Travel Brantford –
A Perfect “Staycation” Begins with A
Visit to the Glenhyrst Art Gallery, Dinner at Café
Andreou and a Play at the Sanderson Centre
Searching for an interesting weekend getaway, I
have been studying a map of Ontario, looking for
places that are just an hour or two outside of Toronto.
In a recession year, staying close to home is one
of the ways of saving money on travel while still
exploring interesting destinations. One place for
a suitable “staycation” jumped out at
me: Brantford, a community of around 90,000 residents
just about 110 kilometres west of Toronto.
Brantford's elegant Federal Building
Brantford is most well-known as the home town of
hockey great Wayne Gretzky. As a matter of fact,
his father, Walter Gretzky, still lives in the city
and participates actively in the community. Brantford
is also renowned for the invention of one of the
world’s most important technological innovations:
the telephone. In 1876 Alexander Graham Bell made
the first long distance call between downtown Brantford
and nearby Paris, Ontario. During the late 1800s
and early 1900s Brantford become one of Canada’s
most important manufacturing centres, particularly
for agricultural equipment made by companies such
as Massey Ferguson.
A view of Harmony Square in downtown Brantford
So to explore the concept of vacationing close
to home, I contacted Brantford Tourism to find out
more about this city. In response they sent me an
entire information package about the local attractions
and activities. On October 9, 2009 I set off with
a friend on a two-day first-hand discovery of Brantford
to see for myself what this city has to offer.
The Brantford Arts Block next to the Sanderson Centre
for Performing Arts
Finally after a long rainy drive we arrived in
Brantford in the mid afternoon and stopped off at
the modern tourism information office, just off
Highway 403. We were meeting Melissa Stephens, our
local tourism expert, who was going to show us around
her home town. On this rainy afternoon we made a
stop at the Glenhyrst Gallery of Brant, a public,
non-profit art gallery housed in a striking historic
mansion surrounded by extensive manicured grounds
that house a sculpture garden.
Karen Bell, our expert guide at the Glenhyrst Art
Gallery
Karen Bell, the gallery’s educational coordinator,
showed us around the property, a stunning 1920s
mansion, originally owned by Edmund Cockshutt, a
member of a wealthy family of industrialists in
the agricultural machinery business. Mr. Cockshutt
bequeathed the mansion to the City of Brantford
in 1957 which has turned it into a stunning art
gallery and special events venue.
The Glenhyrst Art Gallery
On our tour through the property, Karen showed
us the current exhibition by local artist David
Hind. This artist uses reclaimed materials such
as coloured aluminum siding to create oversized
canvases. His technique utilizes coloured aluminum
pieces that are pasted or riveted onto canvas. Also
on display were several unique pieces of furniture
made of reclaimed wood.
A huge canvas and bench by David Hind
What makes David Hind’s art so unique is
that he so successfully turns discarded materials
into stunning art, and he often does so using a
collaborative process. One of the giant size canvasses,
for example was created with a group of school children
who had the opportunity to create designs on small
aluminum pieces that were later riveted onto the
canvas.
Another colourful canvas by David Hind
The physical facilities of the gallery are stunning.
An impressive entrance area with delicately carved
wooden doors and bevelled glass welcomes the visitor,
and other interesting features of the property include
wooden panelling, original fireplaces and an airy
conservatory that now houses the gift shop. The
gallery offers a wide selection of classes and workshops,
offers tours to the public as well as to school
and community groups and often hosts special events.
The extensive, carefully manicured grounds and some
of the adjacent buildings, such as the Coach House/
Studio can be rented. The beautiful gardens are
often used for weddings and large gatherings.
The Glenhyrst Art Gallery's gift shop, located in
the conservatory
Down in the basement Karen introduced me to Glenhyrst’s
Shop & Rent Art Program: members of the public
can rent original works of art from the gallery
at reasonable prices. Average pieces rent from about
$15 a month, a very reasonable way of changing your
paintings on a regular basis. The gift shop, housed
in the mansion’s light-flooded conservatory,
offers a wide selection of unique artistic gift
items that include jewellery, scarves, sculptures
and home décor items at affordable prices.
