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Oakville second-best place to live For the second year in a row, Oakville has been chosen as the second-best mid-sized Canadian community to live in. It lost out to neighbouring Burlington again for the top spot in MoneySense magazine's annual Best Places to Live in Canada ranking, which was released Wednesday. The mid-size city list was based on communities with a population between 100,000 and 400,000. The ranking was based on factors that affect quality of life in the 201 cities and communities across Canada MoneySense examined. Factors included household income, crime rate, amenities, weather, transit and housing costs. In the overall ranking of Canada's best places in which to live, Oakville placed seventh, falling two spots from last year's list. St. Albert, Alta., was named Canada's best place in which to live, followed by two other Alberta communities, Calgary and Strathcona County. Burlington, Ont., placed fifth. MoneySense magazine's April edition also looks at the best places to raise children, for weather, for new immigrants and to retire. Oakville placed fourth in the top 10 places in which to raise children, fifth in the top 10 places to live by weather and eighth in the top 10 places to retire. To see the full lists, visit www.moneysense. ca. 5 | Thursday, March 13, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com inside today's Beaver www.insideHALTON.com Spotlight Travel Classified 6 23 28 Health Sports 22 25 Freshco, Food Basics, Metro, Holland Park Garden, Home Hardware, Pizza Hut, Bulk Barn, Real Estate, Snuggle Bugz, Queen's Pharmacy, Bath Depot, Rona, P&G Brandsaver, Pandora Canada Inc., Storybrook Tree Services, Real Canadian Superstore, Lowes Canada, Monastery Bakery, Realmedia Inc., Tile Shoppe Inc., Starsky Fine Foods, 2001 Audio Video, Hudson's Bay Co., Michael-Angelo's, No Frills, Fortino's, Bouclair, Drug Trading, Golf Town, Canadian Tire, Longo's, Future Shop, Michaels, Pharma Plus, Staples, Rexall, XS Cargo, The Source, The Brick, Target, Brick Mattress, Shoppers Drug Mart, Pharmasave Drugs, Walmart, comFREE/duPropio, Sobeys, Sears Canada, Best Buy *All flyers not necessarily delivered to all homes For home delivery & customer service call 905-631-6095, 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington New subscriptions call 905-631-6095 or subscribe online at www.oakvillebeaver.com Bronte Creek's Maple Syrup Festival named in Top 100 Festivals and Events by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff Bronte Creek's Maple Syrup Festival is among the Top 100 festivals and events in the province. The annual March event made the Top 100 Festivals and Events in Ontario list, released last week by Festivals and Events Ontario. Each year, submissions from Festivals and Events Ontario members are made in the fall. Based on their international and local appeal, festivals and events that excel within the industry are chosen by an independent panel of judges. Rebecca Edgar, the executive director of Oakville Tourism Partnership (OTP), said anytime great attractions like Bronte Creek's Maple Syrup Festival are recognized, it peaks more people's interest in what the town has to offer. She noted how OTP's website, www.visitoakville.com, typically sees a spike in unique visitors when Oakville is hosting a major event or during holidays like March break, Thanksgiving and Christmas. "The past weekend in particular saw a huge spike," said Edgar. "Normally, I'd see about 70 unique visitors in a day, so we've averaged about 2,500-3000 (visitors) a month," she explained. "On Friday, for example, it was just shy of 400 (visits) that day." She continued, in the past, Oakville's Jazz Festival, Canada Day celebrations at Bronte Harbour and the Waterfront Festival have been recognized by the Province. "Last year, the Courage Polar Bear Dip was ranked as one of five best dips in the world by the Boston Globe and the 2013 Canadian Open was named `Fan Favourite' by the PGA (Professional Golders' Association)," she said, noting they are part of a number of events that are a "great source of pride for residents." The events also support the local community while creating economic benefits. "Hopefully, people will come in for the Maple Syrup (Festival) and maybe they stay over night or go for dinner afterwards and go shopping in Bronte or Kerr or downtown (areas)," Edgar said. The Maple Syrup Festival at Bronte Creek Provincial Park runs throughout March break from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and every weekend this month. It features a tour down Maple Lane with period-costumed interpreters bringing the process of making maple syrup and taffy to life. Challenge kids to run stronger and faster while developing appreciation for the natural environment Not Everyone has 20/20 vision Hearing is no different COME AND EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE! Spring Season Starts Monday March 17th monday evenings 5:30 - 6:30 pm and 6:30 - 7:30 pm for 12wks contact ark-oakville@dontgetlost.ca If in the last one year you have not got your hearing assessed Get A FREE Hearing Test TODAY adventure confidence training agility hills mud w w w. A d v e n t u r e R u n n i n g K i d s . c a 905-825-1003 info@hearingexcellence.ca · www.hearingexcellence.ca