In response to the challenging times that we’re all experiencing together regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to spread love and levity across the community. We brainstormed various ways we could do this and one of the things we landed on was highlighting some of the incredible local businesses who are stepping up and modifying their services to continue to serve the community through these tough times. These are local businesses who have local champions who are doing what they can to be leaders through this unprecedented historic time.
“Chocolate is
the food of the soul, and the answer to all questions.”
Conveniently located in
the heart of Muskoka, right in downtown Bracebridge, Momma Bear’s Ice Cream
& Sweets serves freshly brewed local Muskoka Roastery coffee, warm butter
tarts & date squares, generous scoops of Kawartha Dairy premium ice cream,
AND hand-crafted on-site chocolates and confections.
Knowing the joy and the
up-lifting power of something sweet, ‘Chocolate Margaret’ and her team strive
to keep the sweets flowing through these tough times by offering curb-side
pick-up and free in-town delivery. Take advantage of their pick-up/delivery
menu that includes tubs of Kawartha Ice Cream, custom ice cream cakes, butter
tarts, date squares, dipped Oreos, fudge and an impressive list of other candy
and treats!!
We’re tipping our hat to
Momma Bear’s and her amazing team for adapting to these challenging times and
ensuring everyone has something for their sweet tooth!!
It’s one thing for these
tough times to be having an affect on us, but it has yet to truly be seen what kind
of affect it will have on our children. One local business is doing everything
they can to keep children playing, creating and learning and that’s Minds Alive
Muskoka Toy Store!
With locations in
Bracebridge, Gravenhurst & Huntsville (PLUS: Midland & Collingwood),
Minds Alive offers a wide variety of toys and teaching tools from books &
craft supplies to board games, puzzles, baby toys, outdoor activities, building
toys, figures and so much more.
Despite their physical locations being closed to the public, they are still offering on-line shopping on their website for curbside pick-up in Bracebridge (and once a week in Gravenhurst & Huntsville). Their dedication and commitment to supporting youth in our community is inspiring and we are very grateful to have such a wonderful team in our community.
It is critical during
this time to ensure we’re eating healthy and continue to have access to fresh food
– especially produce. And boy oh boy are we ever lucky to have a business such
as Northern Produce based right here in Bracebridge!
Northern Produce is
Muskoka’s year-round, one-of-a-kind market. A family-run business serving
Muskoka for over 20 years, Northern Produce offers a wide variety of grocery
items – from fresh fruits & vegetables to dairy, cheese, pastas, soups and
honestly too much for us to list.
Despite the challenges and tough times that we’re all facing with COVID-19, Northern Produce continues to step up to offer curbside pick-up on everything they carry. They typically post an updated inventory list on their Facebook Page, patrons call to submit orders, and then are given details as to when they can pick up their order.
The number of families that Northern Produce is supporting through this pandemic is incredible and we couldn’t possibly run these shout outs without giving them a special mention.
Thank you so much for all you’re doing!!
If you know a local business who deserves a
shout out, send us a direct message with a photo and why they should be
featured.
• And Remember • #StayHome
#StayHealthy #StayComfy
We know it can be difficult having to remain at home as Spring begins to roll in. The days are getting longer, that sunshine a little warmer and the call of Muskoka is getting louder and louder. But it’s okay, we have some great tips on how to bring Muskoka TO YOU and how you can enjoy some Muskoka-themed Staycation activities right at home!
S’Mores by theFire • What You’ll Need: Graham Crackers;
Marshmallows; Chocolate Bar (Hersey works great!); a Laptop or Tablet with
internet connection; somewhere to cozy up.
Few things can replace the actual
feeling of sitting around a fire with friends and family to roast marshmallows
under the night sky, but this is definitely the next best thing. Set up your
tablet or laptop somewhere that you can gather around to see it. Pull up
YouTube and search for one of the many great several-hour-long campfire videos
(here’s one).
