The quaint streets of Niagara-on-the-Lake. Emily Cooper photo

I just spent a blissful half-week break in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, and would cheerfully have stayed longer. This charming town has a pair of main streets that burst with flowers and shops, and lovely, tree-lined side streets full of historic houses, many of which are bed and breakfasts. 

The main summer event is, of course, the Shaw Festival, celebrating its 50^th anniversary in 2011.  The Festival mounts nearly a dozen productions each season: plays by George Bernard Shaw, both familiar and obscure, as well as a host of other plays and musicals. 

Festival director Jackie Maxwell takes great care to select plays that relate to each other, so if you see multiple productions, you’re bound to make the connections.  The Shaw is also a repertory company, with actors returning season after season, so it’s fun to recognize faces onstage from one production to another, and from years past.

Three and a half days was enough time to see six of this year’s 11 productions. Everyone told me not to miss My Fair Lady, the Lerner and Loewe musical based on Shaw’s Pygmalion.  It was a gorgeous show, and I have to confess that I’ve never seen costumes for the “Ascot Gavotte” with a tied-dyed look that could almost have stepped out of Hair.  (Almost.) 

"My Fair Lady" at the Shaw Festival. Emily Cooper photo

My favorite plays were a lively rendition of The Admirable Crichton, by Shaw’s contemporary J.M. Barrie, which featured actors dressed as stylish, stylized animals in tailcoats, wittily delivering both stage directions and great song and dance numbers. Plus the engrossing new Australian play When the Rain Stops Falling by Andrew Bovell, full of shifting time and relationships. 

 The Shaw Festival stages works in four theaters:

• a large, modern proscenium

• a small, adaptable studio

• a World War I vaudeville stage and

• a converted 1840s courthouse.  All of them are within easy walking distance from each other.  At the height of the season, you can take in a production morning, afternoon and night, with as many as seven to choose from each day. 

Niagara-on-the-Lake lies about 15 miles north of Niagara Falls, in a triangle formed by Lake Ontario, the Niagara Escarpment and the Niagara River.  The climate is sunny and mild – perfect for producing ice wine, dessert wine made from grapes left on the vine until they freeze.

So the area is full of wineries, which also turn out some excellent regular wines.  On a day when you’re not taking in a matinee, you can visit one vineyard after the next, tasting to your palate’s content.  You don’t even have to worry about designating a driver.  Many wineries are within the space of a few miles, and the terrain is completely flat, so the best way to get around is by bicycle.  Several places in town rent bikes for the day or just a few hours. 

Along with all the wine, Niagara-on-the-Lake has some very good restaurants.  And if you’re a fan of farmers’ markets, don’t miss St. Catherines, just to the west. From 6 a.m.-3 p.m Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, you can eat yourself silly on local produce, cheese and sausage, plus some outstanding Middle Eastern food and Polish baked goods.

So next time you’re headed for Niagara Falls, resist the temptation to stay there. Ride the Maid of the Mist, take your photos, and then head 20 minutes north on the Niagara Parkway to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Theater, wine, food, natural beauty on Lake Ontario—it’s a little paradise.

A singer leaps for joy at the 2012 World Chor Games kickoff. Betsa Marsh photo

Listen! Fingers are already snapping as more than 80 choirs from around the world rehearse for the World Choir Games July 4-14, 2012, in Cincinnati.

This is the first time the biennial games have been held in the U.S. Choirs from 18 countries are already registered, including singers from China, Indonesia, Israel, Ireland, Singapore Ukraine and Venezuela. Cincinnati expects 20,000 singers and 200,000 spectators.

Cincinnati has a long history of choral music, back to 19th-century German immigrant singing societies and beyond.

Cincinnati native Drew Lachey, member of the Grammy-nominated group 98 Degrees and winner of the second season of “Dancing with the Stars,” emceed the kickoff on Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati. Atlanta gospel singer Byron Cage and the Cincinnati Citywide Mass Choir performed, along with the Eleventh Hour Choir from Kettering, a finalist in the NBC show “The Sing Off,” and Kelly King, star of “The American Dream.”

