Kingston Politicians Come To Harrowsmith In Force, But Something Is Missing

Jeff Green | Aug 21, 2024

MP Mark Gerretson, MPP Ted Hsu, and Mayor Bryan Paterson are the three senior politicians in the City of Kingston, and they all came to Frontenac County at the same time last week.

The occasion was the cutting of a corn stalk to mark the start of Open Farm Days month in Kingston and Frontenac County, an event co-sponsored by the City of Kingston and the County of Frontenac. Frontenac County Warden Frances Smith and South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal also lined up for the stalk cutting photo op, along with a smattering of councillors from both the City and South Frontenac.

It was held at Centennial Park in Harrowsmith, about an hour into the weekly market day. The media and politicians mingled for a few minutes after the ceremony, all smiling in the late afternoon sun. Meanwhile, a few local market goers glanced over at the small crowd who were milling about, then turned back to the fresh corn and tomatoes, bread and preserves, and other treats on display at the market tables.

The photo-op was all about bringing attention to the list of activities, and sending people to Openfarms.ca, the website that lists, at last count, 65 Open Farms experiences in Kingston, South Frontenac and Wolfe Island. It has has been picked up by Kingston media outlets and tourism websites.

The 65 ‘experiences’ are not all unique. for example, the Friday market in Harrowsmith, and Saturday market in Sharbot Lake, are listed separately for all six weeks, and the thrice weekly Kingston Food Tours are listed 26 separate times. These are all events that are not confined to the Open Farms timeframe

Other events, such as the Kingston Fair and three ploughing matches in Frontenac County, pre-date Open Farm Days by as much as 150 years as events, but any extra publicity can only help their attendance figures, so they are happy to be involved.

There are also a number of unique events, which were put together specifically for Open Farms, and any help they can receive from the publicity generated by the kickoff is much appreciated.

But, when that many politicians gather, there is an expectation, and that expectation was not fulfilled.

There is an old adage. When a politician shows up, they had better have a cheque with them, and there was no cheque on this occasion. Open Farms encourages local farmers and food entrepreneurs to organise events during the month, but does not provide any funding, at least for the Frontenac County events.

So whose interests were those Kingston politicians serving last week. Did they want to support local agriculture, or just be seen to be supporting local agriculture.?

I think it was the latter.

We will profile some of the events being held in Frontenac County for Open Farms, and we encourage our readers to attend in order to support our neighbours who have taken the initiative to provide these ‘experiences’ for us to enjoy.

These are self-funded events, and whether there is an entry fee or an opportunity to make purchases at the events, we should all be prepared to pay up, because the local farmers who are putting the sorganisers of the events are taking on all the costs themselves, including maketing costs, for our collective benefit.