get out for an hour and a half away from the hustle and bustle in the studio here. Anyways that is the post for today, as always I will talk to you guys tomorrow!

Chris

Doors Open Ontario- Former Genosha Hotel

        The final event as you probably realize that my dad and I did 3 Doors Open Ontario locations in a day. This one really struck me interested as Genosha Hotel which is now called 70 King was a hotel originally, built in the 1920's, and opened in 1929 if I remember correctly. It was shut down in the late early 2000's and sat almost 2 decades empty and in dire need of a restoration.   

Then it finally reopened in 2019 as Luxury rental apartments which was the reason for the visit, I wanted to see what it looked like and I was immediately wowed with the beautiful marble floors in the lobby. They have a Church's Chicken which is from down in Texas and also there is going to be a lot of chefs they hand picked, Polish food there will be one that is a bit of two different, homemade tacos and many more. I am very, very impressed how the building looks like now. It still has it's original brick on the outside with modern windows and the model apartment was awesome! Very modern and the bathroom was huge! I really love the modern take on the building. I am glad I picked this one to see what it looks like. Anyways that wraps up for our 4 events we went to and as always I will talk to you all tomorrow.

Chris

Doors Open Ontario- Local Shipping

            First of all apologies for a very late blog today, overslept and got busy with other things but tomorrow I will be sure to be more on time tomorrow for sure. Anyways Doors Open Ontario, locally for us, I got to walk on the shipping area which is normally restricted but this was a special moment for me. I really enjoyed learning what each and every building houses in the way of items they deliver and go out. I never know Steel came from across seas and one of those is Jordan which is pretty far from here which is amazing and I never knew this till Saturday back on the weekend.

            Also the plans they have to expand the harbor out to allow more ships in and the reason why there isn't a marina is because of the ships could collide with the bigger ships which wouldn't be good. So now I know the reason and I don't need to fight city hall over this no more but I agree it is more of a shipping city along with a University and College city as well. Either way I learned a lot what goes on with the shipping, very educational today. But that is the post for today, I will talk to you tomorrow for the next location I was at for Door's Open.

Chris

Got My Schedule for Tomorrow!

                As you guys know, I have 2 events back to back to go to this weekend (tomorrow) and I finally have a schedule laid out for the day and there will be a stream and I will mention it in my list but we'll see how things go for the stream to happen. 

10 am EST- Shipping Docks Tour as part of Doors Open Ontario

1130 am EST- Bowmanville Maple Festival

6 pm EST- Just Chatting Stream, as long as another channel that I sub to isn't going live, I will be going live on Twitch/Facebook. 

               There is the schedule, a full day of activities and I wouldn't be surprised if I pass out after the stream as I will be a very tired guy by the end of the stream. I know it will happen. Either way I am excited for the start of events and a very long and fun events season after going dormant for the winter and I am ready to kick it into high gear and doing these awesome events again. Anyways that is the post for today, have a great weekend as Kelsie will be doing the end of the week updates and I will talk to you all on Monday!

Chris

Orono Fair 2023!

           This weekend, I attended the Orono Fair 2023 for the second year in a row as before we miss two years due to COVID. Anyways, fantastic time with my dad. At the start we looked around the arena which mind you had no ice yet for the hockey season. Anyways, our local transit was there which I got some information on routes for the 507 route. They even had a Jenga game for the kids and that instantly brought back a lot of memories as a kid playing it. And yes I got a picture of me in front of the Zamboni in the arena, I had to! 

           Then we watched the Antique Tractor pull on the one side then we switched to the other side which was bad with the wasps around us constantly driving us insane. Then we grabbed food and watched some more tractor pull, followed by looking at the tractors on static display that has been or just sitting there. Looked around at the rides and activities and there is a board where you put a ball in and it goes to the top and goes down. Like a Plinko board from the Price is Right. Also the cows, sheep and pigs were there as well.  Cows were mooing at me I said something and the one mooed at me like it understood me. There was horses as well. Anyways we had a wonderful time and I hope you guys enjoyed reading this blog and I will speak to you all tomorrow.

