Six months after losing its liquor store, Inverary has an outlet once again.

Reta Azulay, the owner/manager of Northway Home Hardware on Perth Road, leased the space where the store had been located before it closed when the leaseholder retired in March, and after six months of negotiations with the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), the new store opened on Tuesday, November 1 at 9 am

“This is something that is really good for the local community. A lot of people don’t want to go to Kingston all the time, and even those who work in Kingston are eager to leave town as soon as they are done work. They can now pick up beer, wine and spirits on their way home again,” she said.

Azulay was happy that the store will be open the weekend before hunting season. The liquor store has its own entrance, but is attached to the rest of the hardware store next to the outdoors section, which is very popular in the week or two before the two-week rifle hunting season for deer.

“This will be good for the hunters, and for us this weekend,” she said.

The store is stocked with standard brand favourites, and Northway staff will be monitoring sales and listening to suggestions from customers as they make their weekly orders in the run up to the Christmas season.

“We don't have a lot of space so we aren't going to carry the variety of a corporate LCBO store,” she said, “but we have enough room to bring in the products that our customers want.”

Northway is a full service hardware store, and operates a lumber yard as well.

“The liquor store fits in with our goal of providing products that suit the needs of our customers and the rural community in the surrounding region,” said Azulay, “and opening it is part of the rebirth of Inverary, with new houses, new subdivisions being built all around here. It is a good thing for us.”

After working as waitresses at the Rose and Crown in Kingston for 12 years, Denise Redmond and Judy Peters are coming home. More accurately, they will start staying home. Instead of driving to Kingston for work each day, they will be running their own restaurant in their home town of Verona.

On November 1, Redmond and Peters will take ownership of Martha's Restaurant on Road 38, which they are renaming Muddy Waters as much as a nod to the swampy terrain behind the restaurant as to the late Blues great.

“It just sounds right,” said Judy Peters of the name. “It fits with the down home, relaxed atmosphere we want to create.”

They are bringing Brad Miller, who until last week was a cook at the Rose and Crown, with them as their first employee. Miller, who will be commuting from nearby Enterprise, is excited about breaking out of some of the limitations that went with cooking pub food.

Miller plans to prepare daily specials, including pastas, roast beef and roast pork dinners, among others, but one thing he won't be making at first is pizza.

“There is a pizza oven in the kitchen, but I need to learn the oven, fine tune a recipe for pizza dough, and experiment for a while before we can put pizza on the menu. It will likely be in the spring before that happens,” he said.

The two new owners have purchased the building as well as the business. They said the jump into business ownership is a big step, but it is something they have been thinking about for a long time.

“It's definitely been on my bucket list to own a business, and it is best to own the building as well. It puts everything in our hands, as scary as that may be,” said Denise Redmond.

A lot of people have come together to help make the purchase of Martha's a smooth transition for Redmond and Peters, including their families, and Martha, the soon-to-be previous owner.

“We are going to be opening just two days after taking possession of the building,” said Redmond, “which is a very quick turnaround, but Martha has been really, really helpful. She has let us into the building to look at the kitchen, and take measurements to see what we want to do. She really wants the restaurant to carry on.”

Redmond and Peters mentioned that they feel the township has been supportive, as well as the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation and the St. Lawrence College Employment Centre in Sharbot Lake, who have helped them recruit staff.

Returning to the building has been interesting for the two new owners, since they both worked there when it was known as Bravo, before they went to work at the Rose and Crown.

“Some memories came back for me when I first went into the kitchen,” said Peters.

New memories will certainly be made starting on November 3 at 7 a.m., when breakfast will be served at Muddy Waters. The restaurant will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m., seven days a week as of November 3.

It's been 18 months since Andrew Kovacs purchased the former Sharbot Lake Seniors' Home from Dr. Peter Bell. Kovacs had originally planned to make the necessary changes to the building to change its focus completely in a matter of months, but he found that the building needed to be reduced to the “bare bones” and then re-imagined as a modern residence for seniors.

In the coming weeks, however, the residence will be ready to be unveiled to potential tenants.

“I've been waiting until everything is ready before holding an Open House,” Kovacs said when interviewed at the residence in late August, “because I know there will only be one chance to make a first impression when people come to see what we have to offer.”

The new seniors' residence, which will be available for rent, will start in the range of $3,200 per month. This includes all meals, snacks, cable, wi-fi, laundry services, etc., and is about $2,000 per month lower than what a similar facility would cost in places such as Kingston, Ottawa, or even Smiths Falls.

