Age: 22
Hometown: Tweed, Ontario, Canada.
What do you do? I work at a post production film company called Juice Productions in Toronto.
What do you love most about where you live? I loved the house I grew up in. It was in the middle of this thickly wooded area and there was this giant cornfield that our property backed onto. My little sister and our friends had a ton of places to explore and get lost. It was like growing up in a tree house. Or Narnia.
Your best friend is coming in to town for one day:
Where do you take them shopping? Tweed has a quaint, but buzzing downtown. The best places to shop are second-hand stores. Every time someone in Toronto asks me where I got something I’m wearing the answer is always The Tweed Salvation Army. There’s also a store called Hidden Treasures that sells used books, tea cups, bras–anything really. My sister just bought a Polaroid camera and whole bunch of film there for $5.
Where would you spend a sunny Saturday? Tweed is located on a little body of water called Stoco Lake. There’s a beach at the Tweed Park that’s perfect for relaxing. There’s also an island in the middle of the lake where I love to take my canoe out to and swim.
Where do you go to eat dinner? Kelly’s is a tiny Irish restaurant on the outskirts of town. It has the best homemade bread and french onion soup. The decor is the best. There’s antique purses, license plates and Tweed memorabilia stuck to the wall.
What’s the bar route? Since there is only one bar in town, aptly called the Tweedsmuir, we’d probably hit up that hot-spot. Although it’s tiny and a bit gritty, it feels nice to walk into a place and know literally everyone.
Can you share with us a great hometown memory? I have to admit, my Dad’s a bit of a local celebrity. He’s in a band that regularly plays bars in the area. I remember one summer when I was really little my Dad’s band played a show on the street, which was completely shut down. Everyone from the town was there and I was eating popsicles and dancing on the make-shift stage in front of the Valu-Mart. My Dad sang Mustang Sally and I remember dancing with my Mom.
What one stereotype about your hometown just isn’t true? A lot of people seem to think that if you’re from a small town you’re an ill-educated hick, which simply isn’t true. Tweed is filled with incredibly creative, intelligent and endearing eccentric people. Some of whom I miss every seeing every day.
How are you celebrating Canada Day? I’m not sure yet! I’m open to whatever Toronto has to offer me. I have to admit though, a part of me is going to miss The Canada Day Parade in Tweed, even though it usually only lasts about five minutes.