In June 2021, The Best Muskoka Chair Company placed five giant Muskoka chairs across the municipality of North Grenville, Ontario. The goal was simple: promote local tourism and support small businesses. What followed was something none of us expected. Those five chairs grew into a full-fledged tourist attraction, the North Grenville Muskoka Chair Tour, now spanning eight stops and drawing visitors from across the region.
Each oversized chair has become a selfie destination, a community gathering spot, and a clever driver of foot traffic to local businesses. The real story, though, isn't just what happened in North Grenville. It's proof that custom giant Muskoka chairs can transform any Canadian destination into an Instagram-worthy tourism magnet.
From Workshop to Landmark
For nearly 70 years, The Best Muskoka Chair Company has been crafting quality outdoor furniture. It began in 1955 when Gerard Bruneau started handcrafting garden swings in his workshop. His son Francois grew up watching, learning, and eventually joining the business full-time in 1982. From those humble beginnings, the company grew into a global operation with sales across Canada, the US, England, Australia, and Dubai.
Giant chairs were new territory, even for us.
The concept was straightforward: place oversized, eye-catching Muskoka chairs at key spots throughout North Grenville's hamlets to give people a reason to explore and spend locally. Working with local artists and community groups, each chair was painted or designed to reflect the character of its location. Many were fitted with QR codes linking to the #LoveNG business directory, blending tourism with economic development in one clever package.
The Tour Takes Off
The five original chairs were placed at locations ranging from Ferguson Forest's Giving Garden in Kemptville to the historic hamlet of Bishops Mills. Other organizations took notice and added chairs of their own, bringing the total to eight stops. Today, families bike or drive the full route, turning a photo op into a day-long adventure through communities they might never have explored otherwise.
What makes it work?
The Instagram Effect. Giant chairs are inherently photogenic. Visitors pose, tag, and share. Every photo becomes free marketing for the location and the businesses nearby.
The Scavenger Hunt Appeal. Eight stops across North Grenville means a full day of exploration through Kemptville, Oxford Mills, Bishops Mills, and beyond.
Community Pride. By involving local artists, each chair became a point of local identity, not just a tourist prop. The chair at Rotary Park overlooks Kemptville Creek in the heart of downtown. The chair at Ferguson Forest's Giving Garden sits in a community space tended entirely by volunteers.
Real Business Impact. The chairs are placed near local businesses by design. Visitors grabbing a photo at Rotary Park wander into Grahame's Bakery or sit on the patio at Salamanders. Come for the chair, stay for the experience.
Why It Works Beyond the Photo
The Muskoka Chair Tour is a quiet masterclass in local marketing. Every blog post, news article, and social share about the tour generates content and visibility for North Grenville. Searches like "giant Muskoka chair Kemptville" and "things to do in Oxford Mills" now lead directly to the tour. Tourists create the content for free, and every tagged photo is unpaid advertising.
The real genius is that it isn't just digital marketing. It's physical placemaking that happens to generate digital buzz.
Your Destination Could Be Next
If you're a Canadian business owner, tourism board, municipality, winery, brewery, resort, or attraction looking for a unique way to drive traffic and create buzz, a custom giant Muskoka chair might be exactly what you need.
Consider the possibilities. A craft brewery with a giant branded chair on the patio. A ski resort with oversized chairs at the base of the mountain. A downtown BIA creating a chair trail through their business district. A main street association commissioning artist-designed chairs as public art.
The North Grenville Chair Tour proves the concept works. Unlike a traditional ad campaign, a giant Muskoka chair is a permanent investment, working for you every day of the year, in every season.
Built to Last
After 70 years of building outdoor furniture, backed by our Lifetime Written Guarantee on workmanship, we know a thing or two about durability. Our giant chairs are built with the same craftsmanship and weather-resistant materials as our standard line. The chairs in North Grenville have been through multiple Canadian winters and thousands of visitors. They're still going strong.
The Bottom Line
Five chairs. One simple idea.
A tourist attraction that's still growing years later.
The North Grenville Muskoka Chair Tour showed us that the best marketing doesn't always feel like marketing. Sometimes it feels like an experience worth sharing. If you're ready to create that kind of moment for your community or business, we're ready to build it.
Custom Giant Muskoka chairs are available for businesses, municipalities, and tourist destinations across Canada. Each one is made to order, fully customizable, and built to become a landmark.