Kingston is a great place to have fun and unwind – whether you’re here for a visit or a resident of our community, there are unsurpassed cultural assets to enjoy, professional sports teams to cheer on, and a wealth of parks, beaches, golf courses, waterways, ski trails, bicycling, jogging paths and entertainment venues to help you relax.

• Arts and culture
• Shopping, dining and night life
• Sports

Arts and culture

Culture and Heritage are very important for our community. Kingston enjoys a rich and deep history as represented by its multitude of heritage buildings and cultural landscapes.

Kingston has a wealth of cultural organizations and events and programs that benefit the entire community by making cultural contributions to our community's wellbeing and to its cultural tourism capacity.

The City of Kingston's Culture and Recreation Department comprises:

• The Grand Theatre - The Grand Theatre — now in the midst of reconstruction — is Kingston's community performing arts facility. Purchased by the City of Kingston in 1962, the theatre houses two performance spaces. The building has two licensed lounges, a licensed patio and a small art gallery where local artists display their work.

• Recreational Services and Culture & Heritage (heritage planning and Kingston Municipal Heritage Committee The Kingston Municipal Heritage Committee (LACAC) is appointed by the Council for the City of Kingston pursuant to The Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, as amended. The appointments are made under City of Kingston Council Procedural By-Law 98-1, as amended.

• Two municipal museums: the Pump House Steam Museum and the MacLachlan Woodworking Museum
  
  
• The City of Kingston engages with the community on a number of important cultural initiatives such as the J.K. Tett Centre Feasibility Study with Artscape Inc. It aims to help the Kingston area thrive as a tourist destination for the arts, heritage, sports, recreation and culture.
  
  
• Kingston has developed a thriving artistic and entertainment life. The city hosts several festivals during the year, including the Limestone City Blues Festival, the Kingston Canadian Film Festival, Fanfayr, the Kingston Buskers' Rendezvous, Kingston Sheep Dog Trials, Kingston Jazz Festival, Kingston Dragon Boat Festival, Canada DanceSport, Reelout Queer Film Festival, the Festival of Trees, Feb Fest, the Limestone Classic, and the Chilifest.
  
  
• The Kingston Symphony Orchestra performs at Kingston's Grand Theatre, as do several amateur and semi-professional theatre groups. (Following a successful fundraising campaign, the Grand Theatre has been closed for renovations and will reopen in the spring of 2008) Also in the city is Theatre Kingston (formerly Theatre Beyond), a professional company.
  
  
• The city has spawned several musicians and musical groups, most of whom are known mainly within Canada, but a few of whom have achieved international success. These include John Kay, lead singer, harmonica player, and occasional guitarist of the heavy metal late 60s/early 70s band Steppenwolf, members of The Tragically Hip, The Mahones, jazz singer Andy Poole, Bedouin Soundclash, Sarah Harmer, The Arrogant Worms, The Headstones, The Inbreds, David Usher (formerly of Moist), and Kingston is the birth place of Bryan Adams. Singer Avril Lavigne, from nearby Napanee, began her career after gaining notice singing at a Kingston fair and bookstore. The first winner of the television series Canadian Idol was Kingston native Ryan Malcolm.

Shopping, dining and night life

In Kingston, there are several shopping centres and districts, and a wide variety of fine dining establishments for all tastes. Learn more about shopping and dining in Kingston by visiting Kingston Tourism’s website.

Kingston supports an active night life in a wide variety of venues around the region. From live music and pubs to fine dining and dancing, Kingston has a lot to offer. There are several major night life districts to choose from; all offer a number of choices for nightly entertainment, from sophisticated bistros and elegant bars to Celtic pubs and alternative music venues. Click here for a list of restaurants.

Sports

Hockey

Although contested, Kingston lays claim to being the birthplace of ice hockey. This claim arises from a game played in 1886 betweenQueen's University and the Royal Military College of Canada, and is recognized by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. The rivalry between Queen's and RMC is the world's oldest in hockey.
Kingston is represented in the OHL by the Kingston Frontenacs, and in OPJHL by the Kingston Voyageurs.

Sailing

The city is famous for its fresh-water sailing, and hosted the sailing events for the 1976 Summer Olympics. CORK — Canadian Olympic-training Regatta, Kingston — now hosted by CORK/Sail Kingston Inc. is still held every August. Kingston is listed by a panel of experts among the top yacht racing venues in the USA, even though Kingston is, of course, in Canada.

Kingston sits amid excellent cruising and boating territory, with easy access to Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, and the Thousand Islands including the St. Lawrence Islands National Park.
Kingston is also home to the youth sail training ship called the st-lawrence 2.

Diving

Kingston is a well-known destination for fresh-water wreck diving. Some of Kingston's wrecks can be classed among the best fresh water wrecks in the world. Kingston's wrecks are well preserved by its cool fresh water, and the recent zebra mussel invasion has caused a drastic improvement in water clarity that has enhanced the quality of diving in the area. Here's a catalog of diveable wrecks in the Kingston region

Golf

The Kingston area is well known for its fine golf courses and for the many strong players it has produced. The Kingston Golf Club, established in 1884, was a founding member of the Royal Canadian Golf Association in 1895. The first winner of the Amateur Canadian Golf Championship that same year was Kingstonian Thomas Harley, a Scottish emigre longshoreman. Dick Green was the longtime club professional for nearly 40 years at Cataraqui Golf and Country Club, which has one of Canada's top courses (designed by Stanley Thompson). Green, a superb player and teacher, also designed several courses in Eastern Ontario, including Smiths Falls, Glen Lawrence, Amherstview, Garrison, Rivendell, and Colonnade. Matt McQuillan, now a professional player on the Canadian Tour, was born and raised in Kingston, and developed his game at the Garrison Golf and Curling Club. McQuillan won the 2005 Telus Edmonton Open.

Curling

The Royal Kingston Curling Club is one of Canada's oldest. It was founded in 1820, and was granted Royal patronage in 1993. In 2006, the RKCC moved to a new facility, to make way for the construction of a new complex at Queen's University, the Queen's Centre.

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