Set up some blankets, and pillows. Now, run back to the kitchen and get those
s’mores ready (quick how-to here). Return to your cozy set-up, dish out the s’mores and enjoy your
S’Mores by the Fire!
Stargazing • What You’ll Need: A backyard, or somewhere that
you can relax outside while still practicing your social distancing; a clear
dark night; added bonus: binoculars or a telescope.
While you may not have the dark sky required to see the entire Milky Way band of stars due to nearby ambient light, you should still be able to make out some of the more prominent night sky objects on a clear night even in the city. For starters, about 90 minutes after sunset, you should see the planet Venus in the west. It will appear as one of the brightest objects in the sky (next to the moon!). Without the help of binoculars or a telescope, you should be able to find the stars Sirius, Vega and Betelgeuse. Orion is often an easy constellation to spot as well as the ‘Pleiades’ cluster.
Bundle up nice and warm and lay under the stars for hours. You may notice the International Space Station passing by, or several other satellites that you never noticed before. You might just be surprised at what all you see when you take the time to look!
Home Spa Treatment • What You’ll Need: Your preferred home spa
essentials (might include: face mask, home pedicure kit, hair mask, nail
polish, bath bomb).
Sometimes the trip to the cottage is about unplugging and getting in some good self-care. And while you may not be able to connect with your favourite Muskoka spa right now, there are likely some local options you can find in the Yellow Pages who can help arrange curb-side pick-up for some home spa supplies. If not, your local Pharmacy or Grocery Store should have some essentials as well. The key here is to focus on things that make you feel refreshed and rejuvenated. Rock a face mask while you give yourself a pedicure. Do up your nails. Treat yourself, you deserve it!
When you’re all finished, cozy up with a book or maybe play a board game with those you’re sharing your quarantine with.
Hang in there friends! We hope you enjoyed these Muskoka Staycation Ideas. Do you have any of your own? We’d love to hear about them!
But why stop there! If you loved the Ladies Cabin Hoody and
Quarter-Zip, then you’re going to love what drops next… COMING SOON… we will be
introducing the Lilac colour combo for our Ladies Cottage Comfy Pants, Youth
Cabin Hoody and Youth Cottage Comfy Pants! Soon you and your littles will be
able to show off your love for lilac.
We want to thank everyone for the incredible support during these tough
times and for sharing with us all the photos of you rocking your Bear Wear at
home as we practice our social distancing.
And while our stores remain closed, you can still shop online – where we’re now offering free shipping on all orders over $49 (before tax).
EDIT: April 29th • The wait is over! The Lilac colour combo is now available in our Ladies Cottage Comfy Pants! They will go live on our website on Friday! Stay tuned!
In response to the challenging times that we’re all experiencing together regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to spread love and levity across the community. We brainstormed various ways we could do this and one of the things we landed on was highlighting some of the incredible local businesses who are stepping up and modifying their services to continue to serve the community through these tough times. These are local businesses who have local champions who are doing what they can to be leaders through this unprecedented historic time.
This Bear Wear Shout Out takes us up to Huntsville to a wonderful, family-owned restaurant called The Little Place By The Lights. They specialize in home-cooked Italian pasta, lasagna, gnocchi, homemade gelato, and pizza!
Through these tough times, they have introduced a delivery service and have been bringing their delicious, home-cooked food right to people’s homes.
Listen to a comment from one of their patrons: “My house smells amazing. There is a lasagna in the oven. Thanks TLPBTL for delivering. A much need break and the highlight of my day.”
Amazing to hear that a local business is adapting to these tough times and still finding ways to be the highlight of someone’s day. Incredible. Way to go guys!! Keep spreading love and great food!!
Back at the Gateway to Muskoka we go for a shout out to another amazing local business… the Home Building Centre in Gravenhurst.
Located on HWY 169 just past the Muskoka Wharf and out towards Bala, the Home Building Centre has been stepping up to modify their services in order to continue offering their products and services and keep as many members of their team working as possible. Most recently, they too have introduced curbside pickup and are offering local delivery for purchases made on-line on their website, through e-mail or over the phone.
