Eastern Ontario Garlic Festival is Saturday September 16th

Mai-Liis Renaud Interviews Brenda Norman to get some answers about the Eastern Ontario Garlic Festival and what is new this year.

1. What is the Eastern Ontario Garlic Festival and please tell us how and when it started and how it originated?

The Eastern Ontario Garlic Festival (EOGF) is celebrating its 9th year with our eye on the 10th Anniversary coming up in 2024! The EOGF was founded by Kozroots Community Empowerment Projects in 2015 to showcase our region’s abundance of garlic and local food, and build community by showcasing local organizations, farmers, artists and volunteerism. It was the first local food event of its kind in our region and has contributed to the growth of the Local Food Movement economically and in building partnerships between farmers and foodies.

2. What is this event in support of and does it re-occur every year?

Each year since the EOGF inception our growers and other vendors have benefited with most folks selling out. In turn, patrons both locals and visitors have taken part in workshops on growing garlic and much more. The day is filled with family fun for all ages. Our main purpose is to demonstrate how farmers and consumers can build long term relationships that are win-win for everyone. There is no profit made from this event, so the benefits are all about the capacity of local food and garlic as a local product. To date we have helped our local vendors earn well over 1 million dollars between the EOGF and The Cornwall Farmers’ Market we ran during the pandemic while the other markets were not running.

3. How does this event make our community a better place to live in?

The EOGF has always had a great focus on including Nonprofits and the surrounding local communities. We have been honoured to have so many organizations step up and lend a hand, from the the Early Learning Centre to Maison Baldwin House (MBH) and the more than 30 Nonprofits that have collaborated with us over the years. As has been the case over the last few years Maison Baldwin House will be the greeting host offering jewelry and other items for donations at the door. This has given MBH the chance to earn thousands of dollars that they put toward the purchase of a vehicle.

4. What is unique about this event?

People and vendors always say this is such a cool event, it is relaxed, has entertainment and learning for all ages, and of course delicious food and local fresh garlic and other produce, and interesting artisans and artists.

5. How can people participate to make this event a success?

People can come on down to the daytime event from 11am to 5pm in Lamoureux Park, Cornwall where there will be music, drumming, community art projects and some workshops given by the participating farmers and vendors. The EOGF is a free event with voluntary donations going to Maison Baldwin House at the entrances.