Uxbridge Information & Events

Uxbridge, Ontario - GRASS FIRE SEASON

Burn Permits are Required

Now that the snow is all gone and the temperature is rising the dried out grass and brush is once more a potential hazard.

While most residents are aware of the requirement to obtain burn permits some new residents may not be.

Uxbridge requires burn permits for all controlled burning, permits can be obtained from the town offices or the fire hall on Bascomb St. Even after receiving a permit you need to phone the 908-852-9038 to ensure you are able to burn on any given day.

Uxbridge, Ontario - Moving to Uxbridge?

# 4 in a series about Uxbridge

History and Heritage - The Old Village

The Township of Uxbridge Straddles the Oak Ridges Moraine and has distinction of holding the official designation as the Trail Capital of Canada.The Uxbridge trail system includes a network of urban trails that connect to the Oak Ridges Trail and the Trans Canada Trail. The urban Trails include the Ewen Trail, the Historic Trail, the Maple Bridge Trail, the Quaker trail, the Wooden Sticks Trail, and Country Side Preserve. In 1964 Uxbridge became the second Township to receive it's own Coat Of Arms

Uxbridge "The Old Village"

Uxbridge traces its roots back to the Catawissa area of Pennsylvania when some of the Pennsylvania Dutch emigrated to the area beginning in 1806.  Their shared Quaker heritage helped lead Uxbridge and Catawissa to being twinned, in 1982, with several visits between the two communities taking place since. The Uxbridge Friends Meeting House was built in 1820on Quaker Hill overlooking the old Village and is the oldest building still standing in Uxbridge. A short distance up the road sits the Uxbridge Museum where they hold an annual Heritage Days in late August. While several buildings are located on the site only two were built there.  Buildings moved to the site include the Scott Township Town Hall built in 1860.

Rail Travel arrived in Uxbridge in the form of the Toronto and Nippising Railroad in 1871 to transport grain and lumber. Once completed it ran from Toronto to Coboconk. For over a decade Uxbridge was the headquarters of the rail line. The rail line went through many ownership changes over the years and eventually ended up as part of the Canadian National Railway system owned by the Government of Canada in 1920. All That remains of the line today is the section from Uxbridge to Toronto as over the years sections of the rail line were taken out of service. 

A portion of the line is now operated as the York Durham Heritage Railway 

The Uxbridge Station with its very distinctive "Witches Hat" roof is owned and maintained by the Town of Uxbridge. For more history and information about the line visit The York Durham Heritage Railway web site.

Located in a valley on the north side of the Oak Ridges MoraineUxbridge became a village in 1872, and reached Town status in 1885.   After the amalgamation of the Town of Uxbridge, Uxbridge Township and Scott Township into Uxbridge Township(1973) the old village became the hub of Uxbridge Township.

Other early industries in Uxbridge included the Uxbridge Piano Company, The Gold Medal Radio and Phonograph  Company, and Several Mills.

A short Distance away is the Thomas Foster Memorial
built in 1935 by the former Mayor of Toronto.

 A little farther north is the former home of L.M. Montgomery, the author

The Uxbridge Public Library was erected in 1887 with funds provided by Joseph Gould, politician, and businessman. The Libraries centennial was celebrated with a large addition to the building.

Elgin Park

Home of the Uxbridge Fall Fair (September every year) and many other events is where Sir John A Mc Donald held the first of a series of large picnics while seeking re-election.

The sun has finally set, the story is finished, the book is closed

Like most communities Uxbridge ocassionnally struggles with the preservation of the past while moving into the future. Once a very functional part of Uxbridge's farming community the CO-OP building is no more.

Moving to Uxbridge, Ontario - The Series to date -

#1 - Employment Opportunities In The Uxbridge Area 
#2 - Arts and Entertainment 
#3 - A Community With A Heart

For More Local Uxbridge Information and Local Web Directories for For The Communities of Uxbridge, Port Perry / Scugog Whitchurch / Stouffville and Georgina Check Out Homes For Sale On My Listing Web Site

To learn more about what housing options
Uxbridge
and the surrounding area has to offer;
be it condominium or detached homes, in town or rural communities,
country homes, estates or farms just give me a call or

Uxbridge, Ontario - Moving to Uxbridge?

