Linda Barnard

barnardwrites@gmail.com

Travel, film and food writer; National Newspaper Award winner. TMAC, SATW, NATJA, Toronto Film Critics Association.

Linda Barnard

barnardwrites@gmail.com

Travel, film and food writer; National Newspaper Award winner. TMAC, SATW, NATJA, Toronto Film Critics Association.

Cappadocia, Turkey: A glimpse of the Whirling Dervishes
A sense of stepping into an ancient world, witnessing a secret ritual, sharing in a rare state of grace. Just saying the name stirs the imagination: Whirling Dervishes. We’re waiting in the courtyard of the superbly restored Saruhan Caravanserai near Avanos in the Cappadocia region in central Turkey.
Toronto Star
Travel
Tea for Two: “The Garden That Love Built”
Known as “the garden that love built,” Abkhazi Garden is a secluded gem in a quiet residential corner of Victoria, British Columbia. Like any good love story, this one has challenges, heartbreak and a sweet ending.
Zoomer magazine
Travel
Return to nature: Indigenous tourism experiences in Alberta
Alberta is home to a growing list of Indigenous tours and experiences. Brenda Holder, owner of Alberta Indigenous tourism business Mahikan Trails, is helping us remember how to drink tea. All I can think about is getting a bit closer to the robust campfire on this chilly Calgary night, warming my hands on the cup of steaming wild mint tea.
West of the City Magazine
Travel
A Perfect Weekend in Tofino, British Columbia
It may seem odd to start a perfect weekend in Tofino, Canada’s surf capital, by facing away from the waves. But to engage with the soul of this place, begin by acknowledging that this area, consistently voted among the world’s top tourist destinations, is on the traditional unceded territory of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation.
Getting On Travel
Travel
No cruise ship needed to travel B.C.’s Inside Passage
The pandemic has made us adept at workarounds. So why not a sail-around? With Vancouver sailings of Alaska-bound cruise ships halted until November because of COVID-19 regulations, I stayed in Canadian waters and sailed the scenic Inside Passage northward route in August on BC Ferries‘ spacious Northern Expedition.
Vacay.ca
Travel
Beauty from the Sea: Vancouver Island seaweed
Mermaids have the right idea, I thought, relaxing in an outdoor tub filled with pleasantly hot water scattered with colourful seaweed. My seaweed bath, experienced at Avacena in Qualicum Beach, smelled pleasantly of the ocean and the essential oils added to the water. The cool strips and pods of green, brown and purple seaweed were slippery, soothing and fun to play with, especially the crab-claw-shaped bladderwrack, which, when popped, released a cool gel for a face mask .
YAM Magazine
Lifestyle
Scottsdale AZ: Ideal for active and arts-minded travellers
Look between the sagebrush and multi-armed saguaro cactus to discover the Arizona desert is a remarkably colourful garden in spring, with cactus tops crowned in brilliant fuchsia blossoms and orangeade-coloured blooms trailing across thorny bushes.
West of the City Magazine
Travel
'The Gravedigger's Wife': Somali-Finnish story wins at Toronto Film Festival
When Somali-Finnish writer-director Khadar Ayderus Ahmed was growing up in Mogadishu, he’d often see gravediggers waiting outside a nearby hospital on his walk to school.
The National Abu Dhabi
Film
Hiking the Plain of the Six Glaciers Trail in the Canadian Rockies
To have tea with the queen of the Canadian Rockies, all it takes is a pair of hiking boots. Snow-capped Mt. Victoria, named for the 19th-century British monarch, is the regal backdrop for turquoise-coloured Lake Louise in Alberta’s Banff National Park.
JourneyWoman
Travel
Indigenous-Owned Retreat: Klahoose Wilderness Resort
Indigenous-owned and operated Klahoose Wilderness Resort in British Columbia immerses guests in storytelling, traditions, craftwork and grizzly bear tours. It sat chest deep in the shallow river, gripping a chum salmon in curved claws as long as my index finger. The bear looked almost thoughtful as it stripped the skin from the fish with its teeth.
West of the City Magazine
Travel
Pop Rock and Pinot Noir: A Transplanted Canadian in Japan
Ottawa-born Blaise Plant moved to Japan's Tohoku region 20 years ago and never looked back. “I think I’ll be living here for the rest of my life,” says Blaise Plant. He’s not talking about his hometown of Ottawa. He’s referring to his adopted home near Sendai, the capital city of Miyagi in Japan’s northern Tohoku region.
Travelier Magazine
Travel
The K’ómoks Artist Who Blends His Love of Star Wars with West Coast Indigenous Art
Andy Everson has loved Star Wars since he was a child. He also sees parallels between the imperialism depicted in the films and the experiences of Indigenous communities in Canada. In this article from our archives, he shows us how his art combines familiar images from the films with his family’s symbols steeped in First Nations history.
Montecristo Magazine
Travel
He’s tamed Timothée Chalamet’s hair, made Stellan Skarsgård enormous and turned Jake Gyllenhaal into an amputee — ‘Dune’ makeup artist Donald Mowat is a Hollywood favourite
From taming Timothée Chalamet’s unruly hair to transforming Stellan Skarsgård into hulking, hedonistic sadist Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Canadian-British makeup artist Donald Mowat’s work gets the most screen time in director Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic “Dune,” opening Oct. 22
Toronto Star/thestar.com
Film
Getaway Guide: A 3-Day Travel Guide to British Columbia's Cowichan Valley
Home to wineries, bucolic farmland and forests, picturesque small towns and a dynamic food scene, it’s no surprise Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley has been dubbed “Canada’s Provence.”. Less than an hour’s drive from Victoria along the scenic Pacific Marine Circle Route, the area boasts Canada’s warmest year-round temperature.
Canadian Traveller
Travel
Ireland: Wild Atlantic Way to Capital of Cool, Donegal
I was was born a Brady, among the 15% of Canadians who claim Irish heritage. This Irish trip took me nearly 400 km north, to County Donegal, to experience the “other” Ireland around the island country’s rugged wild child seascapes.
Dinemagazine.ca
Travel
20 Best Places to Travel in Canada for 2022: Time for Indigenous Tourism
Vacay.ca Editors and Writers Adrian Brijbassi, Rod Charles, Claudia Laroye, Debbie Olsen, Kelsey Olsen, and Linda Barnard contributed to this report; Brijbassi edited it. Five years ago, Canada was at the beginning of a series of parties that were akin to a national stroking of ego and pride. The 150th anniversary of the founding of the nation was rich with celebrations and endless events sparked by unprecedented levels of tourism spending, much of it focused on July 1 festivities.
Vacay.ca
Travel

About

Linda Barnard

Former Toronto Star staff movie writer, now a British Columbia-based freelance travel, food and film writer. My work appears in a variety of Canadian and international newspapers, magazines and websites. Regular contributor Edible Toronto, Edible Vancouver & Wine Country and Edible Vancouver Island.
Freelance film writer for the Toronto Star and Original-Cin.ca, member Toronto Film Critics Association and Alliance of Women Film Journalists.
Winner numerous travel-writing awards: NATJA, SATW and TMAC. National Newspaper Awards winner (Arts & Entertainment).
My custom content clients include The Globe and Mail and The Boston Globe.
Visit my website: LindaBarnard.com