While no one wants to admit it, we’re coming into the final few weeks of summer and that means making sure to appreciate as many moments as we can – especially those with our furry best friends. To help out, we’ve compiled a fun, simple bucket list of four things you and your dog can enjoy together before we inevitably fall into fall.
#1 – Take In A Sunset
Sunsets happen each and every single day – albeit sometimes behind a few clouds – but we think everyone could benefit from stopping and enjoying even one special sunset before summer’s end.
#2 – Time On The Dock
If you’re going to be near water between now and the end of summer, we’re prescribing some time on the dock. Is there anything more calming than listening to the water lap up against the side of the dock, the birds, the breeze. Slow things down a bit so you and your puppers can enjoy some time on the dock.
#3 – Matching Outfit Day
• BONUS • For added fun, try a Muskoka Bear Wear Doggie Bandana when coordinating your outfit. They are currently available in a wide variety of colours and sizes for just about any dog! And, that’s not even the best part, with each Doggie Bandana sold, we donate $5 to our local Muskoka OSPCA – so you can feel good knowing you’re supporting local animals while your dog is looking awesome! Now that’s PAWsome!
#4 – Go For A Hike
Next to “Want a treat?”, “Wanna go for a walk?” has to be every dog’s favourite question in the world. With new smells, new sights and getting in some exercise, every walk is an adventure for your dog. Try finding someplace new to explore together, or stopping somewhere just to relax and take it in. We’re confident it won’t just be your dog enjoying the time out!
We think the above ideas make an achievable bucket list, what do you think? Be sure to tag @muskokabearwear on the adventures that you take us and your dogs on!
Oh, and that reminds us… we’re extending our Canada’s Cutest Pet Contest! Send us a pic of your Pet wearing our Ontario Made custom Doggie Bandana for a chance to win a $25 Online MBW Gift Card!
Post your photos with the name of your Pet anytime on Facebook or Instagram& don’t forget to use the hashtag #muskokabearwear or send them by DM.
We’ll be selecting 3 lucky winners each day and we will also be matching that with a $25 Donation for each Winner to our local Muskoka OSPCA. As always, we will continue to donate $5 from each Doggie Bandana sold as well.
The winners will be selected daily from August 14th – 20th 2020 with the final winner announced Friday morning August 21st, 2020 and all will be included in our next social media campaign! Good Luck everyone!
To help inspire you – and just because we love dogs so much – here are some adorable dog pictures that we’ve been tagged in!
In response to the challenging times that we are experiencing together regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to give props to some stellar local businesses who are stepping up to serve our great community.
For this, our 20th week of MBW Shout Outs, we’re heading to Torrance, Ontario to feature PIE, the Wood-Fired Pizza Joint.
First opened in 2016, PIE was built in an old boat garage on what many see only as a scarcely populated stretch of road between Gravenhurst and Bala. But after some hard work and ingenuity, PIE created a unique space for locals and visitors alike. And they must be doing something right as they’ve served over 200,000+ pizzas since 2016. From the Pepperoni Classic to the Masi Caprese and Green Egg & Ham, they offer a wide variety of unique pizza pies that are sure to offer something for everyone.
Just as it affected everyone else however. Covid-19 came along and forced PIE to rely solely on their takeout service after an initial 14-day closure. Fortunately, with a great team in place, PIE was able to navigate their way through the various re-opening phases and are still doing everything they can to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for their patrons. They have been able to expand on their service options and are doing what they do best: slinging delicious pizzas! They told us how grateful they were for the ongoing support of the community and their stellar team.
Well, we want to congratulate PIE and acknowledge their amazing team for all their hard work and commitment to their business, obviously, but also to serving the community. Delicious, fresh, hot pizza can be a huge mood enhancer and during these tough times, there can never be too many of those. Way to go guys – keep up the terrific work!
