Ever since we moved to the Elora community nearly 20 years ago, various groups of business operators, politicians, and community minded people have been plotting to find ways to attract people to the area – where they can have a great time, enjoy local hospitality, and of course, leave some dollars behind.
Several of those efforts seemed half hearted or of dubious merit and more than a few, my colleagues reporting on the plans agreed, were doomed to failure.
Still, the assignment to attend Drew House last week left us with some anticipation – if only because Roger Dufau is, in our estimation, a genius chef and he always has phenomenally tasty treats available.
The meeting was the launch of a top notch new publication called Recipes to Experience, and since the organizers had won a provincial award for their 2008 effort, the event looked even more promising.
Recipes to Experience is a promotional book by a number of people from different walks of life who all have a vested interest in attracting people to the community. Believe me, after years of listening to such plans, it was pleasant to see the group appears to have really got its act together this year. Upon entering, we noted there seemed to be real enthusiasm in the air, and not just a gathering of people who were attending simply because it was expected of them.
Everybody seemed to have a sense of anticipation.
Elora and Fergus Tourism, the Fergus Elora Bed and Breakfast Association and local producers of food have joined forces and we believe their working together will give strength to Centre Wellington’s motto Unity is Strength.
First, the booklet is very professional. The photography is great and the writing crisp. It features local chefs, growers, festivals and events, maps and tours, accommodations, a calendar of events, has a focus on arts, and points out boutiques and other diversions. We suggest that it will be popular with not only visitors, but very useful for everyone in the community, too.
But the book is more than just touting the area. Garrett Klassen explained that this year it will not just be sent out in a catch-as-catch can manner. The group targeted very specific areas, and it developed a way to determine just who really pays attention and comes to visit. Organizers will be able to tell from visits to a newly created website just who is actually paying attention.
And we must congratulate the group for launching the website the same day it launched the book. All too often volunteers get bogged down with one item and suddenly remember when it is done that there are a number of other things that should have been done, too. That did not happen in this case.
We also congratulate all the food producers who took a chance in joining forces with their urban business operators. Again, the unity will likely prove to be very strong, and we can only imagine that building on this year’s success will come naturally next year.
Of course, the provincial government’s Ministry of Agriculture grant really helped, too.
In some areas, it seems the province is really determined to help Ontario communities. It certainly did in this case.
With the economy in some doubt because of the crisis in the United States, Canadians, and we in Ontario in particular, need all the good News we can gather, and this is definitely good News for everybody involved. We wish them all the best of luck.
