Meet us at the Royal!
November 1-10, 2019.
Since 1922, The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair has been Canada’s premier showcase for excellence in the agricultural industry and this year, Central Counties Tourism, along with several other Regional Tourism Organizations in Ontario, was honoured to be invited to be main partner in the Spotlight on Local Program presented by Metro, which showcased and celebrated the very best in local food being grown, produced and manufactured in Ontario. With pride and excitement, the regions of York, Durham and Headwaters came together to tell the unique story of agri-tourism in our regions.
Here is how we told our story.
We were given an incredible space at the fair to program. We asked Theatre Orangeville and their talented staff, to design a booth that reflected the incredible agricultural landscape of our regions while creating a connection to arts and culture. The space was gorgeous!
We broke the fair up into 4 carefully curated moments.
- Nov 1-3 featured Durham Farm Fresh Days with Durham Tourism
- Nov 4-6 featured York Farm Fresh Days with York Region
- Nov 7-9 featured the Headwaters Food and Farming Alliance
- Nov 10 showcased Temperance and Temptation
Each region invited key stakeholders to assist in the telling of their regional stories. Every supporting partner came to the table with exciting programming, incredible food and drink to sample, and was an ambassador & advocate for agri-tourism in their region. It was an incredible experience for everyone. We also featured videos and interactive educational activities.
CCT would like to thank Durham Tourism with Durham Farm Fresh, York Region with York Farm Fresh and Headwaters Food and Farming Alliance for being the main hub partners for the regional showcase days. Their dedication and hard work were pivotal in the success of this incredible adventure.
We would also like to thank the following agri-tourism superstars who shared their stories, served some outstanding culinary delights, answered questions about who they are and what they do while providing insight into agri-tourism issues and practices.
Durham Region:
- Forsythe Family Farms
- Cooper’s Farm CSA
- 3Beez.buzz
- Maple Bee Nectar
- Durham College Centre for Food
- Willowtree Farm
- Banjo Cider
- The Second Wedge Brewing Co.
York Region:
- Experience King
- Pioneer Brand Honey
- Town of Georgina
- ClearWater Farm
- Experience Eact Gwillimbury
- Niemi Family Farm
- AE Natural Meats
- Last Straw Distillery
Headwaters:
- Davis Family Farm
- Bennington Hills Farm
- 4th Line Cattle Co.
- Ontario Honey Creations
- Sheldon Creek Dairy
A special thank you to the staff at Theatre Orangeville. Artistic Director, David Nairn and General Manager, Bernadette Hardaker, who embraced this project with enthusiasm and vision, eager to show how the arts can tell the story of a region through theatre. Set designer, Rebecca Morris and her dedicated team, who created a set that truly showcased the beauty of our rural story.
And finally, a thank you to CCT staff, Emily Quinton – Co Project Lead, Eleanor Cook, Tom Guerquin, Elnaz Borandeh and Sandra Quiteria who pulled all the elements of the this very successful and complex partnership together.
I am excited to share a comprehensive report with you in the next month, but below are some preliminary results: The booth saw over 18,000 visitors interacting with our partners over the course of the fair, with over 320,000 people visiting the Royal Winter Fair.
We look forward to the 2020 Royal Winter Fair, as we investigate new opportunities for our stakeholders to grow their businesses!
– Susan Boyle, Director of Marketing