All the floors are made of bamboo composite flooring; rooms include full bath and shower facilities; and a new elevator is being installed. The dining room has been moved next to the completely refurbished kitchen, opening up what is now a large common room with modern furnishings and a full view of the east basin of Sharbot Lake.

“There are a number of seniors who no longer want the hassle of cutting the grass, of worrying about leaking roofs, preparing meals for one person, and would like to live on their own, but in a community.”

Kovacs said that once the residence is complete, it will accommodate over 20 people, mostly singles although there are suites that are suitable for couples.

He will encourage residents to form a committee to develop recreation programming and said he will do what he can to help make the residence a true home for the people who live there.

The grounds are all being spruced up at the property, including the area between the building and Road 38, and the area behind that opens up onto Sharbot Lake.

“There are many advantages to living in a full-service facility like this is going to be, and I am looking forward to showing it off,” said Kovacs.

The date of an open house at the Sharbot Lake Residence will be announced shortly.

Course manager Jim Lansdell and the staff at the Rivendell Golf Club in Verona don't pay a lot attention to the Internet during the golf season. There's too much to do every day, keeping the course in the best possible shape and making sure that everyone who comes to play, members and casual golfers alike, enjoys themselves.

And during the off-season they don't pay that much attention either, it turns out. That might change a little bit as the result of something that a visitor to the course told Lansdell last week.

“A golfer told me that we had been rated highly on a golf website, and then said that we should look into it because we were in the top 25 in national ranking, which is something we never would have expected because those kinds of rankings usually go to golf courses that have millions of dollars invested in their design and maintenance,” he said.

On the weekend Lansdell had time to do a search and that's when he found that GolfAdvisor.com had Rivendell as number 13 in their list of the top 25 courses in Canada for 2015, as ranked by Golf Advisor reviews.

The reviews that are listed on the site reveal why Rivendell was so highly ranked. Here is a sample from one of them: “Rivendell is ALWAYS in geat shape - hats off to the grounds crew. This course offers a great mix of challenging and tough holes. A hidden gem to be sure. The staff are second to none in accommodating your every need.”

Golf Now course rankings are compiled by sampling reviews posted on the Golf Advisor website. Courses are ranked based on how they are graded in several categories, including: off-course amenities, value, pace of play, staff friendliness, course layout and course conditions.

While Rivendell scored highly in all of the categories, it received the highest ranking, 5 stars, for staff friendliness and value.

Ken Harper, one of the owners of the course, was also unaware of the ranking, but he was not surprised that the staff who work at the course were singled out.

“It is quite a surprise and I feel very proud. It is a reflection of everyone who works here, not just the course,” he said.

John Steele is the president of the Member's Association, and was one of the five founders of the course, along with Harper, Bill Davy, Roger Bauder, and Mike Bourassa.

In response to the ranking, he said that he is “very proud of the course and those who are dedicated to it.”

The ranking reflects comments by Golf Advisor members in 2015, and most of the comments are consistent with what reviewers said previously.

And if anything the course is playing better in 2016 than it did in 2015. Since 2015 was a wet summer, Rivendell had some problems with too much water in low spots, but that has not been not been a problem this summer.

As golfers and even envious drivers on Road 38 driving by the course this summer have seen, it has remained green and lush even with the dry weather.

“The course reacts well to dry weather,” said Jim Lansdell, “it always has. We did start to pull way back on watering in early August to protect the water supply for our neighbors and ourselves, but the rains came before the course showed any water stress.”

Lansdell also said that the hot weather this summer does not seem to have diminished the enthusiasm of golfers in the region and those from further afield.

“I think over time people got used to the hot weather and did not let it stop them from enjoying golf.”

The course owners and staff are pleased with the recognition, even if they did not find out about the rankings until nine months they were announced .

Ever since Ronnie's Place closed there has been a gap in restaurant options in the village of Sydenham.

The Mill St. Cafe is open for lunch and Mill Street Pizzeria and Subway are also available, but the village has been missing a sit-down breakfast, lunch and dinner spot.

Rumours that the former restaurant property across from the library at the corner of Wheatley and George streets was about to change hands began circulating though town in early August, and when pickup trucks started filling the small parking lot at the beginning of last week and people started cleaning and fixing up the place, the rumour mill went into overdrive.

