Start the Holiday Machine

Amidst the glitz, glamour and activity of this past weekends Biz X Awards was another yearly event on the other side of the river known as Black Friday. An unofficial kick-off to the holiday shopping season stores embrace the Friday after U.S. Thanksgiving with sales, specials and early openings. The Biz X Awards serve to create a holiday boost for area retailers and small businesses as well through promotion and exposure. From the print and online edition of the magazine to the gala the event showcases a wide variety of industries and services that we use everyday, many that require a strong holiday season for the their yearly bottom line. The event is also a great networking function with fellow award winners, media personalities and business people. Thanks to Deborah Jones and all who work behind the scenes in organizing this fabulous event, all of the businesses who participated and of course our judges and presenters. Let the holiday season begin!

Presenters Arms Bumanlag (left ) and Heidi Baiden pose with me for a quick shot at the Biz X Awards

by Tim FairhurstBiz X Magazine

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Local Businesses support Charitable Initiatives

There is an old saying proclaiming that “charity begins at home”. For many area companies this is a mantra they follow all year long with the holidays sparking a concerted effort on giving and helping those less fortunate. From food banks and shelters to toy drives and clothing collections recent economic pressures have unfortunate created a higher than ever demand and have stretched these community resources to the limit. Although the need exists year round, the holiday season is a popular time for many companies to involve their employees in charitable initiatives. 50/50 draws, donation boxes, food drives and family gift sponsorships are just a few of the ways that people are contributing to a variety of worthy causes.
Biz X Magazine has long been a supporter of many charitable efforts and this years big “Fire and Ice” afterglow Party will follow this tradition. Open to the public the party will be held at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts downtown and feature the band Bigg Wiggle. Admission is an unwrapped toy or $10 that will support Sparky’s Toy Drive. The drive will enable less fortunate families to provide a Christmas for their children and spread holiday cheer throughout the city and county. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to do something good for someone else and have a great time doing it!

by Tim FairhurstBiz X Magazine

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The Circus Comes to Town

Today the famed Cirque du Soleil comes to Windsor for a series of shows at the WFCU Centre. Combining circus entertainment with art, acrobatics and music Cirque du Soleil is performing a blend of Eastern performances with Western circus influences. The Dragon (East) and the Lion (West) come together in their latest performance called fittingly “Dralion”. World class performers and athletes and stunning special effects make any Cirque de Soleil event something you will remember. I was fortunate enough to see the troupe in Montreal under a circus tent at the ports of the Quay and was amazed at the level of showmanship and production value. Before or after the show make an effort to try a new restaurant. With a multitude of diversified dining establishments in and around the Windsor area there has never been a better time to try a specialty dinner for a reasonable price. Whether its Thai, Indian, Italian or Chinese there’s always something different to try. Sampling food from other cultures is a great way to expand your horizons and maybe even make new friends. Make this weekend an international affair and tour the world without even leaving Essex County!

Cirque du Soleil performs 8 shows and is town thru Wed thru Sunday. Go to http://www.wfcu-centre.com/ for tickets and info.

by Tim FairhurstBiz X Magazine

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The Ultimate Random Act of Kindness

With Remembrance Day coming up on Thursday the focus will be on our military personnel both past and present that have served and continue to serve this great country of ours. But there is another day on the calendar this week that coincides with the theme of doing for others selflessly. Yes, Friday is “Random Acts of Kindness Day”. For this week I propose random acts of kindness for our Canadian Forces people.
Whether you buy a veteran a coffee, hold a door open or just say thank you the gesture you put forward is one that pales in comparison to the ultimate sacrifice that many have given but can mean a lot if given from the heart.
I have had the opportunity to interview many of our veterans for Biz X Magazine’s Senior Super Star column I write each month. Ordinary folks that performed extraordinary duties under dangerous and trying conditions. Many live today with the injuries that they sustained serving our country and carry a heavy burden because of it. Their experiences impacted their lives in many ways. Some negatively but some positively with many meeting their spouses while overseas. All of them gave something of themselves to keep our country free and make a better life for Canadians everywhere. So take some time and acknowledge these fine folks this week (and thereafter) with a random act of kindness. They deserve at least this from us. Lest we Forget


by Tim FairhurstBiz X Magazine

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Construction Cruise

Anyone who has tried to move about the city (or county for that matter) this past summer probably has a story of traffic jam hell due to road or bridge construction. Usually you find yourself funnelled into a hopeless bottleneck with no way or option to turn around. Patience is key here but more often than not in short supply with harried drivers thinking that somehow the world is going to stop rotating on its axis if they aren’t somehow getting to “the front”. Driving down the shoulder or in a shut down lane the impatient ones come in all makes models, genders and class. Dealing with this is especially irritating if the construction is on your daily route to work. But then I think of the guys out there actually doing the construction work and realize that their efforts will make my drive better in a few short weeks. Being extra careful and courteous in construction zones is a must for everyone’s safety. So the next time your rolling through a road project slow down, watch out and givem' a thumbs up. It’ll be worth the wait.

by Tim FairhurstBiz X Magazine

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Hotshots are on FIRE!!

This Friday night the Biz X/In Play Hotshots will be making a return to the gruelling firefighter Combat Relays for the 2010 edition of Firefest. It all gets underway at 5:00 at Riverfront plaza for the media challenge. Some of your favourite media personalities will be powering and faking their way through the course while raising money for Transition to Betterness (T2B). A run up to the real heroes of the course on Sat and Sunday Friday night is always fun to see how your average Joe (literally!) does on some of the segments that make up the course.

Last year, yours truly managed to be a contributing factor to the Hotshots win on timing over the Windsor Star team and gained a new appreciation of some of the competitive times that the pros do around this course. Intense training at various establishments by the entire Biz X/In Play squad has been underway all summer and the crew is ready to kick some major butt. So come on out and check out all of the fun and action this Friday. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you will definitely be amused.
Note to Arms and Heidi: We’re “bringin’ it” for the competition! “Training session” after the event at the nearest place of dining.
See you there!

by Tim FairhurstBiz X Magazine

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Ice Cream Excess

I’ve been eating a lot of ice cream lately. Sundaes, soft cones, scooped cones, shakes you name it. Sometimes it’s not even my idea to go but once the suggestion is made..well. The occasion of a birthday also makes the suggestion conveniently positive. Anyways, I’m usually up for the standard one scoop cone or small sundae and sometimes eat inside the shop if there are seats availible. While sitting there stuffing my pie hole with chocolate chip cookie dough supreme I can’t help but observe what other people are eating. What I saw both amazed and astonished me. One dud ordered three large scoops of ice cream in a waffle cone that is as big as a hat! A little girl no older than four was given a two-scoop cone that was half the size of her head! I left before she got too far into it but I am sure that melting mess ended up on the floor or in the garbage. Kid was bouncing off the walls as it was too
Some interesting observations but ones that I would had not experienced unless I was in there doing the same thing. Guilty as charged of maybe eating too much ice cream.
But what the heck it's summer time right. We'll soon be freezing indoors wishing for the days of summer to appear once again
No matter your appetite for ice cream there are many fine shops throughout Windsor and Essex County to serve your favourite treats. Slinky’s on Lesperance Road in Tecumseh, and Rizzo’s Crossing in Essex are just two that come to mind and are popular evening gathering points for families couples and sports teams. So go out for ice cream! Just go for a walk or bike ride as the other part of your treat expedition and you’ll be fine.

by Tim FairhurstBiz X Magazine

Read Biz X Magazine Here