sombra museum cultural centre

How fun is this? You Google today's date and then you ask what can you do in Southwestern Ontario. On the Sunday of the long weekend in August, we found ourselves in the car on our way to Sombra.It was the Annual Blueberry Social being held at the Sombra Museum. It was a lovely afternoon with a tour around the very small museum. It has different pieces of memorabilia (uniforms, kits, ship items) from the First World War. We were visiting on what was the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War. Could it be true that it has been a hundred years? Sombra has a ferry that goes across to the US. I am sure it has to be one of the shortest water crossing in Canada. You can see Michigan right across the river. Driving up the St. Clair Parkway is a wonderful "Sunday" drive. The water was a stunning colour of blue that I have only seen in the Caribbean. It was finally clear to me why they call the surrounding region Blue Water.The area is more for boating with many people fishing also. We were hard pressed to find a sandy beach to relax by. The current runs very quickly in this part of the St. Clair River so you will need to be careful if you do go for a swim. We ended up going up to Sarnia to go to the beach.The Blueberry Social was a throwback to another era. There were treats that were both homemade and bought (my daughter questioned why there were Tim Horton's muffins). I was in love with the homemade cheesecake, with a lovely blueberry sauce. There were tiny tarts and also sweet, saucy blueberry pies. I love scones and there were plenty of those. My kids loved the fruit skewers and the watermelon. What more could you ask for from a Blueberry Social?They had the usual tea and coffee but also sparkling blueberry juice. My kids were taken with this offering as it was the colour of... blueberries. They enjoyed themselves although, they felt a bit out of place in this some town. All in all, the hour we spent at the social was fun, informative and a great way to spend some time in southwestern Ontario. Take the time to visit small towns and visit what they museums and events that they have to offer. It is fun for the kids and a treat to just take it all in and enjoy. There is usually very good food to be had.

Sombra as a Canada/US border village with a ferry crossing is part of its fantastic history. Learn about Al Capone and rum runners, the early farming community, country schools in the 1800's and life of early settlers. They also offer monthly guest speaker events.