Manitoulin in the News

View post articles, radio interviews and press releases about Manitoulin and Manitoulin Living.
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NEW - February 2009 - "Field Museum Tours revives Great Lakes cruise "- The Dallas Morning News - Among the passages and ports of call are Thunder Bay, Ontario, and its Old Fort William trading post; Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, site of the Great Copper Rush; the Soo Locks, said to be the busiest in the world; Mackinac Island; Manitoulin Island and its Ojibwe Cultural Foundation ....

November 2008 - "Manitoulin Flight Charter Service" - Flights to and from Manitoulin Island are available! For flight reservations please call the toll free number for reservations 1-800-928-8931. Sky Medical may under go a name change for this part of its service, and will provide the flight service for a cost of $439 including tax for full occupancy. More information is also available on the Manitoulin Chamber of Commerce website http://www.manitoulinchamber.com

October 2008 - "Manitoulin Memories - First-time visitor marvels at the trails, the views and the people" - The Kitchener Record - Be prepared when you ask for directions on Manitoulin. Locals don't only tell you where to go, they take you there.

October 2008 - "Fusion of literary and visual arts unveiled at Gore Bay Museum" - Sudbury Star - For visitors to Manitoulin Island in the shoulder season, the autumn foliage is always a perennial attraction, but now there's even more colour and drama to enjoy. The outcome of a year-long collaboration among Manitoulin literary and visual artists will be on display at the Gore Bay Museum and Heritage Centre from Oct. 17 to 26.

October 2008 - "Autumn in the land of Gitchi Manitou" - Calgary Herald - As our car rolls off the Chi-Cheemaun, the big ferry from Tobermory to South Baymouth, Manitoulin Island, I get an immediate feeling of having gone back a few decades. This lazy hamlet with its trading post, homes-turned-souvenir shops, homey restaurants and takeout stands is the gateway to the south end of the world's largest freshwater island.

July, 2008 - "You're Invited to grow and bloom on Manitoulin" - Sudbury Star - "We have a wonderful quality of life on Manitoulin, and we want others to have the opportunity to experience it,” says Joyce Foster, Chair of an organization called Manitoulin Living. “Once you come to Manitoulin, you’re hooked. My family and I moved here in 1970 to start a business. We’re now retired, still here and can't imagine being anywhere else.” Though I don’t live on Manitoulin, I sure do a lot of Manitoulin Living. In my head, when I’m not visiting. The internet, writing Window Seat and deepening my own friendships in Little Current, Gore Bay, Kagawong, Manitowaning and Providence Bay. On the island, I can’t stay away from any Farmers Market. With potholders and paintings, my kitchen in NYC is called “Going to Manitoulin” for breakfast.

July, 2008 - "Island Life is Berry Mellow'" - Toronto Sun - Strange thoughts float in the embers and the moonlight at Cabin 11, Silver Birches. For instance, why are we here? On Earth, I mean. A fair query in Manitoulin, which the Ojibwa call Spirit Island. Even trickier: Is Cliff Fletcher senile, or a frickin' Yoda? I guess we'll know by mid-November. Or next spring, if his Leafs are still playing. Or in another 41 years. As every Canadian knows, you find more questions than answers around a campfire.

June, 2008 - "Postcard From Manitoulin Island: Enchantment for children'" - The Independant - UK - "In the middle of a continent is a great lake. In that lake is a huge island, and in that island is a lake, and in that lake is Treasure Island..." Not a children's story but a real place in Ontario that retains the wonders of childhood: a place where the stars twinkle more brightly, the deer emerge from the forest at twilight and the abundant fish are enchanted princes (that one's a fib).