Signaling that dinner is ready doesn’t have to be the first time everyone makes their appearance in the kitchen or dining room. Try baking grandma’s recipes together as a family! Or another great way to elevate your family dinner is to get everyone involved in the preparation. Whether that’s washing or chopping ingredients during food prep, or choosing what plates and table settings will be used, there’s plenty of jobs to go around. This is a great opportunity to connect with each other and create lasting memories.
#2 – Grow Your Own Ingredients or Keep It Local!
Few things are healthier or more rewarding than preparing a meal using ingredients that you grew or sourced locally. It’s likely that the more produce you grow, the more fresh fruit and vegetables that will be part of your regular diet. In addition to the boost in nutrients and vitamins for your body, you’re also helping the environment by reducing the environmental impact of food production. So get those green thumbs going, or acquaint yourself with the local food & farmers’ markets and keep it fresh and keep it local for dinner this summer.
#3 – Sale of the Week Items
Whether it’s dinner at home around the table, or BBQ in the backyard, takeout on a patio, a picnic or something else altogether, Muskoka Bear Wear is there for you to help keep it comfy and these Sale of the Week items should help do the trick!
So remember, the 3 ways to elevate family dinner this summer: Do it together, keep it local and rock some comfy Muskoka Bear Wear.
Summer sure has had it’s share of heat and as we enter the second half, we’re serving up some tips on how to stay cool and beat that heat with Muskoka Bear Wear!
#1 Jump in the Lake – Go Swimming!
Whether it’s a pool, a pond or one of the many gorgeous, pristine lakes throughout Muskoka or the rest of Ontario, go jump in!! Make a splash! Few things will cool you off quicker than that first plunge into the water. If you’re sweltering in the heat, don’t wade in, don’t tip your toes in, just shout ‘cowabunga’ and jump right in!
#2 You Scream, I Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream!
Cone, cup, bowl… it doesn’t really matter. If you need to cool off fast, the best and most delicious thing you can do is grab some ice cream or frozen yogurt. With so many flavours and options there has got to be a frozen delight for you. Classic, creamy soft-serve vanilla, banana splits, root beer floats, rainbow sorbet, moose tracks, cookie dough, chopped fruit, nuts, whipped cream, chocolate sauce…. if the heat ails you, ice cream is your salve! Have another scoop, we won’t tell anyone!
And if you’re looking for a great local place to get some ice cream we recommend checking out Melody’s Muskoka Ice Cream in Gravenhurst, Ontario! They just introduced homemade ice cream pies. Need we say more? Learn more by checking out Week 18 in our #MBWShoutouts here.
#3 Grab Some of our Sale of the Week Items!
Whether you’re chilling on the patio, hanging on the beach or any of about ten thousand other fun things this summer, Muskoka Bear Wear is right there with you and your family every paw print of the way! Check out our Sale of the Week page for great deals to help you beat the heat and keep cool this summer!
The summer is usually about getting outside to hit the water or the trails, or to gather around a bonfire under the stars or long list of other great activities outdoors. But sometimes, when that rainy day rolls around, and you feel more inclined to bundle up and get cozy, well for those days, our favourite thing to do is to throw on our comfy Bear Wear threads and watch a couple great movies together with the family.
Assemble the snacks, round up the family and enjoy these Top 5 Summer Movies for the whole family!
Few movies are as synonymous with teenage life in the summer-time as the ‘Summer Lovin’‘ classic Grease. This 1978 musical was based off the 1971 Broadway Musical of the same name and tells the tale of Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) and Danny Zuko’s (John Travolta) summer fling over the summer of ’58. ‘You’re The One That I Want‘, ‘Greased Lightning‘ and ‘Summer Nights‘ remain iconic, instantly-recognizable songs 40+ years after the film first debuted. It’s hard not tap your feet and sing along through at least a half dozen songs on every watch-thru. Summer and Grease just Go Together, like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong.
