Located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario, and midway between the major cities of Toronto and Montreal, Kingston is nicknamed the “Limestone City” because of the many historic buildings built from the local limestone. With its population of 152,358 (2006 census), Kingston has been described as an eclectic mix of old and new, “where history and innovation thrive”.
Although a relatively small city, Kingston is home to numerous major festivals throughout the year, including the Limestone City Blues Festival, the Kingston Canadian Film Festival, Fanfayr, the Kingston Buskers’ Rendezvous, Kingston Jazz Festival, Reelout Film Festival, Kingston WritersFest, Feb Fest and the Wolfe Island Music Festival.
Kingston is the site of two universities – Queen’s University and the Royal Military College of Canada – as well as a community college, St. Lawrence College, thus the town’s nightlife features a number of popular clubs and bars, most of which are the playground of these university and college students. Among the more popular clubs and bars in Kingston are Stages, Revolutions (formerly Elixir), The Grizzly, The Brass, Monkey Bar and My Bar.
Kingston lays claim to being the birthplace of ice hockey (although contested), and this sport is naturally quite popular here. Other popular sports (supported by events, organized leagues etc.) in Kingston include sailing, diving, golf, curling, rugby, soccer and football.
There’s almost much to do, and much happening in Kingston; we’re keeping our finger on the pulse of it!
