Cora Lee Rennie

Volcano Icelandic Bakery - Conception Bay South NL Canada

Volcano Bakery is located in beautiful CBS Newfoundland not too far from the beautiful Manuel's River trail system. The delicious Icelandic bakery not only offered European delights such as buttery chocolate filled croissants, but also traditonal island favorites including fruit cake, homemade bread, handmade pizza and even a Christmas Holiday cookie decorating online class hosting by bakery co-owner Krista Neville. 

Last month, I was grateful for the opportunity to sit down with Krista and hear the interesting story about how her and her husband acquired the local bakery, learned the ropes and dove in head first within a very short period of time! Be sure to stop into this amazing little Newfoundland bakery this holiday season if you are out taking in the sparkling lights of Manuel's River or the beautiful displays in Conception Bay South. If you would like to learn more about the bakery or the online Christmas cookie decorating class you can follow Volcano Bakery on social media channels. 

The Irish Descendants Christmas - A Newfoundland Live Music Tour   I was honoured to receive an invite to attend the final 18th show of The Irish Descendants Christmas Tour across the island throughout the month of December. The final performance took place at the Arts and Culture Centre in Gander and was a wonderful finale for the successful holiday concert series. Members of the band included music icon and front man Con O’Brien, Justin Hickey, Terri-Lynn Humber, Mark Manning, Aaron Collis and Rowan Sherlock. The extremely talented group of musicians put off a very tight and flawless show, easily drawing me in and getting me bouncing in my seat in with toe tapping tunes. 

Con treated the highly engaged audience to some beautiful Christmas songs he once sang at “midnight mass” while growing up on the rural Southern Shore of the island. Additionally, Con had myself and the crowd giggling out loud with stories of his younger years coming of age in a NL outport. One story, for example, involved him coming home from the local pub and taking out a lady’s fence after going sideways after a few drinks. His much admired amazing vocals shone through on traditional classics such as O’ Holy Night and Hallelujah, which got the audience singing right along in perfect harmony. The original Irish Descendants formed in 1990 and helped introduce traditional Irish Newfoundland music to a larger Canadian audience during that time.   

Mark Manning and Aaron Collis of local NL folk music group Rum Ragged always blow me completely away with their incredible talent. I’m a band groupie and when I heard my favourite Christmas tune “Pop’s New Accordion” I had to sneak a quick video! Aaron Collis is unbelievable on the traditional button accordion, aka the “squeezebox”, and can also be found playing as part of well known folk band The Dardanelles. Mark Manning’s unique and captivating vocals, paired with an easygoing and humorous persona made songs like “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” extra fun! The popular island group recently completed tours of the USA, Alberta and BC where they performed at the Canadian Country Music Hall of Honour in the town of Merritt. Additionally, Rum Ragged was nominated for a Juno Award in 2021 for their album “The Thing About Fish”, paying homage to their Newfoundland and Labrador roots and culture.   

Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Rowan Sherlock hails from Waterford Ireland but now permanently resides in Newfoundland. The multi-talented artist performs with multiple bands in the province and is a trained music educator as well, sharing his craft with those wishing to learn how to play an instrument. As a lover of Irish fiddle and violin I enjoyed the effortless easy playing and switchover to mandolin for some songs. Is it even an Irish Newfoundland band without a fiddle?! You can catch Rowan getting the crowds going with his jigs and reels at popular live music venues around downtown St. John’s and throughout the island with his band Rugged Shores. Rugged Shores is a traditional folk band who released their first album in 2022 titled “Wild River”.   

And finally, sweet couple Justin and Terri Lynn Hickey, are a complete joy to watch perform. As a huge fan of the tin whistle I was wowed by Terri-Lynn’s wild whistling skills, not to mention her beautiful performance on the grand piano. Not only can Justin sing and play a mean bass guitar he has a really great stage presence and it’s very evident how much he loves to be onstage rocking out with his beautiful wife by his side. You can also catch Justin and Terri-Lynn perform with their family Irish Newfoundland traditional band Kitchinparti who can sure get the dancers on the floor.   

In conclusion, if visiting Newfoundland and Labrador in December during the Holiday Season be sure to add The Irish Descendants Christmas Show to your island entertainment bucketlist. If you enjoy or would like to experience traditional Newfoundland music in a comfortable theatre setting then this is the show for you! The Arts and Culture in Gander served alcohol beverages and guests were permitted to bring drinks into the theatre with the purchase of a 5$ plastic sipping cup for those audience members wishing to have a little something festive to sip on!!   

The Northern Bay Beach House Newfoundland Canada 

The Northern Bay Beach House Newfoundland Canada was a beautiful modern oceanfront vacation property located adjacent to Northern Bay Sands Beach on the scenic Bay de Verde Peninsula of the island. Located 143 km from the Capital City of St. John’s, the luxury accommodation is magical no matter the season with an outdoor Oceanview patio featuring a large state of the art hot tub, seasonal tiki bar and fire pits. Amazingly, I visited during a raging snowstorm in the dead of NL Winter and was pleasantly surprised to find a large bin filled with snowshoes for use on the coastal trails surrounding the property. In fact, after snowshoeing along Northern Bay Sands Beach I found a cave in the cliff where my friend and I stopped for a lunch aka a "mug-up". The hot tub was sure INCREDIBLE after a long day of seaside snowshoeing in frigid island temperatures. The best part for me? The king sized master bedroom included a lovely ensuite, walk-in-closet and patio doors with a walkout to the ocean front hot tub and tiki bar oasis. 

Other indoor features and amenities included the luxurious comforts of a propane fireplace in the main room, sleek black chef’s kitchen, modern boho styled guest room with queen bed, additional bedroom with two double beds, laundry facilities and a main bathroom with shower. The spacious open concept layout combined with an abundance of large windows offering breathtaking North Atlantic ocean views and was a perfect gathering place for friends to reconnect. Furthermore, the Northern Bay Beach showcased beautiful local art and products made right here in NL throughout the home such as island hand soaps, paintings and knitting to name just a few. I highly recommend a stay at the fantastic Northern Bay Beach House no matter the season!

Wave Watching on North Twillingate Island - Newfoundland and Labrador Canada 

Wave watching on North Twillingate Island is a favourite activity of mine no matter the season. In fact, enjoy the Winter storms quite a bit when there’s high winds and big surf - as long as I don’t have to venture outside in the conditions. The many beaches in the Twillingate area make it a beachcombers dream come true. I know I am going to love the beach life even more in the Summer months when tourism season starts on iceberg alley!