Taste of the Valley was held at The Railway Station in Barry’s Bay on August 17. Now in its tenth year here, the county-wide initiative has evolved into a celebration of local food, products, art and culture throughout the Ottawa Valley. This year’s event began with a rainy morning but the weather improved and vendors were pleased with the turnout.
County of Renfrew Economic Development Services Business Development Officer, David Wybou, organized and promoted the event. Vendors said they were pleased with the results. Barry’s Bay Farmers’ Market Vice-Chair, Ian Lodge, and vendor Brenda Lodge (B’s Baking) told The Current that this year’s Taste of the Valley was the best organized — ever. Every vendor received good advance communications from Wybou.
Regular market vendor Lynn Laabs agreed, saying Wybou was on site to ensure everything proceeded smoothly for both customers and vendors. For example, he had moved quickly to resolve some potential parking issues that morning and by doing so, he helped make Taste of the Valley more accessible for customers.
From left: Customers chat with David Smallpiece of Palmer Rapids; Les Spurrell of Haley’s Station with his handmade furniture
Some of our local Valley vendors will be found at other Taste of the Valley events this year. Barry’s Bay Farmers’ Market President Jonathan De Groot and his wife Samantha will also sell products from their Wilno Hills farm at the four remaining Taste of the Valley events in 2018:
- Saturday, Sept. 22 – Ma-Te-Way Activity Centre, Renfrew
- Saturday, Sept. 29 – Municipal Hall & Grounds, Deep River
- Sunday, Sept. 30 – John St. Downtown, Arnprior
- Saturday, Oct. 13 – Whitewater Region’s Cobden Fairgrounds, Cobden