# 3 in a series of Posts

A Community With A Heart

In addition to many local support groups and orginizations Uxbridge residents play a role in many charitable outreach endevours. Uxbridge supports orginizations such such as Matthew House,  Africycle and Grid -NEA just to name a few. Here are a few of the stories about these orginazitons local residents play an ongoing role in

Matthew House, Toronto, Ontario

A Makeover With A Mission -

Lights, Camera >>>>>> AND>>>>> ACTION

To Be Televised -Thu, Apr 01, 2010 - 10:00 PM E/P on the W Network

This was a make over even the crew from Design Design became excited about. 

The Matthew House Makeover is to be aired on the W Network Thu, Apr 01, 2010 - 10:00 PM E/P
Candice and her team, along with a group of volunteers that included former residents of Matthew house, have created a warm and welcoming new living and dining room for refugees who have escaped persecution to start a new life in Canada.

A Realization 

Hearing the stories of some of the refugees first hand of the journey along the refugee highway and their arrival in this foreign land impacted the makeover team. Many of the DD team mentioned how exciting it was to be part of the remake of Matthew House, as they realized how much of a difference it would mean to so many refugees over the years. They could see their part in our goal of offering a safe place of hope and dignity to hurting people at the end of the Refugee Highway. They could feel the excitement and appreciation of those involved in Matthew house. From the Matthew House staff and the refugees who lived and worked there during the makeover, to the refugees who returned to work along side other volunteers, the crew felt a real sense of appreciation for what was taking place.

Matthew House is a small shelter for refugees in down town Toronto that welcomes refugees who arrive with nothing but the shirt on their backs and no where to turn. You may have heard me talking about it, sharing some of the amazing stories.  The core value of Matthew House is to offer ‘a place of hope at the end of the Refugee Highway', by offering shelter and food, help completing confusing refugee application papers, medical and counseling referrals, orientation to life in Canada, assistance in finding apartments, offering monthly drop-ins, and summer camp.

Malawi, Africa

Ghana, Africa

In Reflections of Another World you can read The Story of GRACE and HOPE.

During a seventeen-day period from June 18th to July 7th 2000 Team Ghana members provided volunteer labour in the construction of a 70ft. long x 30ft. wide x 20ft. high concrete block food security building. They also committed themselves to providing the necessary funds to cover the cost of all construction materials as well as some tools and equipment which they left with the people. Their hope in building this facility was to "help break the cycle of starvation" in the Deg area of N.W. Ghana.

Other team members were engaged in teaching English to children attending village schools. Since English is the language of instruction in the schools of Ghana the children from these remote villages face a great disadvantage without a basic knowledge of English. Even though their time there was short they were able to make a significant impact on these young lives

For the last few years Uxbridge has played a very large role in sending a health team to the rural areas of ghana to support the efforts of GRID and NEA

Moving to Uxbridge, Ontario - The Series to date -

#1 - Employment Opportunities In The Uxbridge Area
#2 - Arts and Entertainment

Uxbridge, Ontario - Moving to Uxbridge? 

# 2 in a series of Posts

Arts and Entertainment 

Uxbridge as a community is blessed with an abundance of talented residents, it is a community that is well represented in the arts and entertainment world with many actors, authors, musicians and artist who call Uxbridge home.

Uxbridge is a Stay-cation Destination with Annual Events that include;

Uxperience - This year will be the 19th year for this variety show, a production that includes over one hundred local talented people
Art In The Park- A juried art show that takes place in Elgin Park every summer in The heart of Uxbridge.
Celebration Of The Arts a 3 week long fall extravaganza that encompasses and celebrates all forms of the arts including a Juried art show & kids art show.
The Uxbridge Fall Studio Tour Last year the tour included 27 studios many with additional guest artists. One of our favourite stops on the tour is what I call Tinkls Treasures
Fridays At The Foster  Music for a Friday Evening in this wonderful building. The Foster memorial was inspired by the Taj Mahal in India and Christian Byzantine churches and is a striking contrast to the surrounding rolling farm lands.

Theatre groups in Uxbridge include Onstage Uxbridge who are currently preparing for their presentation of "That Summer" Which opens April 8th and Seventh-Star Productions with roots back to 1995 when  their first  production "Salt Water Moon"hit the stage in Uxbridge.

While just a sampling of some of the musical, theatrical, and arts presentations the links here will take you to many more.

The Series to date - Moving to Uxbridge, Ontario 

#1 - Uxbridge, Ontario - Moving to Uxbridge? - Employment Opportunities In The Uxbridge Area

Durham Region - Seeks Public Input - Waste Management Bylaw

The region is asking for public input on the new Waste Management Bylaw. Durham Region's goal is to divert 70% of it's waste from landfill. Currently the Region diverts 53% through recycling, composting and reuse programs.

