There had been a gathering of expats for Canadian Thanksgiving where I live. We started small but grew to about 100 people. The spot we found was really ideal: they already served a turkey dinner on Sunday nights. That restaurant closed in the spring of 2018. The story is familiar: the landlord raised the rent. The spot is still empty today.
You might notice in the picture above that the food is not a turkey dinner. They had the best fried chicken. What was I to do?
We couldn't find an alternative place in 2018 and 2019. Finding a spot in 2020 was fruitless since we wouldn't be able to do Thanksgiving anyway.
I miss the food at that place but the gathering of people was more special. I am thankful for those memories but wish I could make more memories.
Canadian travel bubbles could boost tourism within Canada
No CFL. The Toronto Blue Jays, Raptors, and Maple Leafs are not playing. No U Sports. Families advised to not get together for Thanksgiving but maybe Christmas.
The ability to celebrate Thanksgiving may depend on where you are in Canada. Ontario and Quebec have been reporting hundreds of COVID-19 cases per day.
On October 1, Atlantic Canada (including Newfoundland and Labrador) accounted for 13 of the 14,490 active COVID-19 cases in Canada. Those cases are are all travel-related.
The Atlantic travel bubble remains in effect. If you are from one of the 4 provinces, you can freely travel between the Atlantic provinces. If not, travelers have to isolate for 2 weeks.
Nova Scotia premier Stephen McNeil said the bubble won't open up "any time soon."
The push for Indigenous travel is timely in an odd fashion. Canadians are encouraged to travel within their own country thanks to the pandemic. The territories are discouraging outsiders from coming in but there are options closer to home as well.
Being more aware of the stories and land of these people would be a travel adventure most Canadians might not consider. Hopefully, the pandemic makes us appreciate more of our neighbours.
Destination Indigenous has a few ideas on where to go. Going somewhere new when travel options are limited can be fun and exciting. Your kids, if you have them, can learn about Indigenous culture.
We recommend a trip to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. Your stay may not be that short since there is so much to take in during a visit.
Reflections on Canadian Thanksgiving 2018
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving 2017
We didn't do a Thanksgiving notebook in 2019. We were so busy with so many stories (Canada election, NHL, CFL, MLS, films) in 2019. Not so much this year. Sigh.
If you need a dose of recent Thanksgivings, we posted our 2017 and 2018 notebooks. Enjoy with turkey or reasonable substitute.
Yes, Americans. Canadians eat similar foods for their Thanksgiving. They often have butter tarts, something missing from American Thanksgiving plates.
CanadianCrossing.com film coverage
The Chicago International Film Festival, which starts next week, has not been kind to Canadian film in recent years. Not many titles and some very odd choices. Notable exceptions include Black Cop and The Twentieth Century, neither of which played at Windsor.
There are fewer films available for any film festival. The number of Canadian films in the 2020 Chicago International Film Festival: 0. Can't complain about the films brought in if there are no films to see. There could be a last-minute film addition. I still recall how they sneaked Felix and Meira into the festival with as little publicity as possible.
More ways to watch Schitt's Creek in the United States
Schitt's Creek wins 9 Emmys in its final season
We don't have to write about Schitt's Creek but can't help mentioning that the real-life Rosebud Motel in the Hockley Valley region in Ontario is up for sale.
The building is rather famous for fans of the show so a potential owner should take that under consideration. As for the rooms, we don't know anything about the actual motel rooms since the interior shots were from a soundstage in Toronto.
The motel has been used for other projects such as the film A History of Violence from David Cronenberg. We found out that Jamal Murray of the NBA Denver Nuggets lived there for 2 years while playing for Orangeville Prep. The CBC documentary series Orangeville Prep was scheduled to debut this fall but has been delayed.
The motel's neighbours — Cafe Tropical, Bob's Garage, Rose Apothecary — are in nearby Goodwood, Ontario.
Who is Tim Stützle? #NHLDraft #Jeopardy pic.twitter.com/KfYKyEcqMj
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) October 6, 2020
The Ottawa Senators, the only NHL team in Canada that hasn't played since March, was going to have a good evening on Monday for the NHL draft. The Sens had 3 1st-round picks. The team had a surprise for how the first of those picks would be announced.
Canadian treasure Alex Trebek, a University of Ottawa graduate, agreed to do a video to announce the first pick in the style of a Jeopardy question. Forward Tim Stuetzle will forever be the answer/question to that trivia note. Defenceman Jake Sanderson went at #5 and centre Ridly Greig at #28.
Twitter went wild with Trebek's announcement. We are thankful Trebek is still around to do such a cool presentation. Trebek, 80, is currently battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
The next NHL season will tentatively start on January 1, 2021.
CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage
For those Canadian fans who love the CFL, TSN2 is showing more than 24 hours of previous CFL Thanksgiving Classic games.
photo credit: me
video credit: YouTube/Canada Explore | Explorez
Twitter capture: @Senators
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