 

 

Chris

         

Auto Fest 2023

 

           What a weekend it has been! Been to two events over the span of 2 days on the weekend. First Fridays Kars on King which I covered and blogged about Saturday morning and yesterday's Auto Fest down at the lake yesterday. I couldn't honestly believe how many cars there was at the event. It would take us hours to go through every car there and nothing wrong with that really. We had no plan when it came to looking at the cars. We didn't look at every single but spent an hour and a half down there, was truly a lot of fun.

            We grabbed a hot dog/sausage and drink was great little treat for us both and cannot go wrong with one from a little BBQ stand there. Music was great and had the funniest oldie they played called "Beep, Beep!" I know it sounds funny for a name but they were known for the silly songs back in the 50's and 60's which is great. I could even do a blog about my favourite silly oldies songs. I really enjoyed this event and fortunate to have gone again 2 years in a row and as long COVID doesn't end up us with restrictions I will continue to go to the events no matter what. Anyways that will do it for today's post as always I will talk to you all tomorrow!

 

 

Chris

Rib Fest Oshawa 2023

            On the weekend, I went to Rib Fest locally and the first time going to the event since before COVID happened. It was a fantastic time with my dad. We enjoyed each others company. We had half a rack of BEEF ribs and yes I put BEEF in caps as it is important to note that we didn't have the pork ribs this time about but still it was really really good. They were as usual juicy and the sauce complimented the entire beef itself. Yeah it had the tough skin but wasn't like a lot of skin to remove but still it was good! 

         Also we had cornbread and this is a southern dish actually so. This is my first time having it and it was really good! I know it falls apart a bit more but still a very good bread. I'd have it again in a heartbeat. Like I said this was a first for me and I am always for trying something new actually. The final part of our dinner which made me crazy full was the cheesy mac and cheese and boy it was a cheesy mac and cheese I ever had in my entire life.They were more then generous with the cheese. I would give the food a 10 out of 10. The event we ran into fellow locals and listened to some Caribbean music which was fantastic. Anyways that is the post for today, I will talk to you all tomorrow. 

 

Chris

Peony Festival 2023

 

            This is the start of a few events around my city here and was at the Peony Festival yesterday with my dad despite the weather being here. flowers were beautiful and out in full bloom. Had some music in the background up to the point of the mic issues where the feedback was happening. 

              This year actually saw the start of the other side of the creek they had food, entertainment so they really expanded on the event which was really good to see. I know I was on Facebook/Instagram Stories you saw some behind the scenes looks at the event what it is like. I should do those more often for you guys regardless. Either way, I enjoyed myself, we enjoyed ourselves as my dad was with me. Was just an enjoyable event and I will talk to you all tomorrow for another blog post which I have no clue what it will be but will talk to you all tomorrow for whatever topic I have to talk about. 

Chris

Peony Festival 2022

             Saturday, I did a pop up event, well not a pop up event but I mean was the last second few days prior on the decision but glad I went, we had a wonderful time my dad and I. Anyways we got there and there was a ton of things to see, wasn't big big but big enough both outside and inside. There was a lot of local businesses, arts and craft, also some plants that we never heard of ever before. Of course there was the Peonies which were absolutely beautiful which I will provide a second picture below. Rows and rows of nice smelling Peonies in the garden there. 

I have provided a picture of the Peonies which was taken from my Fujifilm camera. There are a ton of pictures which you can find on my Instagram account by clicking the arrows on that one picture as there are a bunch of pictures that I have added to the account. I didn't bother doing post after post as there were over 30 pictures taken during the event. Overall was a great day, the next one is the Fiesta Week next week with my dad and there will be a ton of reviews and next week I will be having blog topics at random for next week as I do not know what days I am going to the Fiesta Week but I will have a list of blogs in case at least 2 ready to go for next week in case but Thursday is a confirmed one. I will let you guys know by the end of the week but plenty of blogs this week to go, confirmation is coming this Friday at the end of the week but I will talk to you all tomorrow!

Chris

Maple Festival- Bowmanville, Ontario!

 

              Well, well, well, it has been a long time since I have been to an event especially with my dad. I can tell you guys this I was nervous being in a bigger crowd and I know not everyone was masked and I didn't have mine on but we were outside and it is a ton safer. Anyways it wasn't as busy as before, I mean in the past, 3 years ago at the last Maple Festival in Bomwanville. There was a lot of local businesses out and Bowmanville has changed so much since before this pandemic and honestly I have only been through the town twice before today and didn't really get a chance to see it. Lots of places to eat, the Loaded Perogi place which I will have to try next time around as I love Perogies and a big fan of it since I am part Slovak I absolutely love it!               

