Things To Do In Burlington

DivaGirl Fitness melds the polar opposites of exercise and sexiness to offer an array of women's-only fitness classes. With this deal, guests can choose five one-hour classes (most classes are a $15 value for drop-ins). Unleash the fine-stepping footwork of American pop group Pussycat Dolls with the Calling All Pussy Cats! class, get the muscle conditioning and cardio workout long associated with Hera in the Sexy Goddess Workout, or tone and make glisten your muscles to the sultry beats of Latin music in Zumba. The Strip to Fit class combines elements of strip aerobics, yoga, Pilates, and jazz dance into an exotic stew of sultry sexiness, and Sexy Bollywood brings together Indian and western dance styles to shake off saris of slim hips. Classes are offered throughout the week at several Toronto-area locations—use DivaGirl Fitness's list of participating locations to find a class near you.

Expansive fairways are cleaved through groves of mature oak trees, creating verdant alleyways for golfers to swing past windswept rough and dense forest as they navigate Dragon’s Fire Golf Club, named a Best New Course in Canada by Golf Digest in 2009. Architect Boris Danoff sculpted the course from a former tree farm into the rolling countryside, seamlessly incorporating the natural lay of the land into a compelling design. Depending on their skill level or which Brady Bunch child they’re choosing to play as, golfers can play the course from six tee boxes that range from 5,085 yards from the red tees up to a daunting 7,202 yards from the tips.

Club Car Champion carts escort players around the course's 80 bunkers and nine distinctly shaped ponds. True to its name, the course can be monstrous and unforgiving, as showcased on the course's most difficult hole, the 633-yard par 5 13th, a grassy monolith with fairway bunkers and massive trees in play that obstruct several paths to the green. After putting out on the 528-yard par 5 18th hole, a demanding dogleg-right with ample water and sand, golfers can retire to the clubhouse's outdoor patio for drinks and snacks or head to the pro shop to replace their pitching wedge that mysteriously snapped in half.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Total length of 7,202 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 73 from the back tees
• Course slope of 131 from the back tees
• Six sets of tees per hole
• Scorecard

Sewing machines perch atop blue-skirted tables in a brightly lit room accented with hardwood floors, bookshelves brimming with multihued material, and wall displays of buttons and sewing accessories. In these welcoming confines, the instructors of Chenoa Designs guide students through their projects, imparting techniques for attaching appliqués to homemade handbags or adjusting dress patterns to fit a pet goldfish. The team of seam sultans works to expand the stitchwork community through a roster of classes that guide newcomers on everything from the basics of operating a sewing machine to the intricacies of embroidery and appliqué. While students work, they can draw from the DIY emporium's stock of specialty embroidery machines and binding systems by Martelli along with renowned lines such as Jenny Haskins designs to ensure their projects benefit from top-notch materials and tools.

At Bay Area Athletic Club, trainers blend elements of a fitness center, boxing gym, and kick-boxing club to imbue their clients with both physical-fitness knowledge and fighting skills. They offer casual and competitive programs and cross various platforms, which include children’s and adults boxing and kick-boxing, strength-and-conditioning classes, and competitive tracks for those interested in competing at an amateur level. Head trainer Muzammal Nawaz, a five-time world champion kickboxer, leads the club’s team of certified instructors and draws on more than 25 years of training experience to design programs for his clients.

Burlington Fitness & Racquet Club earned the Burlington Post's 2011 Readers' Choice Award for Best Fitness Club by challenging exercisers with trainer-guided workouts or solo sweat sessions inside a 70,000-square-foot facility. Racquets propel balls year-round at indoor squash and tennis courts, where certified instructors improve fledgling players' backhands and prepare athletes for humanity's imminent war with pitching machines. Licensed personal trainers help fitness seekers navigate rows of cardio and weight equipment, and energetic instructors lead classes such as yoga and boot camp—a high-intensity combination of tae bo and power drills. Welcoming staff slings healthy snacks at an on-site café, where occasional events such as cooking classes and muscle-trading parties entertain club members.

The kitchens at KidsCanCook fill with the chatter of whisks against bowls and hands clapping in excitement at new abilities. The instructors introduce children of all ages to the fundamentals of cooking, focusing each and every recipe on nutrition to forge healthy habits. The interactive weekend and after-school classes impart the basics of cooking to children or young adults, from measuring ingredients to keeping chef hats from becoming tangled in chandeliers. The chefs also offer private lessons, and full- or half-day summer camps with included meals engage students with hands-on activities and help build new friendships.