For more information contact: Isabel MacDougall Media Relations Officer (902) 894-0364 [email protected]Media Stories 2013 www.tourismpei.com/pei-media-stories PEI 2014 In 2014, Prince Edward Island and all of Canada will celebrate an important chapter in our history, as we mark the 150th Anniversary of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference – where the idea of Canada, as a nation, was proposed. Prince Edward Island will be hosting a spectacular year-long tribute to the beginning of a great nation and welcomes visitors from all over to join us in the festivities. The Island will be in full swing, hosting events across the province from tip-to-tip. Part of downtown Charlottetown will be turned into a celebration zone where visitors can follow the steps of the Fathers of Confederation, and experience daily concerts, food tasting, children’s games and rides, historical presentations, and much more. Authentic PEI Experiences Prince Edward Island has a culture and lifestyle that is unlike anywhere else. We invite you to live like an Islander and experience some of the Island’s most fascinating, skilled, artful activities. With over 70 Island experiences to choose from – you’ll feel like a local before you leave. Learn to tong and shuck oysters, own a standard-bred racehorse for an evening, uncover some “Seaweed Secrets,” or make moonshine (legally!) These are just a few of our “Authentic PEI Experiences” that also include geocaching, sandcastle sculpting, fishing for lobster and creating a piece of folk art. Take part in Island life and take home some of our traditions. memories made here
Transcript
For more information contact:Isabel MacDougallMedia Relations Officer(902) 894-0364 [email protected]
Media Stories 2013www.tourismpei.com/pei-media-stories
PEI 2014In 2014, Prince Edward Island and all of Canada will celebrate an important chapter in our history, as we mark the 150th Anniversary of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference – where the idea of Canada, as a nation, was proposed. Prince Edward Island will be hosting a spectacular year-long tribute to the beginning of a great nation and welcomes visitors from all over to join us in the festivities. The Island will be in full swing, hosting events across the province from tip-to-tip. Part of downtown Charlottetown will be turned into a celebration zone where visitors can follow the steps of the Fathers of Confederation, and experience daily concerts, food tasting, children’s games and rides, historical presentations, and much more.
Authentic PEI ExperiencesPrince Edward Island has a culture and lifestyle that is unlike anywhere else. We invite you to live like an Islander and experience some of the Island’s most fascinating, skilled, artful activities. With over 70 Island experiences to choose from – you’ll feel like a local before you leave. Learn to tong and shuck oysters, own a standard-bred racehorse for an evening, uncover some “Seaweed Secrets,” or make moonshine (legally!) These are just a few of our “Authentic PEI Experiences” that also include geocaching, sandcastle sculpting, fishing for lobster and creating a piece of folk art. Take part in Island life and take home some of our traditions.
memories made here
Culinary Boot CampsFor those who have a weakness for Island Blue Mussels, creamy pastas, sizzled pork and beef, lobster, oysters, and of course, famous Island potatoes, it’s time to register with PEI’s Culinary Institute of Canada and learn how to prepare them yourself. Sign up for half-day and full-day boot camps on grilling, seafood, lobster, wine and chocolate, and desserts. New courses include day trips to farmers’ markets and onboard a lobster boat to catch your fresh meal before returning to the Charlottetown waterfront to cook with master chefs.
ForagingIn today’s fast pace world, there is something rewarding about knowing the source of the food that we eat. Here on Prince Edward Island, we are a close knit community and can proudly say that we have never lost touch with the origins of our foods or the farmers and fishermen who harvest them. We welcome the adventure of foraging for our food, making sure it’s the freshest, purest, and bursting with flavour. Whether you prefer urban foraging – farmers’ markets, local butchers, family farm stands, or authentic foraging – digging for clams, tonging for oysters, searching for mushrooms or fiddleheads, picking potatoes, or fishing for lobster, we can take you for the behind the scenes peek at what makes us such a special culinary destination and why our flavours are renowned around the world.
Fall Flavours FestivalIn September, Prince Edward Island celebrates harvest season with an amazing month-long festival, highlighting authentic Prince Edward Island tastes and traditions. With eight Food Network celebrity chefs and over 250 events taking place all across the Island, our Fall Flavours Festival will bring visitors into direct contact with the red clay and saltwater origins of our delicious dishes - a total immersion in the full farm-to-table/ocean-to-plate experience. Favourite events include the Tuna Cup Challenge, Lobster Party on the Beach, Applelicious (dinner in an apple orchard), Farm Day in the City, Chef on Board, and the PEI Shellfish Festival.
