Rene Trim's arts and crafts: For the Love of Winter

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Hot event: For the Love of Winter

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For the Love of Winter returns to Knox Church at 227 Elgin (at Lisgar) in its 3rd year this Saturday, 14 February. Apart from 30 carefully selected local vendors in a variety of disciplines you can expect lots of Valentine’s Day related fun stuff and a kids' craft area. The venue is just a hop, skip and jump away from both the canal and Confederation Park, so why not make it a day? Go skating, check out the sculptures, enjoy a beavertail and then come in out of the cold to enjoy local talent! Actually, you may want to consider reversing the order, as the first 30 visitors will receive a swag bag…

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Beaute Naturelle Brissa (all natural bath and body products) is one of the artisans at For the Love of Winter[/caption] **

13th Annual Pakenham Maple Run Studio Tour - March 21/22

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Although it seems hard to believe when you look out the window, spring isn’t all that long off (famous last words…). With it come the studio tours, an absolute favourite of mine! There is nothing more interesting than meeting with artists in their studios or homes, and find out about their materials, methods and techniques. Sure, you can visit a gallery or attend a show to see their latest work but it is much more fun to walk around the spaces where they actually created it.

On March 21 and 22 you will have a chance to take a scenic drive and meet some interesting people during the 13th Annual Pakenham Annual Maple Run Studio Tour. Start off at Fulton’s Pancake House and Sugar Bush, and continue your drive to meet local craftspeople and fine artists on this popular self guided studio tour which takes place in and around Pakenham, a picturesque village with North American’s only surviving 5 span stone bridge and longest continually running General Store.

The Maple Run Tour includes Fulton’s Pancake House and Sugar Bush and 8 tour stops. At the various venues there will be glass blowing, paintings in oil/ mixed media/ acrylic and water colour, up cycled painted pots, fine wood working, photography, jewellery, pottery in various forms, miniature quilting, leather work, woven garments and many more unique one of a kind arts and crafts to be discovered. Maps and detailed tour destination descriptions can be picked up at Fulton’s Sugar Bush, at any tour stop along the way (look for the green maple leaf sign), or at the Pakenham General Store.

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Visit the website

](http://www.mapleruntour.ca/)

for more information.

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Camp Tech is back!

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I mentioned them in my first contribution to OttawaStart back in November 2014, and I am excited to be able to report that they will be back in Ottawa in 2015: Camp Tech, the tech skills training hub for adults who want to learn more about technology. The Toronto-based company provides informative and hands-on classes in a relaxed and fun environment. Classes are taught by working  professionals who understand the latest trends and technology in their respective fields. Camp Tech proudly calls itself “a little bit nerdy but definitely not boring!”

They are planning 10 workshops in Ottawa this year, the first two of which will be held later this month at HUB Ottawa on Bank Street. On February 26th (from 1 pm to 4 pm) you can learn all there is to know about SEO (search engine optimization) and how to drive more traffic to your website, whereas on the 27th (from 10 am to 4 pm) you will have a chance to familiarize yourself with WordPress, the popular blog and website publishing software. More information on its Ottawa workshops can be found on Camp Tech’s website .

That’s all for now folks - have a creative week!