Fredericton – Cosmopolitan, Cultured and Quirky

Fredericton, New Brunswick, a provincial capital city with fewer than 75,000 residents, has always impressed us as punching well above its weight.

Fredericton’s thriving downtown, filled with bars and restaurants, includes world class cultural attractions like the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, known for its Canadian, British and International collections including Salvador Dali’s giant masterpiece, Santiago El Grande, as well as the centrally located Garrison Grounds, the 18^th century British army base, with its adjacent Fredericton Region Museum.

The Garrison Grounds in central Fredericton

The city is also rated as one of the most walkable in Canada with good restaurants, bakeries, cafes, bars and unique gift shops scattered along King and Queen streets. Surprisingly, it’s also very driveable. We rarely had a problem finding parking spots.

We recently spent three days in the city ranked by several out-of-province magazines and newspapers as among the top ten places to visit or live in Canada. Here are our highlights:

ACCOMMODATION. In the past we’ve stayed at several historic B&Bs. This time we went more modern with a fine room at the Delta Fredericton, located just north of downtown directly on the wide Saint John River. If you stay here, try to get a room overlooking the river. It’s spectacular. The hotel’s BBQ restaurant is also excellent.

MEALS. Fredericton has become a city of culinary treats with recent immigrants adding to the wide range of ethnic restaurants, most of which are located within walking distance downtown. Our first stop was at Momo Ramen & Izakaya on Queen Street with several authentic Japanese specialities. Our honey garlic chicken appetizer was outstanding with a delightful main dish of grilled chicken udon. The next day we went tropical with Trinidadian and Jamaican cuisine at Caribbean Flavas on York Street. The curry was very tasty and the jerk chicken was authentic although we thought that the chef could have used chicken thighs instead of drumsticks for better flavour. The city’s German and Mexican restaurants also receive high ratings.

With at least a dozen breweries in the city plus distilleries and cideries, Fredericton is now Atlantic Canada’s craft brewing capital. Several breweries include excellent pubs like the Gahan House on Queen Street. With great character as a former bank and terrific pub food, Gahan’s has become a favourite among the locals.

The Gahan House brewpub

As with most cities, pizza has become a ubiquitous treat and Fredericton has recently added Detroit style with the opening of Coastline Pizza at the corner of King and Westmoreland Streets. If you like a thick crust and generous servings this is a great spot for pizza. Just across from Coastline Pizza is First Light Distilling which offers creative mocktails to satisfy the growing trend towards non-alcohol drinks. It also includes Scout’s Original Sandwich Shop with homemade desserts.

Coastline thick crust Detroit style pizza. Broccoli on the left and Canadian on the right.

Fresh pastry lovers can enjoy traditional and unique creations at both Simon’s Bakery on Regent Street and Chess Piece on Queen, Fredericton’s first and only Parisian style patisserie.

Chess Piece, a Parisian style patisserie

Fredericton’s 75 year old downtown Boyce Farmers Market is a Saturday tradition with more than 250 indoor and outdoor vendors. It’s one of Canada’s Top 10 markets and features a great variety of cheese and fresh squeezed juices.

The busy Boyce Farmers Market

CULTURE AND HISTORY. The cultural gem of Fredericton is undoubtedly the Beaverbrook Art Gallery on Queen Street. Named for New Brunswick native and British publishing magnate Lord Beaverbrook (his empire included the Daily Express newspaper and during World War II he was Minister of Aircraft Production), the modern building has over 5300 works in its permanent collection and regularly hosts travelling exhibitions.

A birchbark canoe, almost 200 years old, in the Beaverbrook Art Gallery

Fredericton loves its live music. Each September the city hosts the annual six-day Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival (now known simply as the Harvest Music Festival). Now in its 35th year with 25 performance venues throughout the downtown it attracts top international and east coast talent.

On Queen Street, close to the centre of town, is Officers’ Square, considered to be the birthplace of the Canadian Army. Its buildings and Great Lawn were garrisoned by the British Army for over 80 years starting in 1785 and by the Canadian Army from 1883 to 1914. In warm months the area is used for concerts, live theatre and films. The former Officers’ Quarters now houses the Fredericton Region Museum, well worth a visit.

At the south edge of downtown stands the majestic Christ Church Cathedral, built between 1845 and 1853 and considered to be the first example of exacting Gothic Revival architecture in North America. It was declared a National Historic Site in 1983.