A public Information Session will be held in Uxbridge march 31st from 5 to 8 pm at the Uxbridge Pool 1 Parkside Drive. If you are unable to attend a copy of the proposed Waste Management Bylaw/and or Council resolution is available on the Regions web site or can be requested by fax, email, or mail.

Comment must be recieved by June 30th 2010.

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle

Uxbridge, Ontario - Moving to Uxbridge?

Straddling The Oak Ridge Moraine, Uxbridge, The Trail Capital Of Canada, is a friendly community ideally located just one hour's drive from downtown Toronto.

Uxbridge is blessed with an abundance of volunteers that augment, excellent medical and health care services. Uxbridge is a hub for recreational and cultural activities where sporting and community facilities, along with active churches and service clubs, have always been a vital part of this vibrant community 

Uxbridge where large modern stores, such as Zehrs, WalMart and Canadian Tire, enhance the broad range of shopping areas.

Employment Opportunities In The Uxbridge Area

Predominately an agricultural based community Uxbridge Residents often work in the larger Communities Towns and Cities that are within a 1 hour drive.

Local Work opportunites are growing as Uxbridge continues to grow and expand with local employers often advertising employment opportunities on their own web sites. Many of the Local Business web sites can be found in the directory portion of MyUxbridge.Info. Additional business web sites in the surrounding communities of Georgina, Port Perry/Scugog and Whitchurch/Stouffville, can also be found on this site along with links to properties for sale in the various communities.

The Town Of Uxbridge employment opportunities appear on their web site  

Job Connect, is a community resource centre offering community information where you can access employment opportunities in Uxbridge along with information on employment and training opportunities in and around Uxbridge.

Other local employment resources are the Durham Region Employment Network,  the Durham Region Unemployed Help Centre, the Port Perry Community Employment Resource Centre, Vicinity Jobs and Local Work

For other employment opportunities in the surrounding communities check out the following web sites Service Canada Job Bank, Workopolis

For Housing Options In Uxbridge
and the surrounding Communities

To learn more about what housing options
Uxbridge
and the surrounding area has to offer;
be it condominium or detached homes, in town or rural communities,
country homes, estates or farms just give me a call or

It's Your Health Cleaning Your Bird Houses and Feeders Can Be Dangerous!

It is that time of year .... the time when some of us start to clean up around the yard , rake the lawn out and for some prepare their bird house for the arrival of our summer serenader's. But Before you do read this timely reminder below.

 The 6th Annual Silverbirch Concert Takes place at the Uxbridge Music Hall on March 27th at 7:30 pm

Uxbridge Blugrass Concert to Support the ArtsCan Circle

Once again Silverbirch, a five piece Bluegrass band, hosts an evening of acoustic music at the Uxbridge Music Hall. 

Featured this year are the GOOD BROTHERS and the ever popular Dnes Sisters

Funds to The ArtsCan Circle.

The ArtsCan Circle was inspired by the work of Mike Stevens, a multi-talented harmonica player who had been traveling to Native communities in Labrador, at his own expense, to share his music and distribute hundreds of harmonicas in an effort to help his young listeners discover music for themselves.

An independent, volunteer-run group the ArtsCan Circle is working to link creative artists with Native youth at risk in Canada. Their hope is to encourage self-esteem amongst Native youth in isolated communities through a cooperative exploration of the arts.

To learn more about what housing options
Uxbridge
and the surrounding area has to offer;
be it condominium or detached homes, in town or rural communities,
country homes, estates or farms just give me a call or

Doing It Every Day

Would You Do This?

It takes a special kind of person to willingly go to "work" every day with no guarantee of a paycheck, with out company benefits or pension plan.

One who expects to get paid only for work fully completed and sometimes not even then.

One who spends their own money to promote a clients product with no expectation of a paycheck unless they sell the product.

REALTORS® Do It Every Day

Sunderland - Maple Syrup Festival

Friday March 26th to the 28th

Some of the things you can expect to see, enjoy, or do

Battle of the Bands, All Day Pancakes, Bed Races, Artisans/Vendors, Horse and Wagon Rides, Wood Carvers, FlapJack Race, Chainsaw Competition, Maple Syrup, Sugar Bush Tours, midway,  Outdoor Entertainment,

Freemasons and Legion members bring you all day pancakes dripping with maple syrup while the Firefighters will be offering sausage on a bun and hamburgers. Midway rides by Gable Brothers and Maple syrup relief carving by the Haliburton woodcarvers are just a few of the events you won't want to miss.

