Trail Day brings in people from North, South, East and West

Craig Bakay | Sep 20, 2019

It was quite the day down at Oso Beach in Sharbot Lake.

This was the third annual K & P Trail Day, which featured sloppy Joes, glow-in-the-dark wristbands and music from the Merrigan Family and Jim MacPherson as well as more trucks and ATVs than have ever been parked on the beach before.

“We had 170 visitors and 105 of those were from out of the area,” said Bill Bowick, one of the organizers. “So in terms of getting new people to come here, it was a huge success.”

And, keep in mind, there was a steady drizzle all day.

“We budgeted to feed 150 people and there’s nothing left,” said Rose Bowick, who was dishing up the sloppy Joe’s from Cota’s Catering.

Aside from the requisite speeches and greetings, the day also featured a rather unique ceremony.

“This is the meeting place of the trails and today, we’re inviting other municipalities to use our trails,” said emcee Jim MacPherson.

To that end, the K & P Trail Day logo was split up into four pieces, each of which was brought to the beach by four groups, coming in from each of the four directions.

From the south, a group of cyclists led by Phil Bender and Rudy Hollywood brought in the bottom piece of the puzzle.

Similarly, a group of cyclists led by Doug Steele brought in the top piece from the north.

From the east, the Ottawa ATV club led by Tom Milc came in with their piece from the Perth area.

The final piece of the puzzle, the west, came in with Steve Baldwin and the Napanee District ATV Club.

“The trails are core and at the forefront of our economic development strategy,” said Frontenac County economic development officer Richard Allen. “They are our connection to other municipalities.”