The Great Ontario Communities Series (Kleinburg)

During the past few years Judi and I have visited almost 150 Ontario community festivals and events. The majority have been planned and managed by dedicated community volunteers. As a salute to these wonderful communities and their hard working residents, I will be writing a series of blogs entitled “Great Ontario Communities”. These blogs describe the communities we have visited and will tell you about some of the interesting things we have experienced and the people we have met. The fifteenth article is about Kleinburg which is located just north of Toronto.

KLEINBURG - Kleinburg is a beautiful village located just north of Toronto.  It’s probably best known for the home of the “Group of Seven”, McMichael Art Gallery.  The “Group of Seven” artists are one, of the best known and prestigious art groups Canada has ever known.  Original works of art include pieces by Franklin Carmichael, A.Y. Jackson, A.J. Casson, Arthur Lismer, and J.E.H. MacDonald.  Over the years Judi and I have enjoyed our visits.  I think the most memorable visit to Kleinburg was to its “Binder Twine Festival”.  The Binder Twine Festival (held the first Saturday after “Labour Day”) celebrates the fall harvest and was originally started by a local merchant (Charlie Shaw) to encourage farmers to the village and his store.  The festival was lost for a number of years but was brought back in 1967 when a committee of residents revived the concept as part of Canada's Centennial celebrations. The festival has grown ever since.  The town itself was founded in 1848 by John Kline a German/Canadian settler and is the home of several famous people including Pierre Berton over 50 years ago (although he died in 2004), former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson.   Other interesting tidbits of information about Kleinburg include that it is home of Toronto International Film Studio, the popular television show “The Forest Rangers” was filmed in Kleinburg in 1963-1965, the movie “The Sentinel” was filmed in 2006 at the McMichael Art Gallery.  With the quaint shops, historic architecture, fine dinning, and beautiful lush settlings, Kleinburg is a wonderful place to visit!