There was a fudge place from all the way up in Bruce County which is pretty much Tobermory area where I use to and will be going up to at the end of this summer with my dad. So many different places. Even the local politians were there from Conserative Party of Canada and one from the Provincial Liberal party (sorry to get a bit political but it is nice to see then and Erin was the leader of his party up to the last 6 months. I even ran into a fellow bowler that I use to bowl with, it was nice to see her and she picked me out pretty quickly from the crowd. We kept out distance which was good. All in all, was a nice outing, we bused it out from our area which two two buses to get there and back home again. Anyways that is my bonus post for this Saturday, again Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there and I will speak to you all on Monday!

Chris                                                      

Tyrone Farmers 20th Anniversary Parade 2019!

            So yesterday, I got to go to the Tyrone Farmers Parade for the first time in 2 years as last year the weather was bad and 2 it happened to be on my birthday which is today and on a Thursday. Anyways, we were not going to go originally however we decided to go anyways despite we were tired as we worked on the walls in the studio which an update is coming Sunday afternoon's blog post. So we went and on our way we ended getting snow falling which honestly made the experience nice. We went down to the actual mill and wanted to get cider and donuts but the line-up was absolutely insane. However the way I think of it that is definitely good for the business. Anyways we walked back up the damn hill which mind you I was exhausted by the time I got back up the hill I was exhausted and panting hard but hey I survived. We went all the way up to where the church was and stayed put for the remainder of the time we were there. Ran into another fellow bowler that bowled in the same league for at least 10 plus years that I was in that league and it was great to catch up with em as the last time I saw them was at the Orono Fair.


        We waited quite some time for the parade to start and I was getting pretty stiff honestly with the waiting game but when it started there was over 10 different floats that I saw as it is actually their 20th anniversary so it was a bonus and if I remember correctly I have been going since I was still in high school at the time so that spans over 10 years for him and I doing this event. One bonus thing about this parade too is the fact they actually had the vintage tractors too and also people riding horses so it was pretty special 20th anniversary. So we are guessing this parade was done in 1999 just before my final year in elementary school before the start of high school. Either way we had a good time despite the wait but in the end it was truly worth going and looking forward to the parade in 2020. One final thing to say is next week I am off to the last event for 2019 which is the Christmas Market in Toronto to wrap things up for events in 2019 so I am definitely looking forward to that and stay tuned to social media when I am heading there.


Chris

Royal Winter Fair 2019- No Media Pass

             Obviously this isn't the greatest news I wanted to give you guys but this year I am not getting a media pass as they didn't get back to me in time but also my fault for putting off getting the Royal Winter Fair planning and what day I was planning to go so it is majority of my own fault as I should of done this on September and is the best time to get my name in there. So there will be no be no blog post this year and it is unfortunate that I will not be doing a post for you guys this year. I feel so bad for you guys that I will not be releasing anything on here but I will still be going one way or another this year so I will not have my fancy badge on me saying im Media so this means I will be taking no notes whatsoever which is a disappointment honestly for me. However I will figure something out for next weekend and what to bring out. Next year I need to get ahead of myself and plan ahead especially for an event like this it does take a bit of planning to get myself ready for the event. So 2020 I am going to be changing things up and planning ahead and I am going to start working on the events list for 2020 this week at some point.


               Like I said I will be there and taking a few selfies and pics here and there but not as many as I have in the past as I just do not want to get into too much trouble but you can expect a few pics on the Instagram page but again not too many with some of them on Instagram. So I apologize for the lateness of the post but there is no post this year and this is the first time in years I have not made a post about the Royal Winter Fair but there is always next year for me to do a post at next years Royal Winter Fair but excited to be just going for the fun of it and have no work involved this time around so that will be definitely a nice change but if you guys see me feel free to say hello cause you cannot miss me honestly haha! Either way I am excited to be going and getting away from my studio for the day. 




