BRAMPTON (Ontario)

CANADA'S FLOWER CITY

Brampton is an hour and a half's drive north of the city Toronto. Brampton is the county seat of the Peel Region and is a part of the Greater Toronto metropolitan area. Brampton covers 265 square kilometers in total area and has 523,911 residents in 2011.more than two-thirds of the city's populace is Christian, with Catholics being the majority followed by Protestants and other denominations. The average age of the residents is less than 34 years old, making it the youngest city in the region. South Asian immigrants make up more than one-third of the city's population, making it the largest concentration in the entire country.

The growing cultural diversity in the city's population prompted the introduction of classes for English As A Second Language (ESL) at high schools. Originally taught as evening courses by volunteers, the influx of immigrants demanded more ESL courses and so they became daytime classes with paid instructors. The city's school boards expanded the languages classes it offers in the 1980s with evening courses on more than 20 languages. These actions were mainly the result of efforts of parents who thought that their children should learn their native tongue. English was the mother tongue in less than half of the populace, according to the census in 2006. Other common languages spoken are South Asian dialects and Spanish.

HOW IT BEGAN

Brampton started out as a village in 1853, and was named after a town in Cumbria in England. Brampton's reputation as the country's flower center started shortly after, when English immigrant Edward Dale founded a flower nursery there in the 1860s. The nursery shortly became the Brampton's foremost employer and then established an export market for its products. The nursery's success spurred the establishment of similar business in Brampton, which at one time had around 50 nurseries for hothouse flowers.

Large groups of immigrants from the South Asian region of Punjab started arriving in the 1970s in Brampton as well as the whole Greater Toronto metropolitan area. This wave is mostly for want of a better life for their children. Developments in the late 20th to the early 21st centuries is mainly in response to Brampton's development as a city as a response to the growing population in Toronto. There are recent efforts to boost community spirit and to revitalize the city, in terms of commercial and cultural prospects.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK OUT...

╣Gage Park, the oldest urban park in Brampton which opened in 1903. It features flower gardens and large trees surrounding a gazebo and a fountain. There are also trails meant for jogging and rollerblading and a play area for kids, as well as a wading pool. There is a stage meant for music concerts in summer evenings. Wintertime is popular at Gage Park for its skating trail, a temperature-controlled area that is good for ice skating.

╣Flower City Theater Festival. It is an annual event held at the Brampton's Garden Square on July or August. It offers a wide variety of activities, such as live music performances and film showing, to celebrate arts and culture in the city. You might like to know that the festival was based on the Rose Festival of Portland, Oregon.

╣Great War Flying Museum at the Brampton Airport. The people in this aviation museum take pride in building and maintaining aircraft similar to those flown during World War I. The museum also organizes air shows, in which the proceeds help in keeping all the aircraft it has in airworthy condition.

╣Heart Lake Conservation Area. It has a forest so dense that you forget you are in the middle of a city. It also has very long scenic trails where people can go hiking and a campground where you can setup a campsite. Its park features a playground with structures that kids would want to climb and play around in. It also has a picnic site which can be reserved for neighborhood gatherings and family reunions.

╣Professor's Lake. This is a man-made body of water that is fed by a natural spring. It has paths and trails meant for cycling, rollerblading and walking. A recreation center located at the southern side of the lake organizes a wide variety of outdoor activities for the visitors. It is also the venue of the Professor's Lake Beach Party, an annual event held during summer.

╣Claireville Conservation Area. It is a park that covers 848 hectares (2,100 acre) designated as conservation land and offers various recreational and educational programs and facilities. Claireville Ranch, located at the park's northern corner, offers lessons in horse riding. At the southern corner of the park, you will find the Etobicoke Field Studies Center that has a variety of programs for children. Indian Line Campground lies at the southern tip of the park, which has more than 200 campgrounds. You should know that Claireville is considered a passive type of conservation land to preserve the natural landscape and the wildlife therein. It also means that much of this area is unsupervised so some signs are unclear such as those for the hiking trails.

╣the city's various parks and lakes designated as conservation areas. These areas can be found throughout Brampton and are quiet and natural places to walk and think. This can be a refreshing break after the busy and stressful views that living in the city tends to bring.

╣Humber Nurseries Butterfly Conservatory. It is a garden center that is open throughout the year. If you are interested in horticulture, you will appreciate the products and expertise that this center offers to its visitors.

╣Bovaird House. This is a popular tourist destination featuring a Georgian style farmhouse complete with gardens with plants typically found houses during the 19th century. The city, as well as members of the Friends of Bovaird House, took pains to make the house as authentic as possible.

TOURISTS SHOULD KNOW

Brampton Transit provides local public transport. It connects with other transport systems such as Mississauga Transit, Go Transit, Toronto Transit Commission, and York Region Transit. You can also take Züm Bus Rapid Transit system, formerly AcceleRide. Züm received funding from the provincial government in 2006 to begin implementation of this system.

Shops in the Greater Toronto metropolitan area usually accept payment through credit cards or debits from cards or ATMs. Most Canadian stores accept credit cards like MasterCard, Visa, and American Express. You can be charged up to $2 per ATM transaction, but you should clarify with your home bank on other fees it may charge you.