Things are continuing to go well for Porter Airlines. Their new route to Boston seems like a hit, and they’ve begun to spread their signature service beyond their home base of Toronto City Centre Airport. Earlier this month they cut the ribbon on a new lounge for passengers traveling to and from Ottawa International Airport. The lounge is open to all passengers holding a ticket—there’s no annual fee or other sneaky membership requirements.

They got things right in Toronto, so the airline didn't stray from its modern and comfortable design when moving to Ottawa. There’s computer workstations, a conference room, and obviously complimentary WiFi access. If you build up a slight appetite by doing too much work there’s also free snacks and espresso in heated cups—perfect for those cold Canadian winters. Just remember to save your appetite for your flight, because the snacks, wine, and beer are free up in the sky. ]]> kjb 2009-10-29T11:09:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/15/81448/866

Our neighbors to the north love to celebrate Halloween as well, even if their spooky day is after Thanksgiving. For those in and around the Toronto area, the best place to get some thrills is at Canada’s Wonderland. Cedar Fair owns the place, the same theme park experts responsible for HalloWeekends at Cedar Point. It might not be as crazy spooky as things in Ohio, but they definitely get the job done.

Halloween Haunt at Canada’s Wonderland dares visitors to explore their way through the park while attempting to avoid possessed woodland creatures and vampires. All the major rides will be running, but it’s up to you to make your way to the coasters without being frightened out of the park.

Mazes are the big thing here, and there’s plenty of returning favorites as well as some new ones. The park seems especially excited about Club Blood. Visitors are led to believe that it is just a nightclub to celebrate the season, but unfortunately vampires run it. Just try to avoid being invited back into the VIP lounge; that’s where the vampires do their thing. ]]> kjb 2009-10-15T09:33:37-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/29/75618/9061

Throughout the economic downturn, Porter Airlines has been doing everything right. They’ve impressed travelers with their service, expanded to new routes, and have served Toronto City Centre Airport without too much competition. Well that’s about to end as another airline wants to get a chunk of the air traffic from the city’s smaller airport. After all, the airport is a little more convenient to all that downtown business.

Air Canada Jazz is looking to return to end Porter’s dominance over the airport’s commercial traffic. Jazz used to come and go from the downtown airport until early in 2006 when they suspended their service, claiming they had been evicted by a firm that was in cahoots with the CEO at Porter Airlines. However, the exclusivity agreement between Porter Airlines and the airport ends early next year, and Jazz is ready to once again roll down the runway. ]]> kjb 2009-09-29T08:48:50-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/15/134338/136

George Clooney is the unofficial King of the festival circuit this season. Last week we reported on the salt-and-pepper haired actor gracing Venice with his presence with new girlfriend in tow, and he recently hopped back over the Atlantic to attend the Toronto Film Festival and promote not one, but two movies.

The first is the curiously titled The Men Who Stare at Goats, and the second is Up in the Air, a new film from Juno director Jason Reitman where he plays a very Jaunted-friendly character. Per CinemaBlend, Clooney stars as "a corporate downsizer who is obsessed with collecting frequent flier miles." Definitely our kind of movie. ]]> Heidi Atwal 2009-09-15T16:48:53-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/31/12580/2493

Hilary Swank as photographed by Norman Jean Roy

From a nude and pregnant Demi Moore to Tom Ford cozying up next to Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley (also nude, naturally), Vanity Fair is well-known for reflecting what's hot—and, apparently, clothes-free—in pop culture since the early 20th Century. In our celebrity-centric culture, Vanity Fair is bar none when it comes to showcasing the mythological glitz of Hollywood life, consistently attracting the curiosity of readers with photo spreads that are sometimes sexy, but always elegant.

With such a storied past, a retrospective seems like a natural way to commemorate 95 years of the magazine's glamorous perspective. Labeled a "smash" after its European tour (because Annie Leibovitz is the Bono of photographers), Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008 is a collection of iconic images from the magazine's history. The exhibit will make a stop at Toronto's Institute for Contemporary Culture at the Royal Ontario Museum from September 26th of this year through January 3, 2010, the first North American destination. Amelia Earheart, Charlie Chaplin, and Madonna are just some of the marquee names—and images—being used to draw crowds in Canada's capital city. ]]> Heidi Atwal 2009-08-31T17:14:44-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/13/71858/3191

About two hours outside of Detroit and within a stones throw of Lake Huron sits the town of Zurich, Ontario. If you haven’t already had more than your share of baked beans this season, then you may want to head north to Zurich in a couple weeks to take in their 44th Annual Bean Festival on Saturday, August 22.

Any festival that has been going strong for this long has got to be a good one, and the Zurich festival is no exception—especially with a such a unique food focus. Friday night kicks things off with a classic car cruise and ends with a blast of fireworks in the night sky. They’ll park the cars so you can see them over the weekend, and there are a lot of them too; it’s one of the largest car shows in Ontario.

The big day is when the “bean meal” is consumed. Over a ton of raw beans are turned into their top secret recipe and are served along smoked pork, coleslaw and applesauce. However, if the aftershocks of all that bean consumption hasn't cleared the area by dark on Saturday night, there'll even be a "bean dance" to wrap up the festivities.

Related Stories:
· Zurich Bean Festival [Official Site]
· There's Nothing Corny About Iowa's 'Shuckfest 2009' [Jaunted]
· Festivals coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Mattsip] ]]> kjb 2009-08-13T12:02:30-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/18/182854/717

You might not guess it, but those Canadians sure know how to do Jewish delis. Our neighbor to the north has not one, but two legendary Jewish joints that rival the greats in New York and LA.

In addition to Schwartz's Deli in Montreal, there's also Moe Pancer's in Toronto, a North York legend that's been turning out homemade corned beef and pastrami since 1957. The deli, now being operated by the third generation of the same family, claims to have served Toronto some 6 million sandwiches over the past half-century, and it seems just about every order has earned rave reviews.

The original Moe Pancer famously said that he was a "five meat kind of guy," and served a limited, back-to-basics menu. His eponymous deli has expanded since then, and you can now order all the standards, from latkas and borscht to baby beef and chopped liver. But we still side with the old man—you can't beat a hot pastrami sandwich done right, and at $7 Canadian ($6 U.S.), you can't beat the prices here, either. (But you'll want to shell out an extra buck for a side or sour dills.)

Related Stories:
· Moe Pancer's [Official Site]
· Springtime in Montreal: Schwartz' Deli on Saint Laurent [Jaunted]
· The Best Jewish Delis in the World:: Chicago's Ashkenaz [Jaunted]

[Photo: Pancer's] ]]> BS 2009-05-19T10:53:00-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/