They’ve also been big supporters and participants in the fun weekly window challenges from Muskoka Neighbourhood Window Watch; which perfectly captures their willingness to be silly and spread love during these tough times. Well, today we tip our hat to their incredible team and wish them all the best! Way to go Home Building Centre!
Today’s Shout Out brings us back to the Heart of Muskoka, right here in downtown Bracebridge as we give a special shout out to Vita Fitness.
Located at 7 Manitoba Street in downtown, Vita Fitness is led by Head Trainer Morgan Rammo. Morgan offers her wealth of experience as a trainer and has already worked with hundreds of people eager to reach their fitness goals.
Through the challenges presented by COVID-19, Morgan and her incredible team at VIta Fitness have been working hard to offer virtual fitness programming through Facebook LIVE with a program they’ve called VITA FIT TV. Each day focuses on a different routine or part of the body and allows people to keep active through all of this isolation time at home.
We want to acknowledge the amazing work that Morgan and her team has done – and continues to do – and hope you’ll check out their Facebook Page or website if you’re looking to keep fit at home!
If you know a local business who deserves a shout out, send us a direct message with a photo and why they should be featured.
• And Remember • #StayHome #StayHealthy #StayComfy
In response to the challenging times that we’re all experiencing together regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to spread love and levity across the community. We brainstormed various ways we could do this and one of the things we landed on was highlighting some of the incredible local businesses who are stepping up and modifying their services to continue to serve the community through these tough times. These are local businesses who have local champions who are doing what they can to be leaders through this unprecedented historic time.
Over the last week or so, we featured four such businesses:
Home to some of the BIGGEST and BEST Chicken Wings we’ve ever seen, Carey’s is currently offering Take Out and Home Delivery. They have a great team of people and have worked hard to give back to the community, so we’re proud to give them a shout out. We highly recommend you give them a try if you haven’t already fallen in love with their outstanding menu. Their hours have changed a few times recently, so be sure to visit them on Facebook or call the Pub directly at 705-687-9119 to order or get more information.
Another example of a business with a phenomenal team who are adapting to the times and now offering both Take Out and Food Delivery. They have a killer menu with plenty of healthy, shareable options and some entrees that will blow you away – might we recommend the Bourbon & Cola Braised Baby Back Ribs. Wowzers!
The hours of operation
and service delivery are constantly evolving, so the best best is to visit
their website at www.TheOldStation.ca or call them directly at 705-645-9776.
This incredible group of people are working hard to ensure there is no change or delay in service regarding fulfilling prescriptions, providing health advice and maintaining free home delivery of anything they sell store wide. They continue to lead by example and are an inspiration to us and our team.
Did you know that I.D.A.
Pharmacy has a mobile app where you can order re-fills, browse helpful
health-related articles & resources and contact your pharmacy team?
Download it today and advantage of the convenience the app offers! And
remember, they delivery ANYTHING store-wide for free. Way to go, guys, keep up
the excellent work!
This Bear Wear Shout Out came out of a nomination by Laura of Studio 3 Muskoka located in Port Carling.
“Chelsea has gone
above and beyond with keeping her clients accountable to their fitness goals
and healthy during this quarantine time by offering virtual workouts 3 days a
week.
Not only is she helping
her clients but she is also helping the community! Each time a participant
registers for her unlimited class pass, Chelsea donates $3 to West Muskoka
Foodbank. Last week she raised over $2,000 for them by offering donation
classes. Studio 3 Muskoka is changing the community one class at a time!”
That is exactly the type of thing we want to see and hear right now during these challenging times. Way to go Studio 3 and thank you Laura for nominating Chelsea and her studio!
If
you know a local business who deserves a shout out, send us a direct message
with a photo and why they should be featured.
• And Remember • #StayHome #StayHealthy #StayComfy
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