Good Times Outside Our Comfort Zone

Whenever I think of good times outside, my mind usually floods to our favourite outdoor activities, and those that we know - hiking, camping, fishing, kayaking and swimming.

When thinking of outdoor fun, an outdoor festival is usually not the first thing that pops into my head. You could easily say they are a bit outside of our “outside comfort zone”.

But, why can't they be a good time outside? After all, outdoor festivals are just that, outdoors. And with loads of activities for all ages - from food to music and everything in between - they're also a guaranteed good time.

Good Times Outside Our Comfort Zone at The Big Feastival

It's been approximately 500 days since Steve and I have had a night to ourselves. Not that that is a bad thing, we would much prefer to spend time just the three of us. But, sometimes a kid-free adventure is needed.

So, when my parents encouraged us to get away for a long weekend (and happily jumped on the opportunity to take Morley), we were left with the question - what do we do?

When deciding on the perfect weekend, we had three criteria - something new, something not too far from home, and most important, something outdoors.

To help us narrow down our options, we turned to MEC's new digital platform, GoodTimesOutside.ca.

Good Times Outside is a MEC-vetted source for city-dwellers from coast to coast to discover fresh outdoor experiences in their own backyards. Its designed to easily break down the barriers that might keep people from heading outdoors and spark mini-adventures, while giving solid advice on how to make it happen.

So, what did we decide? With the help of Good Times Outside, we opted for an activity a bit outside of our “outside comfort zone”. We decided to check out The Big Feastival (August 18-20), at Burl’s Creek in Oro-Medonte, ON, approximately an hour and a half north of Toronto.

Delivering an extravaganza of delicious food sound-tracked by perfect summer sounds, this UK-born festival celebrates its first year in Canada with a weekend of top entertainment, hosting star appearances from the food, music and children’s entertainment world. It is three days filled with feel good food, music and family fun. And of course, plenty of good times outside.

And while a festival may be a new type of outdoor adventure for us, The Big Feastival does offer something that is familiar - camping! Thanks to festival sponsor MEC, we’ll be festival-going in style and turning it into a three-day camping adventure.

The idyllic Burl’s Creek allows for festival-goers to get back to nature, chill out and top off their big day out, and good times outside, with a night under canvas.

Festival campers have the option to bring their own tent, or have MEC do all the work for them. And if they chose the latter, at the end of the weekend they can even walk home with a brand new MEC tent!

Campers will also have exclusive access to the MEC Co-op Lounge daily from 7:30am to 3:00pm for morning coffee, last-minute supplies and gear rentals, free Wi-Fi and expert advice from MEC staffers to ensure your weekend is the best of the summer.

Not camping? No problem. Festival goers can visit MEC at the Good Times Outside Grounds all weekend for ongoing and scheduled things to do, including yoga and fitness classes, a climbing wall and slack lining.

Good food, good drinks, good company, good music and a guaranteed good times outside.

Hope to see you there!

Be sure to check out GoodTimesOutside.ca for more outdoors adventures around your area! And don't forget to use these top hashtags for outdoors lovers to show off where your good times outside take you.