It turns out that the Teal family from Verona have purchased the building, and Carolyn Teal, formerly of Martha's Place, is the new chef/manager of the restaurant. In recognition of the Point Park, which is also located across the street, the new restaurant will be called The Point Restaurant,

“The Point is a landmark that everyone in and around Sydenham knows, so it seemed like a natural name for the restaurant,” said Carolyn Teal, who went to Sydenham High School years ago and still lives near Verona.

She describes the cuisine of the restaurant as casual with a twist. Included in the breakfast menu, in addition to the classic Eggs Benedict with hollandaise and peameal bacon, is a “Country Style Benny” with shaved prime rib, poached eggs, a homemade biscuit and sausage gravy.

Among the items on the dinner menu there is fish and chips, a chicken dinner, steaks and also eggplant Parmesan and a brisket dinner. Among the burgers, fries and snack items there is a brisket poutine.

“Our goal is to be the place for everyone to go, before meetings, with family and for breakfast, for students at the high school.”

The turnaround from purchasing to opening has been very swift, but this weekend the Point Restaurant will be open.

“We've had workers here cleaning, renovating a little bit, getting the kitchen in perfect shape, planning the menu, hiring staff; it's been busy,” Carolyn Teal said.

The restaurant will be decorated with large, black and white historical photos of Sydenham and to the right of the front door a large harvest table has been put in to create a comfortable space for large families, small meetings, the morning coffee crowd, etc.

“I think Sydenham has been waiting for something to happen here and we are ready to make people comfortable and serve them quality food,” she said.

You would think Rob and Nancy Moore would be looking forward to a reprieve after Labour Day, when their first frenetic six weeks as owners of the popular Cardinal Cafe in Sharbot Lake.

With the end of summer and the return of the cottage population to their homes in the City, they will have chance to take a deep breath. But it will also bring them to their next, big challenge, the challenge that all retailers in the area face, maintaining a thriving business through the fall and winter seasons.

It's a challenge they are ready for.

“When we found out that Sylvie Smith and Nicole Tarasick [the former owners of the business] were planning to sell the cafe, we knew right away that we wanted to buy it,” said Nancy Moore when interviewed during a late afternoon lull on the Cafe patio last week. “We've been talking about something like this for 20 years, and we even looked at buying this property at one point.”

The Cardinal Cafe is located in the former Sharbot Lake Catholic Church, just north of the cause-way at the foot Sharbot Lake, across Road 38 from the Sharbot Lake Country Inn.

It sat empty for 23 years after the St. James Church was opened up the road. A former owner of the Country Inn used it for storage for a number of years. The Tarasick family bought it two years ago and carefully renovated it in order to create an inviting public space. Smith and Tarasick decided to call it the Cardinal for the points of the compass and the logo for the Cafe is based on the stained glass window at the centre of the building, a window that lets in beam of light on summer afternoons at about 4:00, coffee time.

They decided to sell the café for personal reasons in late June and when the Moore’s jumped at the chance the entire deal was arranged in a matter of a couple of weeks.

The changeover took on July 16th, and the Cardinal Café 2.0 opened for business four days later. During those four days a few changes were made, including putting in a new preparation counter and some equipment so Rob could prepare breakfast sandwiches and burritos, and daily soup, salad and sandwich specials for lunch.

When the new Cardinal opened on July 20th at 6:00 in the morning, it was a breakfast and lunch café and restaurant. The new opening coincided with the peak of the summer season in the Sharbot Lake area, and with a new food menu in addition to the well established coffee and drinks menu that the café already offered, Rob Moore recalls the first couple of weeks as a bit of a learning experience.

“We were working long, long hours, and depending on the our two summer staff members, Maddie Field-Green and Shane Steeves, quite a bit, especially for the way the place operated and how the espresso based coffee drinks are made. I was developing our breakfast and lunch menu on the fly and just trying to keep up” said Rob, a former tea drinker who has taken to knocking back a double espresso once a day.

The first few weeks were certainly a blur for the Moore’s, with Rob coming in at 4 or 5 in the morning to get ready, Nancy stopping in at 7:30 before going to her full time job at Lake District Realty, helping out at lunch and after work. Rob, who had been working as a contractor but was looking for a change, is full time at the café.

The couples two school ages sons have somehow been folded into the mix, with a lot of help from family.

With the menu coming together and the operation of the café becoming easier, the Moore’s are settling in for the long haul.

Aside from getting more deeply into serving meals, the other change they have been working on for the café has been to broaden its appeal.