Food FactsPEI accounts for 80 percent of Canadian mussel production, with more than 37 million pounds of mussels produced by 130 mussel growers.
Media Stories 2013tourismpei.com/pei-media-stories
Our mILES OF SANDy BEACHES ArE SOmE OF THE BEST IN THE WOrLD.
Our rICH CuLTurE AND HErITAgE OFFEr muCH TO BE SEEN AND
ExPLOrED. AND Our WArm HOSPITALITy SETS uS APArT.
Confederation TrailThe Confederation Trail–Prince Edward Island’s tip-to-tip trail –was developed on abandoned railway lines and takes you into wetlands and hardwood groves, through quaint villages and along sparkling rivers. There’s no better way to explore the natural beauty of Prince Edward Island than to walk, hike or cycle along the trails you’ll find from tip to tip, tailor-made for outdoor adventure.
PEI gran FondoThis year, Prince Edward Island will celebrate our first ever Gran Fondo cycling event. The PEI gran Fondo will coincide with the PEI Jazz and Blues Festival (August 22-25), so for cyclers who love fine dining, a great music scene, and of course, cycling through breathtaking scenery, this is the time to visit. Because Prince Edward Island is known for its leisurely terrain, routes will include timed uphill climbs and sprints. Participants are encouraged to invite their family, as there will be kids’ races and optional non-cycling activities.
On the WaterOn Prince Edward Island, you are never more than 10 miles from the ocean and we offer plenty of water activities to fit every interest. Kayak through scenic rustico Harbour, test your balance and try stand-up paddle boarding in malpeque Bay’s International migratory Site, get your adrenaline rushing by kiteboarding, swim at our beautiful beaches, or hop on board a boat to explore our marine life.
Stretching across 60 kilometres of the north shore, PEI National Park features seven supervised beaches, the 19-kilometre Gulf Shore Way seaside trail and the towering dunes of Greenwich.
PrINCE EDWArD ISLAND HAS WELCOmED vISITOrS OF ALL AgES FOr mANy
yEArS, CrEATINg AuTHENTIC ISLAND ExPErIENCES FOr EvEryONE TO ENJOy.
Media Stories 2013tourismpei.com/pei-media-stories
Interesting AccommodationsPrince Edward Island has a large selection of accommodations from camping to luxury inns but we also have several truly unique places to stay and relax. West Point Lighthouse Inn features rooms within a historic lighthouse. Harrington House at rice Point and the Steeple House are reconverted churches with a newly renovated modern interior. The rotating House in North rustico completely rotates in either direction so that all guests have a view of the ocean – the world’s first rotating B&B.
The Inns of DistinctionScattered across Prince Edward Island are 17 extraordinary properties known as the Inns of Distinction. These are first-class properties – each independently managed and filled with character. The properties vary in architectural design – from victorian mansions (the oldest built in 1839) to modern classics. Some are small, intimate dwellings in the heart of the city; others have acres of landscaped grounds to explore. Aside from the location and buildings themselves, part of the experience at an Inn of Distinction is the cuisine – a number of the inns have organic gardens on-site and are renown for cooking up exceptional meals such as The Inn at Bay Fortune or the Inn at St. Peters.
Feeding the giantsPrince Edward Island is the Bluefin Tuna capital of the world and we invite you to get up close and personal with these beautiful giants. Fish for bait, then continue on in search of pods of Bluefin to hand feed them as they surface. Frequent minke whale sightings, seals, and also watch the amazing gannets dive.
Festival of Small HallsFollow the Festival of Small Halls into over 40 quaint community halls across the Island where big-league performers return to the rural stages where they danced their first jig or plucked their first string. musicians, dancers, actors, storytellers and artisans are all displaying their talents and invite you to join in the celebrations.
