Last Updated on December 13, 2023
“Great things can happen in little places,” he said.
We were chatting with Frank Scott, the co-owner of the pub Lunar Rogue in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. The walls of the Rogue, as the locals generally call it, are covered by 600 bottles of Scotch whisky. It’s one of only a handful of pubs around the planet to have been among the “Great Whisky Bars of the World” as chosen by Whisky Magazine.
By his ‘little places’ comment, Frank was referring not only to his Loyalist/Colonial-styled watering hole but also to the small city in which it’s located. And it’s a city that’s really quite amazing.
Fredericton, an Amazing City
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, with a population of just 58,000 – smaller than Rapid City, South Dakota – boasts a symphony orchestra, four universities, a world-class art gallery, a modern Playhouse, and a Convention Center, outstanding restaurants, indoor and outdoor markets for every taste, and a year-round series of unique festivals.
Frank Scott’s creation, the New Brunswick Spirits Festival, is among those major annual events held each November. Since its inception in 1995, the festival, the oldest of its kind in Canada, has expanded to a five-day event featuring 350 different brands, 80% of which are blends and single malts from Scotland.
Due to Covid, the Spirits Festival had to be canceled last year, but the 2022 November event is a ‘go.’ Scott makes annual trips from Fredericton to the best whisky regions of Scotland to enhance his knowledge and, in cooperation with the government agency, New Brunswick Liquor, to bring new, interesting products to the festival.
A City of Festivals
Altogether, there are several major Fredericton, New Brunswick festivals. They include the winter getaways, FROSTival and Shivering Songs (East Coast songwriters, musicians, and storytellers), RibFest in June, the New Brunswick Highland Games Festival each July, the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival in the fall, and the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival in March.
In addition, a mid-February to mid-March tradition is Dine Around Freddy, when 25 restaurants in the city offer locals and visitors carefully selected three-course dinners for just $35 Canadian ($28 USD).
Once again, this year, in early May, Fredericton takes its turn to host the 34th annual East Coast Music Awards. This five-day celebration of the best East Coast talent is one of Canada’s top music industry events.
Also, in May, for sports fans, the Fredericton Marathon marks 44 years as the Maritime Provinces’ oldest marathon and half marathon.
A Wonderful, Long Weekend in Fredericton
During our long weekend (Thursday to Monday) in New Brunswick’s capital of Fredericton, we stayed in both Fredericton’s Grand Old Riverfront Hotel the Lord Beaverbrook, (named for Max Aitken, a Canadian-British newspaper tycoon, and the first Baron Beaverbrook), which opened in 1948 and was recently upgraded, and an 1859 Victorian home turned into a superb B&B, the Red House Bed & Breakfast.
Now though, as The Lord Beaverbrook Crowne Plaza, the Grand Old Riverfront has an ideal location adjacent to the Saint John River, next door to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, and across from the Convention Centre and Playhouse.
Additionally, the hotel’s new restaurant – Maxwell’s Steak & Seafood – features specialties like wild boar, Northumberland lamb, lobster, and oysters on the half shell. The beef short rib was delicious.
From the hotel, it’s a leisurely stroll downtown, to unique craft shops like Gallery 78, a 19th century Queen Anne Revival mansion that’s the oldest private gallery in New Brunswick. Another is The Artisan District, with some of the most distinctive locally produced pottery, blown glass, woodworking, and jewelry we’ve ever seen.
A Wonderful NB Bed & Breakfast
On the other hand, the Red House B&B, located a short walk from downtown, has been lovingly turned into guest accommodations by John and Monica Antworth. Our room was the original 1859 master bedroom, furnished, like the whole house, with antiques from the original owner.
Adjacent to the room a nursery was converted into a white marble bathroom with a large shower and stand-alone tub. Guest are offered several choices of bath salts and soap. Our bedroom had cable TV, excellent lighting, and a heat pump for comfort.
Our hosts also provided a welcome treat of wine, cheese, and snacks. Additionally, the morning breakfast – fruit, Eggs Benedict, and coffee – was outstanding.
Sophisticated Dining
Fredericton, New Brunswick now has a sophisticated dining scene that includes excellent independent coffee shops. In addition, the Tipsy Muse, a popular meeting place for the city’s many poets, artists, and actors, is located close to the Playhouse and offers live music along with great coffee and Montreal bagels.
The Purrfect Cup, a cat café across the river with excellent locally roasted brews and cute kittens, has a separate room to enjoy coffee and snacks while playing with adoptable felines.
In fact, the café partners with local animal shelters. Since it opened a few years ago, it has placed 425 cats in loving homes.
Ethnic Eateries
The city also has a growing number of ethnic eateries. The Dos Toros Taqueria & Tequila Bar had some of the best Mexican food we’ve ever enjoyed, while the Street Greek would do well in downtown Athens. Other restaurants feature Ethiopian, Caribbean, German, Korean, Lebanese, and Indian cuisine.
We were also delighted by the evolution of the very popular restaurant at the riverside Delta Fredericton Hotel. Its new restaurant STRM.36 (named to honor the steamboat that plied the Saint John River, making 36 stops), has BBQ ribs and brisket that rivaled the smoky treats we’ve enjoyed in Texas.