“It is a beautiful place,” said Nancy Moore, “and it brought the kind of coffee and pastry that was new to this area. We just want to make it the place for everyone, we need to do that.”

Opening early for people who leave early in the morning for work on construction sites or in Kingston and Perth is one way to do that. Another was to start selling butter tarts and pies from Gray’s Grocery up the road in addition to the croissants and pain au chocolat from Fieldhouse in Perth.

The Wednesday evening music nights that started up in June are being carried forward, and the café also has its liquor license again, which took time to arrange because of the change in ownership.

In the fall the hours will shift, but the café is gearing up to serve the office workers, teachers, and all other local residents in the Sharbot Lake area.

“We take orders in the morning for pick-up at lunch, our space is available for small meetings, we are committed to being here year round Monday to Friday for sure, and on weekends as well,” said Rob Moore. “While we compete with the other restaurants in town, we work with them as well. Our goal is to bring something to the community, to make it stronger, and so far we have had tremendous support. My sense is that people want us to succeed, and we are working hard to serve good food, fine coffee, and be a place people enjoy going to.”

The Cafe is open from Monday until Friday froim 6:00 am until 4:30 pm, Saturday from 8 am until 4:30 pm and Sunday from 9:00 until 1:30 pm. The phone number is 613-279-3734

An historic fishing lodge in Battersea is coming back to life with an infusion of energy from new owners.

Sitting stately in the small village located north of Kingston, the Holiday Country Manor was purchased on June 29 by Jeff Day and Core Lee, partners and community activists.

“We’re excited to be out here,” says Day, who grew up in Chaffey’s Locks and graduated from the hospitality program at St. Lawrence College. “We wanted something that could accommodate functions.”

What the men got was a 175-year-old limestone building with 22 beds and 100 feet of waterfront on a creek accessing Loughborough Lake.

The building is the former home of the founder of Battersea, Henry Van Luven. After his death, Van Luven’s son turned the house into a fishing lodge, which it remains to this day.

“We can create something out of this, a destination venue,” says Lee with quiet determination, gesturing towards the historic building with a working class feel.

Born in South America, Lee moved to Canada in his teens. He is a chef with his own food production company.

The men get excited when they talk about what they hope to accomplish with the property.

Armed with a five-year business plan and vision to make the manor a destination venue, they continue to offer bed & breakfast and fishing packages. They also serve breakfast to the public on designated days and have started to host events and private parties. They plan to keep the manor open all year and will host their first wedding in 2017; the same time they convert the tackle shop into an ice cream parlor.

“We’re very eager people. We will work night and day to make our dreams happen,” says Day.

It a commitment that seems to be paying off.

Walking through the building, the men apologize for the state of rooms recently vacated by guests. It is a Sunday afternoon, the end of a busy week comprised of hosting private parties, public breakfasts and accommodating overnight guests. The new owners appear to have hit the ground running when they assumed ownership less than two months ago.

Undaunted by the work ahead of them and humble about what they have already accomplished, they have started to transform their dream into reality by removing carpet to expose hardwood floors and drywall to feature limestone rock walls. Locks have been added to guest room doors and matching linen is on the beds. The food is homemade and wood fireplaces are ready to be lit on cold days.

Walking through the building, Day acknowledges, “It’s a well-respected house. The house has so much history. A lot of local people used to work here.”

“We want everyone to experience it,” says Lee about the regal manor in the heart of the village. “We want to build up the community. We see the potential here.”

“We all benefit if people come to the town,” says Day. “There is a lot of history here. It’s quite fascinating to hear the stories.”

Grateful for the warm reception they have received from the community, the men are excited about the future of the manor. They recognize the importance of honouring the history of the building while trying to elevate the manor to a higher status.

They consider good customer service a priority and are working to recover the business of previous guests.

“It’s a lot of work,” acknowledges Day with a smile. “We have a huge to-do list.”

Lee agrees quietly and notes with respect and determination, “It’s all about the history. It’s very important.”

For more information, visit www.holidaycountrymanor.com

History is coming to life on the Rideau Canal and it will take your breath away.

Nestled in the elbow of Chaffey’s Lock is a majestic resort steeped in history and filled with charm.

“It’s nice to see the Opinicon Resort brought back to life,” says Scott Patterson, grounds and maintenance manager. “I love it more than ever.”