ForagingThis hands-on itinerary is for the extreme foodie who is looking for an adventure.Our PEI Culinary Trail will lead media into scenic coastal areas with jagged red cliffs, white sandy beaches, quaint harbours, and rolling fields to work with farmers and fishers for an urban-foraging experience– collecting oysters, lobster, mussels, potatoes, and other vegetables from the source. They will then be lead by a professional forager, off the beaten track and into woodlands, along rivers, and down heritage clay roads in search of fiddleheads, mushrooms, herbs, cattails, watercress, and spruce tips. media will work with local master chefs to prepare meals using foraged products – outdoor beach bake or indoor fine dining.
Taste our IslandThis 5-day press tour immerses media in the secrets of what makes Prince Edward Island flavours so famous. Join fishermen on their boats, farmers in their fields, chefs in their kitchens, and food artisans– as they mix, ferment, distill, age, and bake their products. Learn to shuck oysters, dig for clams, and fish for lobster. Harvest mussels, collect seaweed, pick vegetables, make cheese, or prepare ice cream. Watch as we teach you our secrets on how to steam, grill, bake, and roast our favourite dishes and enjoy the rewards of eating the freshest food you’ve ever tasted – directly from the source. After a day of adventuring, sit back and soak up all the flavours the Island has to offer.
Live Like an IslanderThis colourful, dynamic itinerary takes journalists on a hands-on experience, deep inside the special-ized world of a number of intriguing Islanders. Work with an oyster fisher-man to tong, shuck, and eat oysters
straight out of the bay; hop on board a lobster boat, learn to set your traps and cook your fresh delicious catch; dig or dive for Island clams and bake them on the beach; enjoy deep-sea fishing for bait before hand
feeding giant Bluefin Tuna as they swim under your boat; become a co-pilot on a Cessna 172g aircraft as you fly over the Island’s jagged red cliffs, lighthouses, windmills and mussel farms; or participate in a hands-on pottery workshop, culinary boot-camp, or Acadian step dance class. With over 70 Authentic Island Experiences, you’ll be feeling like an Islander in no time!
Living on the EdgeOn Prince Edward Island, you are never more than 10 miles from the coast. This four-day itinerary takes media along the edge of the Island– on three scenic coastal drives through some of our most enticing, intriguing, enchanting coastal areas. Hike the greenwich Dunes Trail, which includes a walk over a pond on an extensive floating boardwalk out to the fragile magnificence of the famous greenwich parabolic dune system. Explore some of the Island’s 45 harbours, colourful fishing villages, lighthouses, antique shops, theatres, and restaurants serving up the freshest of our delicious Island cuisine. Experience our Celtic and Acadian roots with the sounds of bagpipes and fiddles, kitchen parties and ceilidhs. No matter which way you chose to start, our scenic coastal drives will take you to the edge – directly into the heart of Island culture.
International Shellfish FestivalSeptember 12-15, 2013This festival is the “Biggest Kitchen Party in Atlantic Canada” boasting good friends, good times, good music and many world-famous Prince Edward Island shellfish. This four-day itinerary is jam-packed with all things shellfish, including oyster shucking competitions, international chowder championship, Feast and Frolic dinner hosted by Food Network celebrity Chef michael Smith, mussel competitions, and Oyster grower of the year. media will be invited to visit mussel and oyster farms and also participate in hands-on culinary experiences. A handful of media judges are needed for the Chef’s Black Box event and the International Chowder Championship (no experience necessary – just a love for shellfish).
Paddle or Peddle the IslandThis five-day itinerary is for the fresh air lover, and includes three days paddling our scenic coast, from inn to inn, followed by two days of cycling. Enjoy countless biking and hiking trails across the Island, including our renowned 357 km
Confederation Trail. What was once a 114 year-old railway line has now been converted into a public recreational trail. Stretching from tip-to-tip across the Island, past wetlands and through hard-
wood groves, quaint villages, and along sparkling rivers, the trails are a perfect way to see authentic PEI. If classy country inns and fine dining sounds too soft, we can arrange for overnight camping instead. This is an individual tour; dates depend on outfitter’s schedule.
ADvENTurE, ACTIvITIES AND HIDDEN gEmS ArE ArOuND EvEry COrNEr WAITINg TO BE FOuND.
WHEN yOu LET yOurSELF ExPLOrE, yOu’LL DISCOvEr WHAT IT mEANS TO BE AS BuSy AS yOu WANT TO
BE AND AS rELAxED AS yOu NEED TO BE. THAT’S Our ISlAnD. THAT’S PrInCE EDwArD ISlAnD.