May, 2008 - "Ontario boosts a bonanza of perfect, sandy beaches'" - Toronto Star - Freshwater beaches have all the fun and the sun of the Caribbean. The sun has reached its zenith, sizzling the sun block on your body. Great dunes of sand decorated with swaying grasses rear up behind you. My favourite is on an uninhabited island near Manitoulin. One other boat shares our anchorage. On the beach, our son and his friend skip rocks in the water before a cooling dip. A tumbledown cabin stands in the shade of wind-crippled pines; a sign inside says its purpose to offer shelter to boaters caught in a storm. Ontario has a wealth of water – and that means a wealth of beaches, from people-watching party spots to sanctuaries we share only with each other and the kids.

April, 2008 - "Magazine uncovers Manitoulin's secrets'" - Sudbury Star - This is the time of year on Manitoulin Island that everyone is dusting off and getting ready for the mad rush of summer. Seasonal businesses are getting ready to open and looking for local products to draw people through their doors. Ready just in time for the season is volume one of Manitoulin Island, Facts, Fiction and Folklore. This illustrated magazine is not only an amazing read from cover to cover, the drawings on each page by local artist Jack Whyte are astounding. It displays not only the considerable talents of Jack Whyte, but also the excellent writing and imaginations of Dylan Whyte and Sue Priddle.

Feb, 2008 - "Manitoulin's great White Elephant;'" - Sudbury Star - On Manitoulin, my Auntie Em looked outside her window at the deep snow, glad it wasn't blowing. She's on the phone with me, discussing the holidays just past, and giggling. "Speaking of unwanted presents, Bonnie, we had out monthly meeting at Women's Institute. We meet the second Tuesday of every month. In the middle of dreary January, we needed to set up Fun Night. Our program was "Bring a White Elephant Gift to trade.

Jan, 2008 - "Manitoulin quilter featured on CBC's Made In Canada'" - CBC - Ice Lake's Helen Mossey brings quilting to a new level. She is featured on the CBC program Made in Canada in this Window's Media File.

Dec, 2007 - "New Hybrid SUV makes trip to Manitoulin" - The Saskatoon Star Phoenix - So, when a Ford Escape Hybrid creeps through the woods, do the critters really notice? Ford, in marketing the 2008 version of its gas-electric compact SUV, has been airing a TV commercial in which an Escape HEV drives along a woodsy trail unnoticed by some grazing deer who then become spooked by a falling acorn. I thought it would be neat to see if there is truth in advertising by following the same script during a trip to Manitoulin Island.

Oct, 2007 - "Healing quest takes MD around the world - Shamans teach real-life Medicine Woman to pray for patients' wellness" - National Review of Medicine - Nothing and yet everything has changed for two Canadian women who travelled the world to meet shamans, herbalists and mystics practising the ancient art of natural medicine. One is a Cree filmmaker from Manitoulin Island, ON, the other a young First Nations doctor who trained in emergency medicine in Sudbury

June, 2007 - "Mindemoya - A paradise for tourists" - Sudbury Star - With several cottage-style resorts tucked into its sheltered bay, Mindemoya and its namesake, Lake Mindemoya, make for a tourist's paradise. "When you are in Mindemoya, you never have to drive far to hit a lake," said Patrick Kiley, Project Coordinator for Manitoulin Living. From canoeing, kayaking and boating, to swimming and fishing, Lake Mindemoya offers an abundance of recreational opportunities.

May, 2007 - "The North Channel … with a day job" - Sailing Breezes Magazine - There are few sailors who haven’t heard about the celebrated North Channel, on the northern shore of Lake Huron. The magazines describe cruises lasting three weeks, four weeks, or more. To someone aching for the day when he can sail for four weeks at a time, these articles are entertaining, inspiring…and frustrating. The North Channel is full of beautiful anchorages, quaint marinas, and quirky towns. It isn’t possible to see it all on a quick one-week vacation.

May, 2007 - "Georgian Bay, Ontario has been nominated as one of the Seven Wonders of Canada." - Public Relations Insider - Georgian Bay is truly a unique Canadian fresh water paradise. CBC Radio, along with The National, (Canada's national broadcasting networks), are looking for the top seven wonders in Canada and are asking for nominations. Ron Taylor, publisher of the Georgian Bay Eco Museum, nominated Georgian Bay as one of the Seven Wonders of Canada.