Patterson has worked at the resort faithfully for 35 straight seasons. The 47-year-old smiles when he thinks back to when he first received a job offer at the Opinicon. He was only 12 at the time and owner Al Cross asked him to start work immediately.

Known for his remarkable memory, excellent customer service and dedication to the resort, Cross and his family would be proud to see what the Opincon has become if they were alive today.

“They’re keeping the charm. It’s looking better than ever,” Patterson says.

The property was built in the 1800s. Newly purchased by Fiona McKean, the Grand Old Dame of the Rideau is getting a facelift. Past the courtyard where Patterson is sitting are signs of construction.

Fencing blocks entrance to the main building where major construction is under way to the dining hall. It is a regal building facing Chaffey's Locks, with a bay of windows in the corner. Set back from the road, the front lawn is manicured and holds antique wooden chairs ready to embrace the weary.

The dining hall is expected to be completed by late August/early September. Later, the building will include a pub, games lounge and meeting room. A swimming pool is to be constructed on the grounds next year.

Scattered around the building are 16 cottages that have been painted and renovated. The colours are striking against the landscape. Guests smile as they come and go.

Asked if she’s proud of what she’s accomplished, McKean replies, “I never get a minute to sit down and think about it. It’s a roller coaster of extreme emotions.”

The mother of three admits the scope and scale of the work has been keeping her busy since she received a call from her realtor telling her she had the winning bid in the real estate auction.

Her vision for the resort is unconventional and perfect. “It’s very much from the heart and I’m trying to marry that with logic and finances. It’s always revolved around a feeling. Now all I can do is pour my own feelings into it.”

It is a strategy that seems to be working. Since it re-opened in the spring of 2015 after sitting dormant for two years, people have been returning to the Opinicon to relive an era when people interacted with respect, integrity and honour; when a person’s word was their bond and good service was delivered promptly; where the beauty of the landscape and kindness of the people can’t be described, only savoured in the moment.

People are returning for a feeling that is still hanging in the air and whispering in the wind. “One man has been coming to the Opinicon for more than 50 years with his family. We have met his children and grandchildren. This is true for many of the families,” says Sherry Weeks, guest services manager.

A worker at the Opinicon most of her life, Weeks understands the allure of the resort, which burrows into your heart and fills your dreams. “You fall in love with it and end up staying here,” she says.

Weeks, 50, started working at the resort when she was 13. Before that, her great grandfather was a fishing guide at the resort by day and a barber at home by night.

“I’ve been here 35 years,” the Elgin woman says. “For two years [the resort was closed], I was orphaned…. I’ve been here so long, I thought I had met most of the people who came here, but I really haven’t. This place has touched so many lives; people I haven’t even met before.”

Weeks discovered this when people started to return as guests, and former staff/customers started to express an interest in attending a reunion this summer.

The reunion is now being organized and McKean calls it a celebration of the past and the future. “There’s going to be a lot of new faces, but hopefully it’s the old feeling,” she says.

Halina Skoryna, a member of a founding family in Elgin who is also a member of the Opinicon family of supporters, talks about the resort with a passion typically reserved for first love. She is organizing the reunion and is anxious to see people she worked with when she was a teenager.

Skoryna says the reunion is turning out bigger than she imagined. She attributes this to relationships by staff and guests who have forged lifetime bonds.

“People wantedw this reunion to happen for years. We can’t wait to see each other,” she says. “I love my friends from back then. It’s like wartime. We were in the trenches together. It was a long time ago," she reflects. "But those values have stuck with us for a lifetime and its fabric has been woven in all our successes and drive today."

The reunion starts at 4 pm on Sat. August 27 and includes live music, food, games, prizes and a silent auction. It is open to everyone. Tickets can be purchased at www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-opinicon-reunion-tickets-26012493067

“In my heart, I want to gather everyone together and celebrate the relationships and bonds this place fostered,” says Skoryna from her home in Toronto. “It was very special. It’s wonderful to see them renovating the Grand Old Dame of the Rideau to her original glory.”

The Opinicon is located at 1697 Chaffeys Lock Road, Elgin. For more information call 613-359-5233 or visit www.opinicon.com

Friends, community members, and three generations of Revells gathered on June 17 at Revell Ford in Verona to celebrate the business’ 80 year anniversary.

Like a miniature festival, the event featured food, live music, face-painting, and displays. Lineups for burgers, provided by the Verona Lions Club, twisted around a group of classic Fords that were parked out front. After everyone had eaten their fill, the music ended, and the microphone was handed off for speeches.

