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Family News Update: Drifting Daydreamers, Training Tykes, Spreading the Love and More

Determined parents battle time to save their son:
• Teen battles leukemia, parents fight red tape (Toronto Star)

A new trend, hardcore pint-sized gym members:
• More kids taking to the gym, working with personal trainers (Chicago Tribune)

Your little daydreamer drifts further than you think:
• Daydreams can literally take you away: study (Victoria Times Colonist)

Bad news, low-hanging pants are not punishable by law. Fashion police say otherwise:
• U.S. judge rules in favour of low-hanging pants (National Post)

Health Canada spills the salt, tries to shake the industry:
• Salt-reduction targets shaken off by industry, health minister (Global)

And before you enjoy the long weekend, remember, all you need is love:
• Strong relationships key to long life, study suggests (CTV)

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Taking a Long Weekend Trip? Ottawa’s Top Five Unexpected Attractions

Ottawa is an awesome city to visit in the summer, and many of its charms are well-known, from the excitement of the Byward Market to the wonders of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. But, with so much to do, some of the city’s best attractions are inevitably overlooked—and that’s a shame. Here we present five wonderful family-friendly things that you may have otherwise missed on a visit to the nation’s capital.

Ottawa has more than 175 kilometres of bike trails.

5. The Cats on Parliament Hill

Almost every visit to Ottawa will include an obligatory tour of the Peace Tower, the Centennial Flame, Senate, House, Library and other key sites on the almost 90,000 square metres that comprise Parliament Hill. But there’s one site there that you wouldn’t expect: a series of small shelters to house and feed stray cats. Check in the trees at the rear of Parliament Hill to find this charming little oddity.

4. Haunted Walks

Experience a lantern-lit, spine-tingling trek with some of the city’s best local storytellers and amateur historians on The Haunted Walk. The original tour is probably your best bet with young ones, but pre-teens and teens might appreciated the amped-up spookification of Ghosts and the Gallows, a tour that includes a swing through the Old Carleton County Jail.

3. Get Outside

One of Canada’s healthiest cities, Ottawa offers plenty of outdoorsy pleasures, from rowing a boat on the Rideau Canal to exploring the many green spaces on offer. But perhaps the best way to get some fresh air is to rent some bikes and take a tour on the 175 kilometres of bike paths that criss-cross the Capital. And make sure to take advantage of Sunday Bikedays, when some of the city’s most scenic routes are closed to car traffic.

2. Canada Aviation and Space Museum

Housed in a huge hangar near the Ottawa River, this museum is surprisingly kid-friendly. Very young kids will enjoy the Hang Glider Studio, an area filled with games, crafts, puzzles and every airplane toy you can imagine. Youngsters can also climb into the cockpit of a fighter jet or a helicopter, and older kids will have fun handling the controls of the museum’s flight simulator. The museum also offer scavenger hunts and I Spy games, as well as the opportunity to fire off water-propelled rockets outside.

1. Prince and Princess Tea at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier

Your littlest lady or gentleman will love getting all gussied up for high tea at one of Ottawa’s most historic and luxurious hotels. Afternoon tea is served every day of the week in Zoe’s Lounge between 2pm and 5pm, and young ones will appreciate the opportunity to sip some sweet bubble gum tea while munching on the chef’s famous cupcakes.

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Win Free Tickets to Visit Us At Ontario Place

It’s almost a week a way until we’re at Toronto’s Ontario Place testing this years hottest new toys and we’d love to know what you think. So come down and enjoy the fun with us on Friday August 6, from 10 to 3 in OP’s Heritage Square.

Want to get in free? Comment on this post and tell us what your favourite toy growing up was (or maybe it’s a toy you wanted so badly, but never got) and you could win a set of two tickets. Winners will be announced Tuesday.

In the meantime, here’s a sneak preview: will have a set of stringless guitars to rock out on, our very own Myachi Master and a toy that will have your two-year-old collecting email.

Hope to see you there!

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Famous Canadians Share Their Passions Starting Today

Want to get inside the minds of some of your favourite Canadian TV personalities? Check out Passion Profiles, a unique online talk show featuring host Cheryl Hickey and brought to you by Häagen-Dazs.

Each of the four episodes will offer a rare and fascinating glimpse of some of your favourite personalities as you’ve never seen them before. First up, you’ll learn about the passions, inspirations and dreams of Food Network hosts Anna and Michael Olson, as they sit down for an intimate chat with veteran celeb interviewer Cheryl Hickey. After a brief stint in banking, Anna decided to follow her true passion to a career in cooking. After culinary school and working as a chef in New Orleans, Anna wound up in the Niagara region, where she met and married Michael Olson, also a notable chef. Anna hosts Fresh with Anna Olson and Sugar on the Food Network, is the author of a number of cookbooks. Together, the Olsons have collaborated on many delectable recipes, some of which can be found in their cookbook Anna and Michael Olson Cook at Home.

Here at CF.ca, we were also invited to submit a few questions for Cheryl to ask during her interview, so watch for their answers to our queries (we hope to learn some juicy cooking secrets).