April, 2007 - "Island trade fair makes big return" - From the Sudbury Star - There is certainly no place I would rather be than on Manitoulin Island when spring is in the air. Looking out my window on a recent morning I saw the two geese who come back every year to have their babies, a muskrat swimming around like he's seeing if everything is still in its rightful order and it's raining just enough to get that last bit of ice off the Kagawong River.

February, 2007 - "Leland Bell’s work major part of travelling exhibit" - From Northern Life - Northerners may not know him by appearance or even name, but the works of Manitoulin Island artist Leland Bell hang in institutions locally and in art collections throughout North America and Europe.

February, 2007 - "Manitoulin Going Green" - From Market Wire - Schneider Power intends to expand the Providence Bay/Spring Bay Wind Farm to its full 11.6 MW capacity by end of 2008.

September, 2006 - "Manitoulin Island: gem of a destination for nature lovers" - From The National Post - According to local legend, Manitoulin Island was the Great Spirit's final project when creating the world. "It is said he took the most sparkling water, the nicest trees and the cleanest air, and this is Manitoulin," explains Alan Corbiere

August, 2006 - "Rainbow Country drive refreshes the spirit" - From The Globe and Mail - Manitoulin means "spirit island" in the Ojibwa language. Here's a terrific 1,000-kilometre road trip that will take you through Manitoulin's Rainbow Country while you enjoy driving some of the most scenic roads in Ontario. Manitoulin is the world's largest island in fresh water.

July, 2006 - "Manitoulin is good for the soul" - From Canoe/Travel - No Walmart. No McDonalds. No Canadian Tire. Not even a Tim Hortons. And yet Manitoulin Island is our favourite place to vacation.

July, 2006 - "UW museum publishes book on Manitoulin Island" - From The Waterloo Chronicle - For well over a century, the Manitoulin Island area has been a Mecca for earth scientists from all over North America who came to study its rocks and collect its fossils. A new book by two University of Waterloo earth scientists and a curator colleague explains why.

July, 2006 - "Summer drive by the Bay" - From The Toronto Star - Manitoulin is home to a large aboriginal population and, during the summer months, there are plenty of opportunities to sample local cultural events, including folk music, drumming and dance. That's if you can tear your eyes away from the beautiful scenery.

August, 2006 - "Treasure trove awaits kids on Bruce Trail" - From The Toronto Star - New visitor centre, tower officially open. Book bunkie also adds to delightful surprises.

May 3, 2006 - "North Channel Retrospective" - From Cruising World - Two sailing trips to a Lake Huron cruising ground reveal a place that’s worth coming back to again and again and again.

Jan. 12, 2006 - "Manitoulin a paradise for doctors" - page A3 in Toronto Star. Feature story on inside cover of Toronto Star highlights strong health care services here, partly because doctors are attracted by our quality of life.

Sept. 12, 2005 - "Packed Panniers on Manitoulin" - from Globe & Mail. Globe Travel writer raves about bicycling and picturesque scenery on Manitoulin Island.

August 6, 2005 - "Diagnosis: GTA needs MDS; Southern Ontario may copy North's recruiting tactics" Front Page Story, Toronto Star. (No longer available online). This story reports on a study by a health research institute ranking the number of and access to doctors in different regions across Ontario. A chart shows Manitoulin as having the highest number of doctors per person in all of Ontario! Learn more on our health care page.

Sep. 25, 2004 - "Significant numbers leaving GTA; Retirement and urban antipathy among reasons Population would be declining if not for immigrants" - Toronto Star, page N8. Though this page is no longer available to link to, we can tell you that it outlines Census statistics showing the growing trend (19,000 people a year over the last ten years) of individuals moving out of the GTA to a higher quality life in rural and northern areas of Ontario, including Manitoulin Island!