Keri Cronin

Category Archives: Fitness and Exercise


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Niagara VegFest

So, I’ve been on a bit of a blogging hiatus. Life is busy.

One of the things that is keeping me busy is planning (with my awesome VegFest planning team!) the first-ever VegFest in Niagara.

Mark your calendars for June 2nd and come celebrate the many wonderful things about a plant-based lifestyle at the Niagara VegFest. There will be delicious food, workshops, vendors, exhibitors, prizes, a film screening, and some absolutely amazing speakers!

Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan of Our Hen House were recently named “Indie Powerhouse of the Year” by VegNews, and you can catch them at the Niagara VegFest!

photo by Jo-Anne McArthur

We are also so excited to welcome Douglas McNish to the festival. In addition to speaking about his role as a vegan chef at places like the Windsor Arms, Douglas McNish will also be doing a signing of his new book, Eat Raw, Eat Well.

Douglas McNish

We will also be joined by the ever-amazing Marni Wasserman. You don’t want to miss her healthy living, plant-based demo.

Marni Wasserman


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A Bridge to Port

I am so excited that the new pedestrian bridge between Port Dalhousie and Jaycee Park is now open! I went for my first walk on it the other morning and was just grinning the whole way across the bridge.

When I lived in Port Dalhousie, I found it so maddeningly car-centric. There are no stores in Port–I mean, there are gift shop-type stores, but nowhere to, say, buy bananas–so one must leave Port Dalhousie to get basic provisions and run errands. I found biking along the main roads in and out of Port to be rather treacherous. Walking along Lake Ontario and/or Martindale Pond was, of course, lovely but running a few errands on foot could take most of the day.

The addition of this bridge allows people to easily walk and cycle over to Ontario Street without having to negotiate car traffic and will make Port Dalhousie an infinitely more liveable and enjoyable community. Huge congrats to all who helped make it a reality!


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A Whirlwind Tour Out West

At the end of October I took a quick trip out to Alberta to see my mom and dad. I only had a few days for travel, but we packed a lot of fun in to those few days! One of the highlights was the new Leduc Rec Centre. Wow! I’m really impressed! (apparently so are the Edmonton Oilers) We had a great time skating and swimming — it was wonderful to warm up in the hot tub after a spin on one of the three skating rinks.

I was also delighted to see the new C-Line transit system set up between Leduc and Edmonton. For years and years I’ve wished for this kind of service and I can’t quite believe it is in place. Congrats to all those who helped make it happen!! This is wonderful! I see the early ridership numbers are a bit low, so come on all you Leduc folks — get on the bus! And while I’m on the topic, shame on Greyhound who apparently held this thing up. Seriously? We’re talking about 2 different kinds of bus services here. The C-Line hooks people right in to Edmonton’s LRT system (oh yeah, kudos to Edmonton Transit on the expansion to this system over the past few years! Amazing!!) and allows for commuting, the Greyhound station isn’t exactly part of a transit hub!

And speaking of new developments, we managed to find time for a quick run in to the newly-redesigned Art Gallery of Alberta (which I still want to call the Edmonton Art Gallery). I especially loved the Reframing a Nation exhibition and Edward Burtynsky’s show, Oil. Of course we couldn’t photograph inside the exhibition spaces, so this image from inside the newly-designed gallery will have to suffice! (That’s my dad waaaaay in the background!)


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Walk for Farm Animals

We held our first-ever Walk for Farm Animals in St. Catharines this past weekend. The event was one of about 70 taking place across North America to raise money for and awareness of Farm Sanctuary. I travelled down to Farm Sanctuary this past spring and it was, in short, a life-changing experience. When the call went out for cities to host a Walk for Farm Animals, I knew this was a way I could get involved and help out.

We selected the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend for our walk, and it turned out to be just a perfect weekend. The sky was blue, the sun was warm, the atmosphere was one of happiness and celebration. We had 80 walkers come out and join us on Saturday, Oct. 9th. 80!! I was so impressed! Our group raised about $6100 for Farm Sanctuary, so I was really delighted about this too. A big shout-out to everyone who joined us for the Walk and to those who sponsored a walker. We couldn’t have done it without you! (for more on the St. Catharines Walk, see these articles from the local press)

I also want to acknowledge the kindness and generosity of the following people and businesses who donated food, time, raffle prizes or helped to promote the event: Allison Arbour, Brooklyn’s, Kindfood, Niagara Action for Animals, OPIRG-Brock, Strega Cafe, The Peanut Mill. You all are wonderful!


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Never a Dull Moment!

This weekend brought wrestling artists, vegan pub food and the official kick-off to the Spring 2010 biking season. Never a dull moment around these parts!

First, the wrestling artists. On Thursday evening Rodman Hall Arts Centre hosted “The Main Event” which was billed as a “bone-crunching matchup” between Duncan MacDonald and Graeme Patterson. Many other artists and curators also got in the ring that evening, and MC David Fancy and referee Derek Knight were fan favourites as well.

The Main Event featuring Graeme Patterson and Duncan MacDonald

Wrestling artists and refereeing colleagues weren’t the only exciting things on the weekend calendar. On Saturday night a crew of St. Catharines-based vegetarians headed out to Brooklyn’s in Thorold. We’d been told that this rather regular-looking sports bar has a menu that is anything from regular — vegan pub fare!! It was such a novelty to actually be able to choose from a menu instead of selecting the only meat-free option by default. I had a delicious spicy “chicken” sandwich, a couple of my friends had a “meatball” sub and another ordered the falafel. All three of these dishes received hearty endorsements, and we certainly plan to head back to try other things on the menu. I wish other pubs would offer similar dishes!

And, finally, I got my beautiful little Electra bike out on the road this weekend. Yipee!! The wind was a bit chilly so I didn’t go for a long ride, but it was fun just to be back riding around town and I look forward to more cycling adventures this spring and summer.


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No Bikes?

So, I had a medical appointment today. It was at a new building, a place I’d not been to before. As I walked up to the front door I saw this sign:

Hmmm… I want to give this medical establishment the benefit of the doubt. I want to believe they mean no motorbikes or something similar.

Can a place that purports to support human health actually ban bikes? Is this for real?!?


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Jane’s Walk

I just heard about this weekend’s “Jane’s Walk” initiative (thanks CBC!) — I love this idea! Even though St. Catharines isn’t listed as an official participant (yet), I’m going to get out my walking shoes and my camera and explore my new adopted neighbourhood in downtown St. Catharines today.

Updated — photos from my walk.


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The Garden City Plan

An article in the St. Catharines Standard discussing the city’s “blueprint for the future” caught my attention this morning. The draft of the City’s new official plan is available online and makes for quite an interesting read. Of particular interest to me were the following points:

1) “The City will balance the provision of a safe, functional, and attractive pedestrian and cycling oriented environment with an acceptable level of vehicular traffic” and “The city will encourage alternative forms of transportation that promote energy conservation and a healthy lifestyle.”

2) “The City should establish a minimum 1 %, and work towards a target of a minimum 3 %, of the capital budget of all major public buildings and structures, for the provision of public art.”

There are, of course, many more things discussed in this document, but I find these two particularly encouraging!

There will be a series of open houses and presentations in the coming weeks so that members of the community can find out more about the plan and have their say.

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