Thomson is the carriage driver. He talks to his horses, calls them by name, and gives them a “giddy-up” when he wants them to move along. John controls the reins while his sister Lois rides shotgun. Lois keeps an eye on traffic. It is her arm that signals an upcoming turn at an intersection. If Lois can’t make it on a certain day, one of John’s other sisters fills in. The tail gunner, who stands on the top step at the rear of the wagon, is a Stratford business owner or a local historian. They’re perfect people to provide commentary on the downtown sites and talk enthusiastically about their city. The tour presents an overview of buildings and shops you can return to on foot for a closer look.
Thomson’s horses are quiet and mild-mannered. Honking and traffic don’t bother them as they clip-clop their way around town. When the ride is over and the horses are on a break, you can pat their necks and rub their foreheads. They don’t mind at all.
JUSTIN BIEBER’S STRATFORD
If your trip to Stratford is well-timed, you just might bump into Justin Bieber somewhere around the city. Stratford is Bieber’s hometown, and he still comes back to visit his old friends. When “the Biebs” returns, the locals attempt to honour his privacy; however, it’s pretty darn exciting if they can snag an autograph or a photo.
As a young boy, Justin taught himself to play the guitar, drums, piano, and trumpet. He performed at various public places around the city. The best-known location was on the steps of the Avon Theatre. If you don’t see JB in person, this is a great spot for a selfie with Justin’s bronze star marking the site where he entertained as a child busker to gather funds to treat his mother to a trip to Disney World. Local merchants contributed to the purchase of his first set of drums. His mother posted videos on YouTube, and the rest is history.
For the whereabouts of Justin’s favourite spots, a “Bieber-iffic! map to Stratford” is available on the Stratford Tourism Alliance website or at the Stratford Tourism office. It guides you to his schools, preferred eating places, where he played sports, and other locations that validate he was a regular kid around town.
In 2018, the Justin Bieber Exhibit, Steps to Stardom, opened at the Stratford Perth Museum. It drew over twenty thousand people in its first year. Beliebers arrive from all over the world to see the photos, awards, letters, and personal mementos provided by Justin, his family, and Stratford friends. Contact the museum prior to visiting to be sure the exhibit is still there.
SEASON:
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
LOCATION:
Stratford Tourism, 47 Downie Street, and Stratford Perth Museum, 4275 Huron Road
WEBSITE:
www.visitstratford.ca/justin-biebers-stratford
www.stratfordperthmuseum.ca/current-exhibits/
HIGHLIGHT:
The Justin Bieber experience in Stratford
SEASON:
Spring, Summer, Fall
LOCATION:
96 Birmingham Street, Stratford
WEBSITE:
HIGHLIGHT:
Foraging in the forests near Stratford
PUCK’S PLENTY FORAGING TOURS
Named for Shakespeare’s character in A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Puck’s Plenty tours, which began in 2010, have been rated as one of the top foraging adventures in the world.
Lace up your boots and join author Peter Blush and his dogs on walking tours, lasting two to three hours, along lush woodland trails. Hear the birds and breathe in the scent of new forest growth. Learn to identify wild edibles, both the expected and the unexpected, because every year new ones appear. In the spring, fill your basket with wild leeks, trout lily, rhubarb-like Japanese knotweed, garlic mustard, and marsh marigold. Later in the spring, harvest fiddleheads and nettles. Varying shapes and sizes of mushrooms of varying degrees of meatiness appear throughout the summer into the fall season. Giant, mushroom-like puffballs are always easy to spot. You’ll be surprised at the number of weeds that are edible. The recognizable pineapple weed that lurks in cement cracks and driveways emits a pineapple scent when found on a forest’s grassy floor and crushed—like chamomile, it turns into a delicious tea. Learn to properly harvest these delicacies to appreciate their nutritional values and to use them in recipes.
To round out the foraging experience, Blush’s Forage and Feast events provide a four-course lunch created with foraged finds—a good way to experience the textures and flavours of the wild edibles as they are accompanied by locally produced breads, cheeses, teas, and craft beers.
STRATFORD CHEFS SCHOOL
In 1983, three restaurateurs in Stratford, Joe Mandel of the Church, Jim Morris of Rundles, and Eleanor Kane of the Old Prune, faced a challenge. Their established restaurants were busy in the summer months, but in the winter business was slow. For that reason, it was difficult to keep experienced, professional chefs on the payroll year-round. Their solution was to create a culinary training program, running from November to March, that would retain their chefs as teachers. In addition to culinary skills, the Stratford Chefs School (SCS) provides the practical training required to successfully run a restaurant. In the years since the creation of SCS, graduates of their Professional Culinary Diploma Program have been contributing to Canada’s food scene. Stratford Chefs School alumni can be found in highly respected kitchens around the world. Fortunately for Stratford, many of the school’s over 800 graduates have remained in the city and surrounding Perth County. Several have opened restaurants of their own. If you look at the bios and menus of Stratford’s chefs, you will be impressed with their creativity.
In 2018, in celebration of their thirty-fifth anniversary, the Stratford Chefs School published Farm to Table, a book that reflects upon the farm to table movement in Stratford and Perth County. Stories highlight SCS alumni, SCS team members, Stratford and Perth County restaurants, farmers and producers, and their recipes.
You can personally experience the Stratford Chefs School by taking Open Kitchen cooking classes for home cooks or attending their popular dinner series. Each September, the SCS puts on a long table dinner, the school’s signature fundraising event.
SEASON:
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
LOCATION:
