Open Farms 2021

Sarah Hannon | Sep 15, 2021

This past weekend Frontenac County celebrated local food and agriculture with Open Farms, an event encouraging the community to connect with the people that grow and produce food in Frontenac.

This year Open Farms was a hybrid event with two days of in-person activities and virtual Q & A’s aimed at school ago children happening throughout the week.

There were opportunities to pre-register and visit farms but the main attraction was the community hub at Centennial Park in Harrowsmith featuring a variety of activities for everyone to enjoy. Covid protocols were in place and there was lots of room for people to walk around and enjoy the extended Frontenac Farmer’s Market which introduced numerous new farms to the community.

There were a variety of vendors for people to peruse while live music played all weekend. Gilmour’s Market and Lavelle’s Cookery provided food while Harrowsmith Brewing Co. set up a beer garden where you could sit and enjoy the festivities while sipping on local beer. Silent Valley Alpaca’s were there with 2 Alpaca’s to pet and Hinchinbrooke Hills Farm had chickens in a backyard coop from their rent-a chicken program. Cory Priest from Thorpe Farms was onsite discussing the new local abattoir initiative and there was an opportunity to purchase frozen meat from him as well, rounding out your grocery list from the variety of farmers selling everything from fresh vegetables and mushrooms to steamed buns and organic flour.

Frontenac Paramedics were there, giving tours of an ambulance, as was the OFA, NFU. Southern Frontenac Community Services held a food drive and the Frontenac County Plowman’s Association provided a tractor and plow display to explore.

Sunday afternoon saw the most traffic as Jeff Code & The Silver Wings prepared to play attracting a large crowd that filled the dance floor during almost every song. The event was well attended on both days and hopefully reminded people

how easy it is to shop local and support the farmers that live right in our community. Both vendors and visitors enjoyed the community hub set-up, for visitors it was a fantastic opportunity to meet numerous farmers and artisans and for farmers it was a way to showcase their farm and products without having to take on the risks associated with having people attending in person.

The website for the event, openfarms.ca, has a wealth of information as well as contacts for all of the farms that were in attendance. There is a lot of focus on supporting local these days and Open Farms provides an opportunity to connect with the local farmers that grow the food you eat, hopefully encouraging you to reach out to them in the future as you plan your grocery list.