“Hey You Guuuuuuuys!” No must-watch movie list would be complete without The Goonies. Several members of the young cast have gone on to have lengthy Hollywood careers such as Corey Feldman, Sean Austin, Josh Brolin and Martha Plimpton. The story follows a group of young, adventurous friends who are preparing to say goodbye to one another as a development company plans to demolish their homes and build a golf course unless funding is raised to stop the development. The kids stumble upon a treasure map and embark on an quest to find the treasure in hopes of saving the neighbourhood. They run into several unique challenges along the way that ultimately tests their resolve and their friendship. “Goonies never say die” is one of the famous quotes from the film and is a great message about perseverance. Goonies easily found its way on to our Top 5 Summer Movies for the Whole Family.
“Wait A Minute, Doc. Are You Telling Me You Built A Time Machine…Out Of A DeLorean?” These are the famous words from small-town California teenager Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) before being thrust into a time-travel adventure that has become a cult classic and spawned two sequels. In this, the original, Marty is sent back to the 1950’s where he meets younger versions of his parents, for whom he must convince to fall in love or else he himself will cease to exist. Increasing the stakes for Marty is how he also must return to his own time to save Doc Brown. This 80’s sci-fi comedy is packed with plenty of nostalgia – though, that’s probably fitting for a movie about time travel!
The epitome of a coming-of-age story, The Sandlot is a summer classic about feeling like an outsider, but then finally finding your tribe. Scotty Smalls, a shy 5th-grader moves to a new neighbourhood and manages to make friends with a group of boys who play baseball together. They embark on several funny and heart-warming adventures together – including the retrieval of a very important Babe Ruth-signed baseball that they accidentally knocked over the fence. ‘Legends never die‘, as they say in the film, and this legendary film makes our Top 5 Summer Movies for the Whole Family.
Moving our way through the decades, we land on one of our favourites from the 2000’s… Walt Disney’s Lilo & Stitch. This summer classic revolves around two boisterous, mischievous characters; a young Hawaiian girl named Lilo (Daveigh Chase) and a blue alien that Lilo adopts, thinking him a dog, that she names Stitch (Chris Sanders). This fun, colourful adventure centres on Lilo’s love and belief in ‘ohana‘, the Hawaiian term for family. Stitch is hilarious and this movie has plenty of laughs along the way! Just as Lilo was committed to leave no one behind, we’re certainly not leaving this one off our Top 5 Summer Movies for the Whole Family.
There you have it, our Top 5 Summer Movies for the Whole Family. Cozy up in some comfy Muskoka Bear Wear with the family and try to knock out all five of these movies this summer!
How many of these films have you already seen? What are some of YOUR favourites? Be sure to tell us on one of our social media pages!
In response to the challenging times that we are experiencing together regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to give props to some stellar local businesses who are stepping up to serve our great community.
“Arrive with confidence, assured of great food, service and ambiance. Leave tasting life to the fullest.”
3 GUYS And A Stove in Huntsville, Ontario has been wowing visitors for years with their fresh and unique take on casual-fine dining. Their menu showcases multi-level seasoning and multi-layered flavours which are applied to real, honest comfort foods that are healthy, aromatic and addictingly good. From the spice and aroma of the Caribbean, a dash of Southeast Asia and a good dose of southern comfort food, they keep it simple and simply delicious.
As the effects of the pandemic began reaching Ontario and Muskoka, 3 GUYS made the difficult, albeit socially responsible decision to temporarily close the restaurant in mid-March. That did not mean they were not still thinking about the community however, and how they could continue to serve. They participated in the Stay @ Home Gala in May and launched an exciting new project altogether with the On Focaccia Food Truck. By late-May, 3 GUYS began offering Takeout for Curbside Pickup, and now just this week, as the Province enters the next stage of the Re-Opening Framework, 3 GUYS is preparing to re-open their doors for dine-in service.
We want to commend the entire team at 3 GUYS for their hard work and dedication to the community. Their passion for food and serving the community has been shining through these challenging times and been a beacon of inspiration. Way to go guys! We hope Friday is a success and wishing you all the best through the rest of the summer!
