Pick a Pumpkin! Pet a Pig! See How Our Gardens Grow!

Looking for local food? Want to connect with your farmer? Want to show your kids where real food comes from?

The National Farmers Union Open Farms is a regional event celebrating local food at the height of the harvest season. Taking place September 19, from 10am to 4pm, this first-time event offers an opportunity for the public to visit more than 30 farms stretching from Picton to Gananoque.  “All of the participating farms grow or produce food, be it herbs, vegetables, meat, milk, fruit or eggs,” says organizer, Sharon Freeman.  “Here is a chance to put a face on your food!” 

This event is much like the popular art studio tours, where the public can tour as many farms as they choose at their own pace.  Each farm is offering something different on the day.  There will be equipment demonstrations, product samples, wagon rides, educational displays and garden tours to choose from.  With funding from the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation, the event has established a comprehensive web site that divides the region into sections with suggested routes.  By selecting an area to visit, the visitor can read farm profiles and see what they have to offer on the day.  “There are also restaurants in most of the featured areas where visitors can stop and have a taste of local food,” says Freeman.  “Some will offer a picnic to go that you can take to the farm.”

A few of the farms are open on a daily basis, but most are not.  They're swinging their gates wide open for this special day.  Most of the farms will have their products for sale, so bring a cooler to take home your purchases. 

Among participating farms are: Elm Tree Farm, 1090 Hayes Rd., Arden; Desert Lake Gardens & Mill St. Café, Sydenham; The Worm Factory, 874 Grady Road, Westport; Uptown Dairy, across from Sydenham High School; Earthrise Organic Farm, 3113 Sydenham Rd., Elginburg; Buttermilk Goat Farm, 784 Miller Rd, Tamworth; Cedarwood Farm, 1030 Frizzell Rd.

Tamworth; Reinink Family Farms, RR3 Yarker.

For more information, visit www.openfarms.ca.