Mayor Vandewal was up first to congratulate the business on 80 years of success, and to thank them for their contribution to the community, pointing out Revell Ford is “the largest private employer in South Frontenac.”

Former Ottawa Senator Rick Smith was on hand signing autographs as part of the festivities. He and Councillor McDougall then presented a plaque to owner Larry Revell, the third generation from his family to work at Revell's. Larry sold cars in his younger years at the business, and now works as a general manager. Over the course of the festivities he was on the move, making sure everyone was where they needed to be, and shaking hands on the way. Perhaps it’s due to years of practice hosting anniversaries, but Larry’s speech was refreshingly brief.

“I have enjoyed working alongside my father and brother, and am proud to have anoher generation of our family working here. Thanks Nate, Josh, and Brad. I thank God for my grandfather’s vision, my father’s integrity, and for his blessing upon this dealership. Special thanks to all employees. We have a great team here.”

After a few more speeches, and the gift of a lovely Ford-themed quilt to Larry’s father, Harry, things settled down a bit and the crowd slowly dispersed.

In this quieter setting, Larry gave some insight into how he’d like the business to continue, as his sons and nephew become part the family business, “My father’s been a man of integrity, honest with people, so we want to follow in his footsteps: carry on the tradition; treat people fair. We want to be fair with our employees too; without them we wouldn’t be here.”

Canada Day is on a Friday this year, so July 2 is a big day for events as well. Not only will the farmers' markets in Verona, Sharbot Lake and McDonalds Corners be open for business as usual, there are many other events scheduled as well.

On the grounds of the Crow Lake Schoolhouse in Crow Lake Village, Primitive Catering is hosting a new event, Lost Trades and Handmades, which is billed as a “gathering of the finest food and products created by hand.”

Dean Fredette, one the principals at Primitive Catering, describes the event as a tribute to the skills of traditional crafters, whether they work with fabric, metal, in the garden or in the kitchen.

Fredette sees an appetite for products that are made by hand by skilled people, and while Primitive Catering is a food company, the same kind of commitment to function and aesthetics is found in a skewer of meat barbequed on an open fire as in the production of fine knives, baskets or any other artisanal product.

In addition to fine food sizzling on the fire pit there will be music by ALAN BRIAN, Alan Kitching on saxophone and clarinet and Brian Roche on guitar and vocals; knives made by Brian Connolly; the Enright Cattle Company; St. Paul United Church Quilts; Dragonfly Herbs; basketmaking demonstrations by Jule Koch; preserves, baked goods, a book sale, and more. The event runs from 12 noon to 7pm.

Meanwhile, 10 kilometres north of Highway 7 on Road 509, down the Gully Road in Mississippi Station, the long-awaited grand opening of the Back Forty Cheese Creamery and Bakeshop will take place from 10 am to 4 pm.

The new home of Back Forty Cheese is on an old farmstead on the Mississippi River. The large drive shed near the farmhouse has been converted into a cheese factory, with an adjoining retail space. Upstairs there is a loft space that is a screen printing studio.

Jenna Fenwick, who runs Jenna Rose Screen printing, and Jeff Fenwick, who makes Back Forty Sheep's milk cheese, have been working on the shed, establishing gardens and feeding a drove of young Berkshire pigs with the whey from the factory.

“We thought it would be nice, in this new location, to set up a storefront that we can open on Saturdays throughout the summer, to let people see how the cheese is made, and all the related activities that make for a sustainable operation,” said Jeff about setting up the shop. “We will be holding tours of the cheese factory and the grounds, and we are having some friends join us as well.”

In addition to five Back Forty cheeses – Flower Station, Bonnechere, Highland Blue, Madawaska, and the newest Back Forty Cheese, Ompah, there will be some fresh cheese available on the 2nd.

Mike McKenzie of Seed to Sausage will be on the barbeque, grilling sausages, and providing meat for Charcuterie plates.

Thanks to a special occasions permit, Stalwart Brewing from Carleton Place will be on hand, serving some of their popular brews plus a new summer beer, which is appropriately named Down by River. Three Dog Winery from Prince Edward County as well as MacKinnon Brothers from Bath will also be represented.

Black Kettle Catering is bringing their popcorn.

And to wash all that food and drink down, Elphin's own Joey Wright, fresh from a year in the countryside near Avignon, no doubt drinking too much Rhone and Rousillon Valley wines and eating much too well, will be performing on guitar, mandolin and banjo.