Chris

Mac and Cheese Grilled Cheese Food Review

              Like I said yesterday, I wasn't planning a food review to be honest but anyways this is a spur the moment kind of review that I wasn't expecting. So I went something really out of the box and had Mac and Cheese. I know what you are going to say Mac and Cheese? Yes but it was in the Grilled Cheese Sandwich squished in the middle of the cheese and the bread. Now the outside bread had cheese on the outside as well and it is pretty much interesting and I was really unsure how to feel on the first couple of bites and I really had to look in the middle to see the actual macaroni in the middle that is when I figured it out why they call it Mac and Cheese so it was quite interesting sandwich that I had and something I feel confused about still even 2 days later I still wonder what I had. However to the review side of things the cheese was cooked perfectly, the cheese in the middle gooey and the macaroni not cooked but perfect. I honestly think it took me until the second half of my sandwich to really get the grasp of what I was eating honestly and I was truly confused but once I started to eat then I finally got the idea. So the review I would give it 3 out 5 as probably I wouldn't do it again as I rather have a normal everyday grilled cheese sandwich and I am trying to be generous.


               I honestly am being generous in my rating, I could of technically given it a 1 and really not give em a good rating. However it was good but something I think more then likely I wouldn't have again in the very nearby future. It is not because of the taste its more likely I do not think macaroni goes with a grilled cheese. It's definitely an odd ball for food but that is how I roll these days and not only that but I am also all for trying new things and that is probably one of the reasons I wanted to try it. I wasn't going to originally eat as I was trying to follow my diet after eating out on Wednesday night so my entire diet is out the window and tomorrow I need to get back into it. I really wish I could give this review a higher rating but the way I am feeling about what I ate, I feel like that yes it was good but something I wouldn't eat again. However this is just my opinion and I know you guys enjoy these and I know at times I can be critical but I said it before, I am all for trying new things and honestly I thought it was Mac and Cheese in a bowl but I was quite surprised honestly. 




Chris

Doors Open Event 2019

                 Yesterday we had a Doors Open event and I think it was all across Ontario honestly which is really cool we got to do this as there hasn't really been one here before. So we went to a few places yesterday for those who are wondering what day I went to the event it was yesterday. I can say we made a mistake as we went to the Airport first and we took much time to find the NO. 6 Fire Hall as we were planning to visit it for doors open but we ended up in NO 5 which I told my dad it was 6 not 5. So we got down to the Courthouse for the Doors Open too late. We got to the airport and we saw a Cessna Float Plane I believe it was a 185 if I remember correctly. Also Piper and also the World War trainer "The Harvard" airplane. Also a Russian Airplane as well that we saw that was sitting there and my dad gave me a brief history on it as well. Also I had this Grilled Cheese with Macaroni.

I will get into that on tomorrow's blog post for you guys as I got yet another food review that wasn't suppose to be schedule this week but I am adding it in for you guys one way or another.  So we next up since the Courthouse Doors Open ended at 1 pm EST our time here we went to the Armory where we had all the vehicles from the Canadian Army which was so amazing how tough the vehicle material and we guess it is definitely very safe when in travelling. We spent probably a good 10 - 15 minutes there before we headed on our final location which was Cowan House which he was Mayor for about 6 or 7 years for our City which was a town at the time before it became an actual city as it is pretty good size now to this day. So we had some history of our city from way back in the late 1800's and I never thought the city existed back then but hey I learned something completely new yesterday an it is always nice to learn something new about the city that you live in. 


                   It wasn't a complete failure as we had the one mishap with the one location but both my dad and I agreed if they do this again next year and I am sure they will and I think it is a great way to expose yourself to some of the history of your local city or town's history. We have a couple of other locations in the back of our minds what we wanna do next year if they do indeed do this again. Anyways tomorrow like I am doing the food review and I did not get the name but I know exactly what it is and how it tasted so that is tomorrow's post then we will be back into a normal routine but I have already pre-written some already ahead of time as today, tomorrow will be a busy one so I am a bit of ahead of myself as my schedule is quite booked up recently. So be on the lookout for that and we will see you guys tomorrow for the next post which will be back up @ 11 am EST. 