The World Choir Games mascots, Whirl and Twirl, added their furry support as the giant WCG clock started ticking.

Girls concentrate on the kickoff choirs. Betsa Marsh photo

Byran Cage with the Cincinnati Citywide Mass Choir. Betsa Marsh photo

Whirl and Twirl mascot fans come in handy at 96 degrees. Betsa Marsh photo

Eleventh Hour Choir from Kettering rocks with their a cappella precision. Betsa Marsh photo

A singer helps send out the Cincinnati USA postcard to the world. Betsa Marsh photo

The video postcard gets bigger and bigger. Betsa Marsh photo

A choir cuddles with Mr. Red. Betsa Marsh photo

The clock's ticking until July 4, 2012. Betsa Marsh photo

Whirl and Twirl have the World Choir Games mascot business cornered. Betsa Marsh photo

Kelly King sings "The American Dream." Betsa Marsh photo

Johnny X with his polar bear cousin from Manitoba. Betsa Marsh photo

Johnny X goes north of the border to Montreal to meet his Francophone pals!

The bear travels for Meredith Schroeder’s third-grade class at St. Joseph Consolidated School in Hamilton, Ohio, as part of the Traveling Teddy program of the Society of American Travel Writers.

Johnny X is a cousin of Cookie the Bear, who represents Rita Urry’s class at Karori West Normal School in Wellington, New Zealand. Johnny X and many of the SATW Traveling Teddies will have a chance to meet this November during the SATW convention in Wellington.

Johnny X sailed in the Montreal harbor, met the boat crew and even spent time with beavers at a historic canal. He made sure that there was also time to slurp some fabulous Canadian honey and maple syrup!

CHECK OUT THE TRAVELING TEDDY VIDEO!

Johnny X with a beaver at Lachine Canal National Historic Site in Montreal. Betsa Marsh photo

Johnny X with First Officer Yohan Mattard, left, and Capt. Eric Asselin of the Cavalier Maxim. Betsa Marsh photo

Johnny X's sweet tooth gets the best of him with Canadian maple syrup. Betsa Marsh photo

Afterwards, the free Urban Arts street fair will take to the bricks July 17-25, with parades of more than 1,000 pairs of twins, plus triplets and quadruplets from around the world. Magicians, clowns and yes, even mimes will add to the frivolity.

Winnipeg, Canada, has launched its first Ghost Walk, a 90-minute trail led by experienced ghost guides. What was found hidden in the walls of the old Masonic Temple? Where did the first executions in the province of Manitoba take place? How is the Burton Cummings Theatre connected to the worse maritime disaster in Canadian history? Find out Thursdays and Saturdays through Oct. 31.

• Ohio’s Hale Farm & Village in Bath will kick off a family-friendly Halloween with storytelling by candlelight at 6 p.m. Oct. 30. Adults and teens can try to conjure up spirits at 7 p.m. with “Western Reserve Paranormal.” This group, well attuned to “listening,” will lead a program and discussion on the art of discovering spiritual activity in homes and historic places. Then, a one-hour exploration of three Hale Farm historic buildings will try to uncover any lurking “activity.” This haunted lesson is for ages 16 and older. Reservations are required.

• Ohio’s Salt Fork State Park Resort in Cambridge will start with trick-or-treating from cottage to cottage in a traffic-free area at 6 p.m.  Oct. 31. Hay rides will leave from the lodge parking area, and families can warm up with hot chocolate. A costume-judging contest, along with games and crafts, will wrap up the evening at the lodge.

• Across the pond in Wales, spirits are stirring. It might be the long-dead souls at Llancaiaich Fawr Manor, a living history museum that’s set in 1645 and considered one of the 10 most haunted buildings in Britain. It’s said that eight former residents, including soldiers, children and a maid, roam the house and gardens. Or maybe it’s the sight of Robin Drwg, half man, half beast, at Maesmawr Hall in Powys. Or could it be Sir John Wynn on the spiral staircase at Gwydir Castle in North Wales? Plan your own ghost hunt here.

