by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
COBDEN — Mother Nature co-operated and created a beautiful, if not chilly, fall day for the annual Cobden Taste of the Valley.
“It went amazing,” said Joy Curry, lead organizer of the event.
There was just under 150 vendors and between 3,000 and 5,000 people who checked them out, she said. It would be nice to get a count on how many attend, but with so many entrances and people coming and going, that’s just not possible, she added.
To ensure there was no problems like last year, just in case it rained, some of the vendors were located in the parking lot instead of the ball diamond. Ms. Curry noted while there were some discussions between the Cobden Rec Association and the township about the cost of parking, in the end, it was free. To ensure those who were playing hockey didn’t have to worry too much about parking, there was a dedicated entrance for those people, she said.
“It saved the cost of not destroying the ball diamond,” Ms. Curry said.
A map was provided to the association showing the lay-out of the event, she said.
“It’s nice that for one day we can all work together,” she added.
Regardless of which entrance you came in through, it was quite possible to walk in a complete circle and visit each booth, whether they were inside or out.
The use of the hay field behind the ag hall for parking was great, Ms. Curry said.
“BEI came in and said if it’s nice weather that day, you can park there,” she said.
So, with the shuttle bus from the Protestant church parking lot and the field for parking, there was no shortage of where people could park, even though area streets were filled with parked cars as well, she noted.
“The parking wasn’t the crazy schmozzle it usually is,” she added.
Each of the vendors are provided with a comment card and most were positive, Ms. Curry said. Many asked for warmer weather, but that’s not something she can control.
As for moving the event to a different location or even a differt date, Ms. Curry wouldn’t be in favour of that.
“People expect it to be held the weekend after Thanksgiving,” she said.
That weekend also makes it possible for more vendors to attend, because most farmers markets are over.
“This is like the last kick at the can,” for people to get local produce, she said. Then it’s time to begin preparing for the Christmas Market, which is held the first weekend in December.
Ms. Curry also believes the County of Renfrew, who began this event, would not given approval for the date change, although it handed over the event to the Township of Whitewater Region, who formed the partnerships to continue organizing the event.
The four organizations are the Township of Whitewater Region, Cobden Farmers Market, Cobden Agricultural Society and the Cobden and District Civitan Club.
While many people don’t realize this, one of the biggest concerns is the lack of volunteers at day’s end, Ms. Curry said.
“Because there are four organizations, I thought we would draw from a bigger volunteer pool,” she said.
However, Ms. Curry admitted, if not for her family and Erica Rice and her children, the event may not run as smoothly as it does.
“Erica and my family were there most of Friday, and we were all back bright and early Saturday morning,” she said, adding, “She (Erica) opens the place and shuts it down. She deserves a huge bouquet.”
Each of the four organizations seem to deal with only their section of the event, without knowing there is clean-up throughout the whole area afterwards.
“We were there at 6 a.m. and still there doing clean-up after 4 o’clock,” she said.
Ms. Curry is considering another tactic for next year and that is asking people face-to-face to volunteer instead of hoping they’ll step forward. It’s also an opportunity for high school students to work on their community hours required before graduating, she added.
The township public works department provides what it can when asked, which is great, she said.
However, she would like to see more council support. While she realizes they may have other commitments, this is one opportunity to get out and be seen by people in the township.
“The people are able to see who our municipal council members are and high five them and say hi and thanks,” she said, adding, “this is a big economic boom for Whitewater.”
This is a once-a-year event where they could be see before many people hibernate for the winter months, she said.
Ms. Curry said this was also the first year she did not send out a mass email to those who have participated before. There were a few reasons for this, the first being if people want to participate, they know when the event is and where to look for registration.
And if people don’t, they can google Cobden Taste of the Valley and the information will be provided as well. It also has a dedicated email: [email protected]. Ms. Curry said people can begin registering for the event after May 1.
“People have to take some responsibility if they want to participate,” she said. “They know when the event is and they know where it is, so they take it upon themselves to register without having someone remind them.”
There’s also opportunity for vendors to set up in different locations while at the Taste of the Valley, she said. Explaining, Ms. Curry said once registrations begin coming in, and they say where they’d like to be located, the mapping begins. It’s not always a case of choice, because once spaces are requested, it’s not always easy to move them around.
A wrap-up meeting will be held next month, providing the organizing committee an opportunity as to what worked, what didn’t work, and what could be improved on.