Make sure you visit Sunderland - Maple Syrup Festival for schedule of events and videos to ensure you don't miss the events you want to see. 

To learn more about what housing options
Uxbridge
and the surrounding area has to offer;
be it condominium or detached homes, in town or rural communities,
country homes, estates or farms just give me a call or

Uxbridge - Earth Hour

actions lead to results .....

results provide a measure of our actions .....

greening the planet one light at a time.  

Do you monitor your resources consumption rates.

Hydro, Water, Fuel are all consumables that we use on a daily basis sometimes never giving a thought about the cost to our planet. Over the years we have often looked at our consumption and looked for ways to reduce that consumption. Looking at a five year period of our hydro consumption we realize that conservation plays a role but is not the only influence.

For example looking at the chart below you can tell when our household membership became smaller. Our daily average consumption dropped dramatically from 2004 to 2005 along with the short term rolling average while the longer term rolling averages dropped much slower.

From 2006 to 2008 Our hydro consumption continued to drop as we changed out lights for higher efficiency ones. The spike in the 3 month rolling average in 2007 was an indication of things to come as Barrie was home a lot more during this time period and things like lights, TV's and computers were turned on for longer periods of time.

HYDRO CONSUMPTION

With his retirement in 2009 there is a slight spike in the annual daily average. At this point we have to look for reductions in other ways as it would appear that our daily consumption will hover around 40 kWh.

Daily Average
2004 - 2009
(monthly basis)

The averages appear to be all over the map and this is due to the fact that our meter only gets read four times a year but we receive monthly bills (the balance are estimated). The changing dynamics of our household has made it very difficult for our hydro supplier to estimate our bills. The trend line is perhaps more indicative of what our efforts and the changing dynamics have done for our consumption rate.

All in all done we are using 1/3 less hydro now than we were five years ago 
approximately 1/2 of that due to the changing number of people in the house

Can we do better?

Yes we can! We have appliances that are coming due for replacement and they will be replaced with more energy efficient ones. We still have some lights that due to the nature of their use are not suited to the energy efficient fluorescent type bulbs so the search for viable alternatives continues.

In addition our hydro supplier is in the process of switching to time of use billing so by watching when we do certain high energy consumption things like laundry we will be able to help reduce the load on the the use of fossil fuels for hydro generation which in turn will reduce the harmful emissions from the generating stations

What Are You Doing
to reduce your electricity consumption?

Visit 10 Smart Meter Lane to see how shifting your hydro use can help

To learn more about what housing options
Uxbridge
and the surrounding area has to offer;
be it condominium or detached homes, in town or rural communities,
country homes, estates or farms just give me a call or

Uxbridge History and Heritage - Now Only  Pictures Remain

The sun has finally set, the story is finished, the book is closed. Once a very functional part of Uxbridge's farming community the CO-OP is no more.

When we first moved to town the co-op was a thriving business. A place where you could get the supplies you needed for the farm, from small implements and tools to seed, feed and fertilizer.

For the last few years it has sat closed up and derelict, to some an eyesore to others a piece of history soon to be gone.

Now it is a memory and like a fading photograph will soon be forgotten as it is replaced by a new modern office building.  

Uxbridge - Have you ever heard of PI DAY

The first time I went to Google something today there was a funny image at the top of the page so clicked on it and it took me to Google result for PI DAY. In reading a few of them I was surprised to see that there was more than one PI DAY.

Here is information from just one of the articles I read

How many days are PI Days?

Pi Approximation Day is observed on July 22, because of Archimedes' popular approximation of π being 22/7. However, this may be considered misleading, as all cited dates are "approximation days" (as π is an irrational number) and 22/7 is actually a closer approximation of π than 3.14 is. Typically, March 14 is more popular for countries using the month/day format and the 22nd of July is more popular for countries using the day/month format.

Sometimes Pi Minute is also celebrated; this occurs twice on March 14 at 1:59 a.m. and 1:59 p.m. If π is truncated to seven decimal places, it becomes 3.1415926; making March 14 at 1:59:26 p.m., Pi Second (or sometimes March 14, 1592 at 6:53:58 a.m.). If 24-hour time is used, Pi Minute occurs once, on March 14 (3/14) at 1:59.

From Wikepedia

It is almost easier to find your new dream home in Uxbridge than it is to calculate the potential PI DAYS or PI TIMES.

To find your Dream Home In Uxbridge or the surrounding area

Just Click On The Buttons Below.

To learn more about what housing options
Uxbridge
and the surrounding area has to offer;
be it condominium or detached homes, in town or rural communities,
country homes, estates or farms just give me a call or

Uxbridge - It's Official - Spring like weather has arrived

The weather man on the radio declared winter officially over today .

