Ontario Travel Divas

The Exeter Farmers’ Market is Back!

Exeter Farmers Market

By Diva Trista Russell

The Exeter Farmers’ Market has opened for the 2013 season and I’m looking forward to some getting my hands on some fresh food this summer. On opening day they had a variety of booths selling vegetables, fruit, baked goods, pork and beef, preserves, maple syrup, personalized signs, woodworking, plants, flowers, herbs, and more! I imagine as the growing season approaches, there will be even more products and vendors.

This year marks the 5^th year for the Exeter Farmers’ Market, so they had a special deal for shoppers. If you said “happy birthday” to the Market’s Manager, Terri Barr, you received a free $1 market buck. Score! I only had $10 cash in my wallet, so I challenged myself to stick to the cash I had on hand.

For $10 (actually $9 with the market buck), I got four fresh tomatoes ($3), a loaf of homemade multi-grain bread ($3), and bunch of asparagus ($4). The bread and asparagus were from the Bayfield Berry Farm, and the tomatoes from Good Luck Gardens were actually grown in the dirt! Plus, for each purchase you make at the Market, you get a ballot to win some prizes.

I think that one of the biggest challenges for Farmers’ Markets is convincing budget-conscious customers why they should shop there. Yes, fresh food isn’t cheap, but there are many other reasons, aside from the cost, why local food is good for you. I learned this early on as I grew up on a farm. One of the biggest advantages is that you appreciate your food more. I find local food always seems to taste better, and you enjoy it more and waste it less. Shopping at the Farmers’ Market makes me feel good as I know I’m supporting local farmers, the rural community, as well as Exeter.

Without knowing it, I later realized I had actually taken part in the $10 challenge by Ontario Table. They say that if every household in Ontario spent $10 a week on local food, we’d have an additional $2.4 billion in our local economy at the end of the year. Keeping that money circulating grows those dollars to $3.6 billion and creates 10,000 new jobs!

The Exeter Farmers’ Market is held every Thursday from 2 – 6pm until October 17th. The Market is located on Baldwin Street, off of Main Street Exeter (Highway 4), beside Trivitt Memorial Anglican Church. Parking is available on Victoria, Gidley, and Andrew Streets.

The Exeter Farmers’ Market is also on Facebook. There are many special Market events scheduled for this year, with the next one being a strawberry social fundraiser on June 20^th.

For more information, contact the Market Manager at manager@exeterfarmersmarket.ca

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Brussels Market Opened May 17th too — full article on TasteofHuron.ca

Creativity of Local Youth on Display in Blyth

17 May

Blyth Festival Student Art Exhibit, May 2013

by Diva Nicole Olson

I recently had to opportunity to get a glimpse of the creativity of some our local youth by exploring the Student Show at the Blyth Festival Art Gallery. I have to admit, I was blown away by the talent that these young people possess. It was amazing to gain a little insight as to what inspires these people. The art that is on display is full of detail and I admired a lot of the techniques used. There were paintings, photography, works of mixed media and other genres of art as well. The artists are from various secondary schools within the Avon Maitland District and Huron Perth Catholic School Boards. Some of the pieces are for sale and this is a free event. Definitely worth checking out.

[Student Exhibit on display until May 23]

Blyth Festival Art Gallery
Bainton Gallery
Blyth Memorial Community Hall
423 Queen Street, Blyth, ON N0M 1H0
519-523-9300 / 1-877-862-5984

info@blythfestival.com
www.blythfestival.com

Open: 9am – 5pm Monday to Saturday

The Blyth Festival Art Gallery co-ordinates three professional juried exhibitions, a community art show and a secondary school student exhibition each year in the Bainton Gallery which is located in the Blyth Memorial Community Hall beside the Blyth Festival box office. The Gallery is open to the public during Festival business hours and has been operating under the guidance of an extraordinary group of volunteers since 1976.

Blyth Festival Art Gallery, Student Art Exhibit 2013

Tags: Avon Maitland, blyth, blyth festival, Blyth Festival Art Gallery, Huron County, Huron Perth Catholic, Student art

Bridges and Beaches

15 May

By Diva Jenna Ujiye

I’ve been wanting to get over to check out the Balls Bridge for a couple of months, but the weather wasn’t perfect until last weekend. This bridge is really amazing and it’s story is even better. They say that it is the “bridge that love built,” the original builder built it so his wife didn’t have to get her shoes wet walking through the river on her way to the market back in 1885. This bridge is also one of the older bridges in Ontario and the design is very rare with less than a dozen left in existence. To find out more about the Balls Bridge visit http://ballsbridgeontario.com The pictures tell it all!

I ended at the Goderich boardwalk, a 1.5km trek along the three beaches in Goderich. My friend Cindy says it’s the best, because there are ice cream shops at both ends. While I was walking I probably passed 100 people enjoying the sun and getting a bit of exercise. I actually watched a couple of kids swimming at The Cove beach, but it was still pretty cold. I can’t wait for the water to be warm enough for me. This beach has the best waves and sand around! To find out more about these wonderful trails visit www.hikehuron.com

Tags: Auburn, balls bridge, Heritage, hikehuron.ca, hiking, Huron County, ontario's west coast, trails

A Tiger in Rural Ontario

15 May

By Diva Jenna Ujiye

A couple of weeks ago I decided to explore the hiking trails in Huron County. There are 29 public trails, so I made a plan to hike sections of three of them. I started off at the Sifto monument at the top of the hill across from the Huron Historic Gaol. This lookout area has a really great view of the Menesetung bridge, the Sifto Salt mine, the Maitland River and Lake Huron.

