Profile Kingston – July 12, 2019

QUALITY of LIFE

A few of Bev Allinson’s favourite things by Bill Hutchins

Holistic Health: With the support of

the holistic community and the many

practitioners in Kingston, I have

developed a great interest in living a

natural and holistic life. I look for

locally and organically produced foods

and support our weekly market vendors.

I often shop at Tara, Green Door

Vitamins and Simply Well and attend

both the Saturday and Sunday markets.

To stay fit, I walk everywhere: shopping,

lunch and meetings. Once a week,

I attend Pilates classes with Kristy at

Powered by Pilates on MacDonnell

Street and yoga at the Woolen Mill

through the Seniors Centre. I am not a

runner, I am a walker.

Downtown Kingston: As a long-time

(more than 25 years) member of the

Board of Directors for the Downtown

Kingston Business Improvement Area,

I take a huge interest in helping to

develop business and our citizen’s

enjoyment of our beautiful downtown.

I have served on committees for the

Buskers and Limestone Blues festivals,

Clean and Safe and many others. I

look forward every year to these and

other events produced in this vibrant

city. The DBIA has been a key factor in

Kingston’s ability to maintain a lively

downtown core, sadly missing in so

many cities, and I am so proud to have

been a part of this.

Food & Entertainment: Kingston has

so many choices for dining out, which

I always enjoy with family and friends.

Indian, Japanese, fresh Italian dishes

and so many more. My husband and

I often eat out before attending one of

our downtown’s entertainment events

at the Grand Theatre, Leon’s Centre,

The Isabel and our favourite, The

Screening Room. Sunday specials and

Friday nights are popular times to

enjoy the many restaurants downtown.

Of all the restaurants I frequent, the

Dox waterfront patio at the Holiday

Inn is the place to be for us from May

to late September.

Retail Therapy: I feel so fortunate to

have great shopping here in Kingston.

Round Stone, Fancy That, Chris James

and Cloth are my most frequently

visited stores. For really special

occasions, I can always count on Cybil

Scott for that unique piece. When I

need to prepare for travelling, I go

straight to Bagot Leather Goods.

Heritage & History: Saving the

heritage of Kingston has been a great

interest of mine. It has been wonderful

to be a part of the re-gentrification

of historic Kingston. Every day, new

people from around the world come to

visit and to live in what used to be an

industrial hub of the Ontario shipping

and locomotive industry. Even short

walks become an adventure past our

beautiful limestone homes and

business buildings. I can never walk

more than a few steps without meeting

friends and acquaintances.

Family Business: Our family business,

Confederation Place Hotel, was built

on land where our father, William J.

Allinson, ran his farm equipment

dealership. Along with my sister Barbara

and brother Bill, the Allinsons have

been doing business on this corner of

Ontario Street for over 80 years. When

Dad passed away in 1965, we kept the

land and developed our hotel with the

support of our mother, Dora. Open

since 1979, for the past 40 years, we

have hosted hundreds of thousands of

visitors to Kingston.

My Guys: My family roots reach from

Canada’s West Coast to Wolfe Island.

Our father, William J. Allinson, and my

husband, Bruce Black, are both original

residents of Wolfe Island. They are my

two favourite men.

Travel: Our children and grandchildren

have moved to the West Coast, and we

travel there at Christmas and during the

summer to visit them. We also use the

family trip to search for ideas from other

hotels, events and downtown centres.

East End: For the past 20 years, we

have made our home in Kingston’s east

end, near Greenwood Park at Gore Road

and Highway 15 — coincidentally on

the land originally previously owned

by our dad, where he stored all of the

farm equipment, tractors, mowers,

baling machines for his dealership.

We grew up there playing on the

tractors and riding our horses. Not long

ago, this was the countryside. Now this

area has developed into a wonderful

family neighbourhood with shopping

centres, fire stations and even a

Starbucks! We feel right at home there.

Postcard: As I drive to work every day,

entering Kingston down Fort Henry

hill, I am always amazed at the

beautiful postcard view of the city of

Kingston before me. I am reminded

how lucky we all are to live here.

Bev Allinson, Managing Director, Confederation Place Hotel

Photograph by Bernard Clark

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