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Fifteen years ago today, on December 9th, 1996, the Ontario Appeal Court reversed the 1991 conviction of Gwen Jacob for indecency making it legal for all women in Ontario to be topfree. Jacob, at the time a university student, had walked bare-breasted through the streets of Guelph in July 1991 in order to protest the inequality of current law. http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/1996/1996canlii1119/1996canlii1119.html On July 19, 1991, Gwen Jacob took off her shirt and walked home from the University of Guelph. She was charged with committing an indecent act. (Section 173 of the Criminal Code of Canada) It was actually the second time that she had walked top-freeRead More →

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If you are a member, you should have received by now the 2012 invoices that were mailed a week ago.  They are not due until April 1st. This year, the rates have gone up modestly but if you take advantage of the early payment discount, your rates will be the same as last year! If you have not received your invoice, please contact the office to request another copy.Read More →

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Woodall’s Family Camping Blog has a good article on how to prepare your recreation vehicle (RV) for the winter: http://blog.woodalls.com/2010/10/winterizing-your-rv-a-step-by-step-time-proven-system-to-get-the-job-done-right Photo by brentolsonRead More →

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We’ve held out as long as we could but frost is now a possibility at night.  So we will be shutting down the seasonal water (Beckett Circle) on Monday, October 31st. If you have a trailer, this is also the time to winterize it otherwise you may experience damage.  If you need someone to winterize your trailer, please contact the office for recommendations. But the clubhouse with its hot tub, saunas and fireplaces is open all year and members are most welcome to continue using the property and their trailers throughout the winter.Read More →

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The call box at the entrance to Sun Valley Gardens circa 1964 Some people will have noticed that we have the old call box from Sun Valley Gardens hanging on the wall in the Bare Oaks office. The club had a significant impact on Ontario’s naturist scene. Almost every existing club in Southern Ontario (and a few that have since closed) in some way owe their existence to former members of SVG. A 1961 interview with Karl and Marlies Ruehle, owners of Sun Valley Gardens, has been posted in the CBC’s archives. They are being interviewed by a young June Callwood on CBC-TV’s Close-Up. http://archives.cbc.ca/lifestyle/living/clips/17573/ Note:Read More →

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The Toronto Star has picked up the Reuters photos and made them into a slide show: http://PhotoGallery.TheStar.com/1056411 It includes some photos that were not in the Reuters Blog but were still taken by Mark Blinch from Reuters. It has also been picked up around the world in places like the USA: http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/20/7859951-nudity-not-optional-for-photographer-at-naturist-camp-in-canada Argentina: http://www.misionlandia.com.ar/index.php/cultura/curiosidades/23786-la-practica-de-nudismo-comunitario-es-posible-en-canada.html China: http://news.ifeng.com/photo/hdsociety/detail_2011_09/20/9326344_0.shtml Romania: http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/lumea-vazuta-prin-teleobiectiv-sanctuar-nudist-946304.html Vietnam: http://www32.24h.com.vn/phi-thuong-ky-quac/cong-vien-khoa-than-tai-canada-c159a405068.html World: (17 editions, published in 10 languages across 13 countries) http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/217124/20110920/nudist-vacations-naturist-travel-naked-toronto-bare-oaks-family-naturist-park.htmRead More →

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Mark Blinch, a photographer with the Reuters News Agency, contacted us in June about a project he was doing on “what it means to get back to nature,  movements on how people find alternatives to cope with big city living, and what it means to our health when we are absent from nature.”  He wanted to know if he could explore the naturist movement in that context.  We agreed and he spent a few days at Bare Oaks both as a participant and as a reporter.  The fact that he took his time and tried it himself really shows in the resulting video: http://blogs.reuters.com/photo/2011/09/19/naturism-these-images-contain-nudity/ TheseRead More →

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Mount Albert Family Fun Fest & Music Mania Saturday, September 24th It’s not a Bare Oaks event but it is an event in our community which we support.  And it’s a fun time!! The village of Mount Albert is located about 5 km southeast of Bare Oaks Family Naturist Park.  Maps are available in the office. FREE ADMISSION • FREE PARKING Downtown Mount Albert (Community Centre) FAMLY FUN FEST Starts at 10 am Bouncy Castle •  Pony Rides •  Pumpkin Decorating • Vendors •  Festival Games & Crafts • Live Performances • Free “Test Drive Your Fitness” Classes •  Story Time • Contests •  Chaotic Exotic AnimalsRead More →

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Each year, there is pressure to hold the members’ meeting as early as possible before some of our retired members head south.  That always makes it difficult to effectively evaluate the past season which has barely finished. It also makes it challenging to announce plans for the next season so the projects and ideas are usually vague. To solve this, the members’ meeting is being moved to the spring – likely in April. That way, we’ll be able to be very specific about the plans for the summer and report much more accurately on the previous year. The change in timing shouldn’t have any impactRead More →

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A recent Toronto Star article reported on a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It confirms previous evidence that caffeine helps prevent some skin cancers. We all know by now that there is plenty of evidence that sunshine and vitamin D are very important to our health. (See the May 2010 blog post) But skin cancer remains a concern so treating the sun with respect is also important.  But now it seems, that a cup of coffee prior to getting your sun exposure might be a key part too! Other research has also linked coffee consumption to lowering the risk of colorectalRead More →