Shakespeare, 1960s style, in front of Christ Church Cathedral

On the Fredericton culture scene we have to give credit to the University of New Brunswick’s English department. Every year in early summer a professor organizes and directs an event called Bard in the Barracks, a pair of outdoor Shakespeare plays in downtown locations. We loved the performances of local talent in the rollicking comedy Merry Wives of Windsor, set by the director in the early 1960s with mafia influences. The clever set was built on the front lawn of the Christ Church Cathedral. This lesser known work alternated with Macbeth, performed in the Fredericton Botanic Garden.

QUIRKINESS. A quirky city is a fun city for both residents and visitors. Fredericton registers very high on the quirkiness scale. To wit:

• A stuffed 42 pound frog – The Coleman Frog – is on display at the Fredericton Region Museum. In 1885 it jumped into Fred Coleman’s canoe and quickly became a pet with a diet of buttermilk, whiskey and cornmeal. The giant amphibian died in 1899 and was preserved by a taxidermist.
  

  The 42 pound Coleman frog in the Fredericton Region Museum

• The same museum has a room dedicated to the work and sometimes questionable alien-visitor theories of Fredericton resident Stanton Friedman. Friedman was the original civilian investigator of the Roswell, New Mexico, UFO incident. He wrote many books and became known as the Flying Saucer Physicist.
  

  A museum room dedicated to Stanton Friedman, the Flying Saucer Physicist

• Perhaps coincidentally, the Flat Earth Society of Canada was founded in Fredericton.
• In 1882 Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, dressed in velvet clothes with lacy cuffs, was booed and heckled in Fredericton while promoting Aestheticism, the philosophy of “art for art’s sake”. Apparently, it went against the dominant conservative Victorian sensibilities of the time.
• Three locally owned downtown shops are decidedly quirky. No velvet clothing at Happy Hatti but fashionably printed cotton designs using the centuries-old textile techniques of the owner’s native India. The Urban Almanac, a couple of blocks away brings an updated twist to the old-fashioned general store with a unique selection of antiques, sustainably resourced and hard-to-find vintage goods. The owner has added organic coffee roasting and Tasha Tea to the unusual mix. Nearby is Fresh Vintage, a store with curated antiques and modern design ideas. All three stores are great for browsing.
  

  The owner of Happy Hatti with some of her designs

• The city is filled with geeks. It’s a hub for cybersecurity with 70% of New Brunswick’s knowledge industry based in Fredericton. UNB has been graduating engineers since 1854.
• Canada’s first observatory was built in 1851 on the UNB campus.
• Fredericton was the first city in Canada to offer free, city-wide Wi-Fi.
• An old railway bridge, now used for walking and biking across the Saint John River, becomes an art gallery for a day. Art on the Bridge features scores of local art and artists using the girders to display and sell their works in a very unusual and colourful gallery.
  

  Art On The Bridge, a unique Fredericton gallery

• The annual New Brunswick Whisky Festival, now known as the Spirits Festival, is the oldest in Canada. Year-round, the Lunar Rogue Pub on King Street carries over 1,000 whisky (and whiskey) choices, making it one of the largest in the world.

For our final dinner in Fredericton we took a short side trip to the Village of Gagetown and a memorable meal at Gulliver’s World Café. The owner and chef, Thane Mallory, was trained at the prestigious Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon, France. In the off season he travels the world looking for creative culinary ideas and it shows in his imaginative cuisine.

Chef Thane Mallory of Gulliver’s in Gagetown

Gagetown is also worth a visit for its three ceramic studios and shops. The best known is Greig Pottery where you can watch the artist, Flo Greig, in her studio where she’s been working the wheel for 49 years. For Canadian history buffs, Gagetown is also the birthplace of Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, one of the Fathers of Confederation. The house where Tilley was born and spent his boyhood is now a National Historic Site.

Gagetown potter Flo Greig in her workshop

Fredericton can be reached within a day’s drive from much of central Canada and New England. It’s worth the trip to see how a city, so small in size, can offer so much that’s unusual and unique.

A few more images from our trip. Click for full size images.

Photo Credits

All photos by Sandra and John Nowlan – All Rights Reserved

Recent John and Sandra Nowlan Articles:

• Fredericton – Cosmopolitan, Cultured and Quirky
• Orlando and Northeast Florida – Beyond the Theme Parks
• Viking – A European River Cruise… and More
• Cuisine, Spa, Service. A World Class Resort in Mexico
• The Florida Keys and Key West – Unique Attractions, Fresh Fish, and Key Lime Pie