• England’s Alton Towers is celebrating Halloween Scarefest through Nov. 1, with indoor and outdoor scare attractions. The theme park will be open until 9 p.m. every night. A Superbreak package costs $327/£199 per family of four based on two adults and two children sharing a family room at the three-star North Stafford Hotel, including a full-day ticket to the park for all the family. Breakfast is included for the adults, children pay locally. Valid Friday to Sunday in October; Monday to Thursday costs from $391/£236.

• The National Trust of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and its American affiliate, Royal Oak Foundation, have gone ghost hunting in their own properties.

• Better than a pink elephant?

Lift a glass with your spectral friends at Belfast’s Crown Liquor Saloon on Great Victoria Street in the city center. The pub was a stop for travelers on the Great Northern Railway years ago, and one visitor recalled sitting with three ghostly men and a woman in one of the famed booths—a snug– while waiting for her friends to arrive for cocktails.

• Kennel Club Fur-ever

Ham House in Surrey was just too nice a home for one King Charles spaniel, who refuses to leave. The dog’s portrait hangs in the gallery, and the four-legged ghost often wanders the halls. A recent investigation by the Ghost Club, a paranormal research organization based in London, concluded that there may be as many as fifteen ghosts living at the property.

• SOS

The medieval Old Post Office in Tintagel, Cornwall, now a converted manor house, is famous for its flickering lights. One clever researcher used the antique Spagnolli receiver, a precursor to Morse code, to decode the message: “Noah,” it said, over and over – the surname of a previous resident.

• Anne Boleyn in the hall

Blickling Hall in Norfolk has every right to be haunted. This was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, the husband who had the lady beheaded.

In one incident, two delivery men returned a painting to the home and when asked about the authorization, said, “Oh, the lady signed for it… the lady in the Dining Room.”

The house administrator was supposed to be the only person living in Blickling Hall at the time, so it’s assumed Anne wanted the painting returned.

She may wander at her leisure, of course, but it’s pretty certain that Anne appears on the anniversary of her death each year, May 19. The Grey Lady, her nickname because of her long grey dress with lace collar, has been spotted looking across the lake and riding up the drive in a coach drawn by a headless horseman.

Ashley the Traveling Teddy

Ashley with Capt. Nick Manuel on the Silva Tall Ship in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Betsa Marsh photo

Ashley travels for the third-grade class of Meredith Schroeder at St. Joseph Consolidated School in Hamilton, Ohio. The Traveling Teddy program is a geography outreach of the Society of American Travel Writers.

This summer, she helped Capt. Nick Manuel take the tall ship Silva out of her Halifax harbor for a breezy tour of the Narrows. She sailed past

George's Island Lighthouse, Halifax. Betsa Marsh photo

George’s Island Lighthouse and met a new friend onboard, 19-month-old Bri Hurlbut from Nova Scotia.

Bria Hurlbut didn't want to give Ashley up. Betsa Marsh photo

Recently, Ashley toured the Bluegrass region of Kentucky and helped another captain steer his ship.

At Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Ashley joined Capt. Richard Herring in the pilot house of the paddlewheeler Dixie Belle for a trip down the Kentucky River.

She got to see the palisades and waterfalls, but she knew the Captain was joshing when he talked about piranhas in the river and snakes on board the Dixie Belle! Eeuuw!

Ashley  with Capt. Richard Herring on the Dixie Belle.  Betsa Marsh photo

She went under the High Bridge, which was once the highest railroad bridge in the world

and got to see the Kentucky flag snap in the breeze. 

for the third-grade class of Meredith Schroeder at St. Joseph Consolidated School in Hamilton, Ohio. The students will name the Teddy when classes resume in fall. Traveling Teddy is a geography outreach program of the Society of American Travel Writers.

With his new pal Grant MacRae of Prince Edward Island, Ted visited the Anne of Green Gables house and discovered a buggy-full of children, 

then went to the PEI Preserve Company and

tasted some fabulous jams–yum! Percy

Gougan helped Ted with his choices.

Outside, Ted tried his

paws at the bagpipes and

then got to eat lunch at Carr’s Oyster Bar. But not

before nearly losing his life in a lobster trap.

HELP!!