For a relatively quiet city, it’s remarkable that Fredericton supports more than two dozen craft alcohol producers – breweries, cideries, meaderies, wineries, and distilleries.
In fact, to compete with Frank Scott’s whisky collection, the local Hilton hotel started featuring gin. Of course, as you may have suspected, it now offers the most extensive selection in the Maritimes, 63 different varieties of the juniper berry-flavored beverage. We were there on a Saturday night for the very popular Gin and Live Jazz. A great weekend combination.
Fredericton, “Punching Above Its Weight”
So much of compact Fredericton demonstrates why it punches well above its weight as a small city. The national Globe and Mail newspaper has called Fredericton “one of the ten smartest Canadian cities in which to do business” as well as “one of the top 5 new technology boomtowns.”
Undoubtedly, a key part of that business-friendly environment is Knowledge Park, a 35-acre research and technology campus located on the outskirts of town near the big-box shopping areas. The Cyber Centre, a $37 million part of Knowledge Park, supports more than 600 cyber security jobs in the provincial capital.
Consequently, technology giants like IBM and Siemens are already using the city as a launchpad for developing, testing, and marketing innovative ICT technologies. The best-educated workforce in New Brunswick is helping make this happen.
Fredericton – The City of Stately Elms
Known as “The City of Stately Elms,” Fredericton is, in fact, renowned for its generous green spaces, including forests and parklands. In the center of downtown, Officers Square was a key area of military activity for the British Army from 1785 to 1869 and for the Canadian Army from 1883 to 1914.
Now a relaxing park, it’s also the scene for outdoor summer concerts and theater performances as well as the colorful Changing of the Guard ceremony.
A rare old-growth forest within the city is Odell Park, 333 acres that include 16 kilometers of trails with some trees more than 400 years old. The park is also home to the Odell Arboretum and New Brunswick Species Collection.
A highlight for us was a walk through the park where we learned about medicinal plants and drank fir tip tea. It was provided by Cecelia Brooks and her son, Anthony, from Wabanaki Tree Spirit Tours, one of several thriving tourist-oriented companies in Fredericton.
Wonderful Museums and a Popular Market
The downtown has a Science Museum called Science East, perfect for kids, which is in a building that formerly was a Victorian-era prison (built in 1842). It includes the only outdoor science playground in Atlantic Canada and has more than 150 compelling hands-on science exhibits.
The museum sits next door to the lively Boyce Farmers Market, named one of Canada’s ten best farmers’ markets. With over 200 stalls indoors and outdoors, the main building was constructed in 1951. But the market site actually pre-dates Fredericton’s founding in 1783.
The New Brunswick Legislative Library collection includes a rare copy of Audubon’s “Birds of America” (a similar copy sold for $8.8 million).
But the cultural masterpiece of Fredericton is the riverside Beaverbrook Art Gallery.
Currently undergoing a $10 million renovation, it includes the oldest birch-bark canoe in the world and Salvador Dali’s huge and impressive painting, Santiago El Grande.
As if to emphasize Fredericton’s status as a small, livable city, the December issue of US News and World Report listed Fredericton as one of “The Ten Best Places to Retire in Canada.”
The “little place” is being noticed.
– Sandra and John Nowlan are travel and food writers based in Halifax.
Photos courtesy of the Fredericton Information Center, unless otherwise noted.
You may also enjoy: Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada’s Little Gem / A Tour of Quebec City, Canada’s Old World Treasure / Liscombe Lodge: A Canadian Wilderness Retreat
If You Go:
Fredericton Information Center (City Hall)
397 Queen Street
Fredericton, NB E3B 1B1
Tel: (506) 460-2129
https://www.tourismfredericton.ca
@ [email protected]
Open: May – October Only / Hours vary by date /
Note: During November – May visit the Tourism office at 371 Queen St., Suite 101.
Lord Beaverbrook Crowne Plaza
659 Queen Street
Fredericton
@ [email protected]
Tel: (506)455-3371
Red House Bed &Breakfast
279 Regent Street
Fredericton
https://theredhousefredericton.ca/
@ [email protected]
Tel: (506) 260-9037
Gallery 78
796 Queen Street
Fredericton
https://www.gallery78.com/
@ [email protected]
Tel: (506)454-5192
Open: Tuesday–Saturday 10am–5pm (3pm on Saturday) / closed Sunday
Admission: free
The Artisan District
610 Queen Street
Fredericton
https://artisandistrict.ca/
Open: Tuesday-Sunday 10 am–5 pm / Friday 10 am–6 pm
Beaverbrook Art Gallery
703 Queen Street
Fredericton
http://www.beaverbrookartgallery.org
Tel: (506) 458-2028
Open: presently closed. Check website for opening date.
Science East
668 Brunswick Street
Fredericton
668 Brunswick Street
Fredericton
Tel: (506) 457-2340
Admission: Adult (18+) $10.00 / Adult (60+) $8.00 / Youth (3–17) and Student (college/university with ID) $6.50 / Children under 3 free
Sounds like a great place to visit or live!