DESTINATION

Brantford

The city is in a valley region of the Grand River, in a pocket of Carolinian forest where popular recreational options include canoeing, rafting, fishing and bird-watching. The Trans Canada Trail meanders through Brantford along the Grand River, offering bicycling and hiking opportunities.

The city has won national and international awards for its beautiful municipal gardens and parks. The hometown of Wayne Gretzky, Brantford showcases memorabilia of the hockey great as well as other area athletes in the Brantford and Area Sports Hall of Recognition in the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre, 254 N. Park St. The center is open to the public at no charge; phone (519) 756-9900.

Home to the Brantford Symphony Orchestra, the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts, 88 Dalhousie St., offers entertainment year-round in a restored, 1919 vaudeville theater that seats 1,134; for information and tickets phone (519) 758-8090 or (800) 265-0170.

During the International Villages Festival held in early July, ethnic groups set up “villages” around town and offer traditional foods, entertainment and displays of arts and crafts. Later that month in nearby Ohsweken is the Grand River Champion of Champions Powwow, which celebrates native music, dance, art, and crafts.

The area's agricultural heritage is evident at the farmer's market held on Fridays and Saturdays year-round at Icomm Drive and Market Street South.