The Town of Renfrew appreciates everyone following the rules issued from the province-wide lockdown. However, the lockdown does not mean that we cannot still have fun in alternate ways.
We are lucky to live in a town surrounded by nature. This creates many fun and safe winter activities for us to enjoy. For our community members that are looking for a place to do these activities, we have a few ideas:
Tobogganing Down Ma-te-Way Hill
Grab a sled, a snowsuit, and the members in your household and get ready for hours of fun sliding down one of the biggest tobogganing hills in town. Anyone, young or old, can have fun tobogganing!
To respect social distancing, if the Ma-te-Way tobogganing hill is at or nearing the posted safe user limit, please check out the alternate sliding hills at some of our other local parks, such as Fortington Park on 280 Jordan Avenue or McConnell Park on 224 Patrick Avenue.
Ma-te-Way Tobogganing Hill. Photo Creds- Renfrew Parks & Recreation
Snow Shoeing or Cross Country Skiing on the Millennium Trail, Algonquin Trail, and/or Ma-te-Way Fitness Trail
There are three breathtaking trails that run throughout Renfrew: The Algonquin Trail, the Millennium Trail and the Ma-te-Way Fitness Trail. Grab a pair of skis or snowshoes for a scenic trek through our town. These trails are also great for walking and sightseeing and offer many great wintery photo opportunities.
Ma-te-Way Fitness Trail. Photo Creds- Julie-Anne Blondin.
Skating on the Ma-te-Way Skating Oval
If you are a fan of figure skating, hockey, ringette, ice skating, or are interested in trying a new hobby, grab your skates and head over to the Ma-te-Way Skating Oval. Try out some new tricks, get some exercise or just have a leisure skate. There are various activities to enjoy at the ODR!
With respect to social distancing rules, please decide to visit the skating oval on another occasion if it appears to be at or near the posted safe user limit of 50 people.
Ma-te-Way Outdoor Rink. Photo Creds- Renfrew Parks & Recreation
Ma-te-Way Skating Oval Rules
For those of you who aren’t a fan of the cold weather or would like new ideas for at-home activities, try some of these:
Ordering Take Out From a Local Restaurant or Pizza Parlour
Ordering take out not only supports our local restaurant owners, but it also supports our cravings.
You can make ordering take out even more fun by creating themed meals. Some ideas include having a game night while sampling different appetizers, drinking cocktails and enjoying desserts from a local restaurant, try a different type of ethnic food dish every time you order takeout (ex. Italian, Greek, Asian, Mexican), a Sunday brunch, only ordering sandwiches, or try to order from a different pizza parlour each time you order pizza.
Renting a Movie or Book From The Renfrew Public Library
Who doesn’t love curling up to enjoy a good book or movie? The Renfrew Public Library has many great movie and book options for our community members to rent. If you are interested, they are currently offering curbside pick up.
More information about virtual activities and curbside pick up can be found on their Facebook page.
The Renfrew Public Library’s Curbside Pickup Hours
Playing Radio Bingo
Valley Heritage Radio and myFM offer radio bingo for members of our community.
Valley Heritage Radio hosts their radio bingo on Thursdays at 7 pm on 98.7 FM. There are three games every night where you could win up to $1000! Bingo cards can be purchased at the following Renfrew locations while in lockdown:
- Dahl’s Convenience Store
- Giant Tiger
- Gourley’s Outdoors
- O’Brien’s Variety
- Renfrew Metro
- CNIB Kiosk at Walmart
- The Wing
The full list of locations that sell bingo cards and more information can be found here.
Valley Heritage Radio Bingo Poster
Renfrew myFM hosts their radio bingo on Wednesdays at 7 pm on 96.1 myFM. myFM’s radio bingo is a fundraiser for the Robbie Dean Family Counselling Centre. There are four games every Wednesday evening where you could win $200 – $1000! Bingo cards can be purchased at the following Renfrew locations while in lockdown:
- Gourley’s Outdoors
- Dahl’s Convenience Store
The full list of locations selling bingo cards and more information can be seen here.
myFM Radio Bingo Poster
Online Shopping From Your Favourite Local Businesses
Even though we just received gifts at Christmas, now is the perfect time to spend any money or gift certificates you may have received. Unfortunately, our local shops cannot be open to in-store shopping while we are in lockdown. Luckily, however, many of our stores and boutiques are offering curbside pickup or online shopping on their websites. Some of these locations are having special deals and sales during the lockdown.
Like and follow the pages of your favourite stores and boutiques to see updates about their offers!
A Sense of Country’s Lockdown Deals