So you may be wondering why I mentioned a Tiger in the title of this blog, well Tiger is actually a person. William “Tiger” Dunlop was a physician, author, woodsman, soldier, politician and raconteur and one of the founders of Goderich. I hadn’t hiked the Dunlop trail in years so my next stop was the Tiger Dunlop Trail. This trail is 3.2 kilometers and is great for biking, walking, running, and cross country skiing in the winter. It ends at the Tiger Dunlop Tomb, where there are plaques explaining the history of the man.

This trail meets up with the Goderich to Auburn Rail Trail and the Maitland Trail. Seeing as I wanted to finish the trails in a couple of days I decided to drive to a parking area along the 48 km Maitland Trail. I hiked about 6 kilometres along the Maitland River and took in some great views. I even caught a beaver working on his dam, watched two eagles dancing and witnessed a blue heron! I will say I was surprised at the damage that still existed from the 2011 tornado in the area. I know that nature (and the amazing trail volunteers) will take over soon though! If you are in to Hiking, make sure to check out all of our trails in the area at www.hikehuron.ca

Tags: goderich, hiking, Huron County, maitland, ontario, river, Tiger Dunlop

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Categories Adventure
Author ontariotraveldivas

It was a sweet kind of day

14 May

By Diva Jenna Ujiye

I have stopped in and picked up baked goods and food to go at the Queens Bakery in Blyth, but I hadn’t yet stayed in for a meal. I had a meeting with my friend Karen in Blyth, so we decided to go to the bakery for lunch. When we walked in the smells were great. There were 5 or so other tables of people dining and all of the food looked yummy. We chose a table and went to the front to check out the lunch specials, which all sounded good. Karen went with the chili and cheese biscuit with pesto and cheese on it and I ordered the chili and Reuben sandwich. Both of the meals were excellent and the price and service made this place top notch in my mind! Both of our meals came to only $18 and change and we were both full.

There are also so many great treats, which are freshly baked daily. They had over 20 different types of drinks (coffee, teas, juices, pop etc.), date squares, cookies, oat bars, tarts, muffins, loafs, cheeses, sandwiches, salads, soups and more.

Oh and did I mention they had cakes and ice cream too! Prices ranged from $6 for a sandwich, $3 for quiche and $3 for soup; desserts ranged from $1 – $4 depending on what you decide on. They are also licensed so if you want a beer, wine, specialty coffee or spirit you can. Another offering they have is accommodation upstairs. This summer you can go to Blyth, check out a show at the festival, eat at the Bakery and then spend the night (Plus you can stop in to the Blyth Inn and check out the shops)! For more information visit: www.queensbakeryblyth.com/

Tags: baking, blyth, Huron County, ontario's west coast, Queens Bakery

Run Around the Square

14 May

My Number

by Diva Trista Russell

This past Sunday I took part in the Run Around the Square in Goderich in support of the Dave Mounsey Memorial Fund. After having beautiful weather last week, I was expecting race day to be much the same. It was cold. Really COLD. And rainy and windy too. Even some freezing rain and snow made an appearance too! While the weather was a challenge that morning, some of my coworkers and I still decided to brave the elements in the 5km race. We weren’t the only ones, as there were 418 runners participating in the 5km and 10 km race. Proceeds raised from the run are used to purchase and donate life-saving defibrillators.

Run Around the Square 2013

The race started and finished on the historic Goderich square, and wound around some residential blocks nearby. Even though the weather wasn’t the best for a run, it was nice that the route included some scenic views of Lake Huron. What was even more impressive was the huge amount of support from the community. It was obvious that volunteers were an integral part of the event. Even the entire neighbourhood celebrated the event with people cheering along the route: some with signs, some in camping tents shaking maracas to pump up the runners, some standing in the rain at the end of their driveways, and even police officers who were directing traffic took a moment to compliment each runner as they went by. The community support definitely made for a more enjoyable run and inspired me to get to the finish line.

I managed to finish 206th, which may not be impressive, but was a personal best for me. Congrats to all the runners who braved the weather and supported a great cause!

Neither cold nor rain hindered supporters of this Mother’s Day run.

Tags: community, Dave Mounsey Memorial Fund, Run Around the Square

Eats in the Bend

9 May

Entrance to Dave’s Clubhouse at Oakwood Inn

by Diva Trista Russell

In my last post, I talked about the Grand Bend Area Studio Tour. As part of the “Eats” part of the Studio Tour, Dave’s Clubhouse at Oakwood Inn featured a special food sampling menu this past weekend. The Clubhouse menu has been redesigned this year, so I was excited to try out some of their new menu items. The sample menu included Oakwood’s bruschetta, mini skillet mac & cheese, single fish taco, four Bam Bam shrimp, mini baked white cheddar dip, single pork pretzel slider, samples size margarita flat bread, and mini chips and salsa. Each sample was only $2 and a generous size to split for two people. I sampled some of each (you know you ordered enough when it takes 3 servers to bring it out!!) and it was all delicious! My favourite was the flat bread with mozzarella and tomato and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. If you visit the Clubhouse, make sure you sit out on the patio overlooking the golf course. The view was a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

You can follow Oakwood on Facebook and Twitter for their features of the day.