Chris

Orono Fair 2019 & Food Review

                  I have decided to put the Orono Fair and the food review that has been done at the fair together. I think it is best if both of those are put together. First let's talk about the fair portion of the fair. Also we went into the arena to see the flowers, arts and crafts and other things. We even saw the Zamboni which was sitting there at the corner by it's doors.  There were tons of tractors and there was even the teenagers driving the tractors in a tractor pull. We thought it was later but that was the adults for later on in the day in the evening. Anyways what tractors that were still sitting there, well I can say Minneapolis won by a milestone with 19 of them which probably could of been more then that. I remember when I was a kid the Cockshutt Tractors were the most that actually were there and back then it was at the back where they use to have the old tractor pulls. Anyways we moved on with seeing what rides, kids coaster, my favorite the Merry-Go-Round as I remember it as a kid. Also bingo which my mom and I did when she took me to the fair when my dad was out on his canoe trip on a couple of occasions. Now that was never there for the last few years I went there which was about 3 - 5 years ago since I went last and I remember it was with my niece and nephew was the last time we actually went to the fair. Also we saw ducks, goose, chickens and one duck being anxious with constantly being loud but it is what they do for sure. Also cows, goats, pigs, piglets. Also a Clydedale that staying neighing and stopping it hooves to get my attention. Not sure what the heck it is with me and horses, they seem to really like me. Finally we sat down to the watch the tractor pull and I thought they were going to stop half way but completely wow'd me and kept on going and did very well.


                Now to the food review side of things. We had lunch first before we ended up walking around the grounds. We both had peameal Bacon on bun with Cheese and also one side order of fries. The bacon wasn't over cooked whatsoever, it was crispy a bit and very juicy and the cheese melted perfectly with it. It was very good and I really did enjoy the peameal on a bun which I normally do not get to eat here at home too often but the odd time we will do it from time to time. Now the fries, were good too. They were crispy and juicy and fully cooked through. They were freshly cut as they had the potato skins on it on the one side of the fries. It wasn't overly oily nor salty, just perfect which is the way I like it. We put on the Malt Vinegar which I haven't had in a very, very long time since the fries place at 5 Points Mall which now doesn't exist anymore as it was torn down and now made into a outdoor mall.  The Peameal Bacon on a bun I give a 5 all day and also the fries itself also get a 5 all day. I would definitely have that again next year but maybe I will do a pogo dog next year which I haven't had in a very long time. It was a fun 3 hours and getting away from the studio for that time.




Chris

Oshawa Rib Fest and Food Review 2019

              Yesterday I went to the Oshawa Rib Fest 2019 which I haven't been to in several years as it use to be around the long weekend aka the Labor Day Weekend. However with this change recently it makes it easier for us to decide to go to the event. Now we originally were going to go to two different places but with the amount of food we had we decided to not go for it this time around and I will get right into it as I go forward with this post today. So we went to Pistol Petes for the ribs which is from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma USA. Now these ribs were not Pork ribs, these were actually Beef Ribs that we had. I admit it was my idea technically but was worth the idea. So like I said we were suppose to do two different places, however we ended up getting half a rack which was plenty enough for us to eat but we are going to change that next year and I will talk about it shortly.  Also on top of the half a rack we got a thing of beans on top of that. Now the ribs were tasty and fell apart as you bit into the ribs. Yes I know Beef ribs are more chewier then Pork ribs are but still very tasty. The sauce wasn't spicy and it almost had a bit of a sweet taste to it technically. Now I would definitely give the ribs a 5 out of 5 all day long. However the beans itself, I wasn't really keen on as I have never had beans with red peppers in it before. However the fact they also had kidney beans in it, still good, but it wasn't my favorite beans so I am going to be generous with this review an give it a 3 out of 5 as the beans were tender  and I liked the Kidney beans that were added into it.



                  After we ate we even grabbed a smoothie which was really good but it wasn't overly cool, not sure if they put in ice but it don't seem like it so again that would be a 3 out of 5 if I was to review it but it really isn't much of a review honestly. So we walked around after looked at what there was and there was entertainment which they were playing Elvis songs, "Jail House Rock" being one of them and also "Do You Love Me?" by the Contours originally and was featured on Dirty Dancing movie originally.  Also the Generals booth was also there as well probably promoting their upcoming season which I am going to be planning on several games this upcoming year. Overall the event was good however their was 2 more rib vendors 4 or 5 years ago then there was this year so I would give it a 4 out of 5 for the overall event and yes I am being quite generous actually.



Chris