Some items from the Glenhyrst Art Gallery's gift
shop
With our tour of the Glenhyrst Art Gallery complete,
Melissa took us to our hotel where we were able
to check in, deposit our luggage and get ready for
the evening. Our abode for tonight was The Bodega
Inn, a recently constructed boutique hotel with
18 uniquely decorated hotel rooms, all equipped
with a fully functional kitchen and dining area.
My room was located on the third floor and had a
perfect view of adjacent Harmony Square, the centre
of Brantford’s civic and cultural activities.
My spacious bedroom at The Bodega Inn
In addition to a large-size king bed I had a pull-out
leather couch, a spacious dining area and a kitchen,
just in case I felt like preparing some of my own
meals. I was located on the third floor where all
units feature an Asian décor. My travel partner
was on the second floor, which is decorated with
an African theme.
"
Sitting area in an African-themed room at The Bodega
Inn
In the late afternoon Melissa picked us up again
and took us to Café Andreou, a fine dining
restaurant located in a gorgeous historic mansion
on West Street. The cuisine at Café Andreou
is traditional Italian and features a wide variety
of appetizers, pastas, meat dishes and seafood.
Brantford's Café Andreou, located in a historic
house
Owner Chris Andreou welcomed us cordially and took
me on a tour of the entire house. Chris himself
originally hails from Larissa in Greece and is passionate
about Mediterranean cooking. His background in the
hospitality industry spans every imaginable job,
from dishwashing to waiting tables, to mixing drinks
as a barman, to cooking as well as many years of
restaurant ownership. Today Café Andreou
features the cuisines of Tuscany, Napoli (Naples)
and Sicily.
The crew at Café Andreou: Michalis, Sarah,
Chris and Dimitrios
On my tour, Chris introduced me to Sarah, his great-niece
who now busses tables, and his sons Dimitrios and
Michalis who both work as chefs in the kitchen.
An eight-seat chef’s table allows culinary
aficionados to experience food crafting from right
inside the kitchen. Chris also pointed out original
art on the walls, all created by local artist Richard
Kirby, whose paintings were adorning the entire
140 year old house.
Guest room at Café Andreou
Shortly after the tour we started our meal with
fresh bread accompanied by a delicious olive tapenade.
From here I ordered the salad special. Chris also
recommended that we try arancini (Sicilian rice
balls) as well as porchetta, slow roasted pork belly
that takes about four to five hours to roast. The
porchetta just melted in my mouth. My main dish
were home-made gnocchi in a rose tomato sauce while
my friend had a tender rack of lamb which he was
still raving about as the evening went on. Melissa
and her colleagues enjoyed scampi in a red wine
sauce with baby spinach and a Chilean sea bass Tuscany
style wrapped with prosciutto.
Delicious food at Café Andreou
Given the fact we still had a cultural event planned
for the evening, we unfortunately did not have time
for a dessert. Our plan was to see to see a performance
of Driving Miss Daisy at the historic Sanderson
Centre for the Performing Arts, so we had to rush
so as not to miss the beginning of the play.
The historic Sanderson Centre for the Performing
Arts
The Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts is
truly one of Brantford’s cultural and architectural
gems. Opened in 1919 as a vaudeville theatre, the
original Temple Theatre was converted to a cinema
in 1929, and renamed the Capitol Theatre. From then
on it became part of the Famous Players movie theatre
chain until 1986 when the City of Brantford purchased
it and turned it back to a performing arts theatre.
Extensive renovations were completed over a period
of four years that brought the theatre back to its
original glory. Today the Sanderson Centre for the
Performing Arts is one of Brantford’s most
impressive buildings and a winner of the 2009 Shining
Stars Tourism Award.
The beautifully restored interior of the Sanderson
Centre
For us it was the perfect place to spend an evening.
Enveloped by the gorgeously renovated auditorium
we enjoyed the performance as the actors skillfully
recreated the touching friendship between Hoak and
Miss Daisy. At the end of the play the audience
was clapping enthusiastically. We learned that the
actor who had played Hoak was actually a local high
school principal. He and his co-stars were surrounded
by many exuberant fans who wanted to shake the actors’
hands before they left the building. Everyone had
enjoyed the performance.
Architectural detail of the ceiling of the Sanderson
Centre
We decided to have a little nightcap across the
street at the Coffee Culture café. Relaxing
over a cup of tea we concluded that our first few
hours in Brantford had exposed us to interesting
art, culture and culinary experiences and we were
already looking forward to the next day and half
in this city.