Keep Your Children Away From Swollen Streams and Rivers

The Water Levels in rivers and stream around Uxbrige have risen dramatically with the warm spring like weather of the last few days. If we receive the anticipated showers over the next few days they will rise much higher and faster as the rain combines with the melting snow. With the ground still frozen the water quickly forms into rivulets running into the streams and rivers that abound in and around Uxbridge.

Water in local rivers can rise overnight into dangerous torrents as can be seen in Dangerous Waters Abound. The river in our yard has already risen several inches today.

Pictured here is the normal summer flow of about 3 to 4 inches in depth over the dam.

Right now it is 6 to 8 inches higer

Uxbridge Real Estate - Spring Is In The Air

Signs Of The Spring Thaw Are Everywhere

As the weather heats up so does the real estate market if you are contemplating selling your home now is a good time to consider putting it on the market

To discuss today's market conditions, the current value of your home
or the marketing of your Home.... 
please give me a call at 905.852.6143 or better yet  Text Me from my web site.

To learn more about what housing options
Uxbridge
and the surrounding area has to offer;
be it condominium or detached homes, in town or rural communities,
country homes, estates or farms just give me a call or

realtor.ca is an advertising web site owned and operated by CREA for it's members.Likewise the various MLS systems across the country are owned and operated by their members for the benefit of the members. REALTORS® are competitive with a variety of business models being available to the consumer from the small independents like Larry to multinational companies. The bottom line is even the the sales people in each office compete amongst themselves for your business.

Grounded - For All You Car Guys and Gals

LOWGASAM

This little beauty appeared to be grounded in a parking lot on the outskirts of Bracebridge Ontario.

My Grandson grabbed my camera and took a whole string of pictures (at least we thought he did) but this is all there was when we checked it out later in the day. As you can see the hood lifted straight up under the hood was just jam packed and there was a fancy little box on the seat beside the driver with a dozen "switches" or small levers on it.

St Patrick's Day is March 17th

March 14th, the Sunday before, will see the 23rd Toronto St Patricks Day Parade take to the streets in Downtown Toronto. This Years Grand Parade Marshal is Mayor Hazel McCallion of Mississauga.

The Toronto St. Patrick's Day Parade begins at noon with the procession starting from Bloor and St. George (near old U of T Varsity Stadium). The Parade will continue along Bloor Street down Yonge and finishes on Queen Street at Nathan Philips Square.

 A Wee Taste Of Irish Music To Brighten Your Day

May the lilt of Irish laughter lighten every load .....

May the mist of Irish magic shorten every road .....

And may all your friends remember all the favours you are owed!

Happy St Patrick's Day

To learn more about what housing options
Uxbridge
and the surrounding area has to offer;
be it condominium or detached homes, in town or rural communities,
country homes, estates or farms just give me a call or

The Matthew House Makeover is scheduled to be aired on TV On April 1st

Thu, Apr 01, 2010 - 10:00 PM E/P S8, Episode #212 Matthew House 

Candice and her team create a warm and welcoming new living and dining room for refugees who have escaped from persecution to start a new life at Matthew House, a Refugee Centre In Toronto.

The Matthew House Makeover is to be aired  on the W Network TV Show Divine Design.

Matthew House is a small shelter for refugees in down town Toronto that welcomes refugees who arrive with nothing but the shirt on their backs and no where to turn. You may have heard me talking about it, sharing some of the amazing stories.  The core value of Matthew House is to offer ‘a place of hope at the end of the Refugee Highway', by offering shelter and food, help completing confusing refugee application papers, medical and counseling referrals, orientation to life in Canada, assistance in finding apartments, offering monthly drop-ins, and summer camp.

 To Learn More About Matthew House Contact Me

To learn more about what housing options
Uxbridge
and the surrounding area has to offer;
be it condominium or detached homes, in town or rural communities,
country homes, estates or farms just give me a call or

Why Wait For Spring?

It is spring already ………In the Uxbridge market, we are experiencing a low supply of available houses and a lot of interested, motivated and prequalified buyers.  

The Toronto Real Estate Board has published the Housing Market Stats for February.  It shows an active market, greatly improved from Feb 09. Take a look at the charts to see how the market is doing.

Toronto Real Estate Board Statistics

February 2010

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To discuss today's market conditions,
the current value of your home
or the marketing of you Home
please give me a call at 905.852.6143
or better yet 
Text Me from my web site.