Open Farms 2025 Updates - February 20, 2025

Good morning, farms, businesses, and community organizations,

Yesterday, I briefed County Council on Open Farms 2024 and the proposed recommendation for 2025. The unanimously approved the recommendation.

You can read the Open Farms Report to see the summary from 2024 and read about the high level recommendations we are going to move forward with for 2025.

Below are some notable highlights for 2025

• There will be 3 partners supporting Open Farms for 2025 – Frontenac County, South Frontenac, and Tourism Kingston.
• Rebrand to “Open Farms”
• Refine Core Goals, We will be reaching out to this group to refine the Core Goals.
• Develop a Participation Guide
• Add a Community Advisor Role from the farming, market, and culinary communities to review recommendations and provide streamlined feedback during planning discussions with the partner working group.
  • If the advisor role is of interest to you, please let Debbi know.
• Enhance the OpenFarms.ca Website with more locations and events (that fit in the Core Goals). Maintain updates throughout the year.
• Encourage Collaboration and Innovation, farms, businesses, and community organizations to work together, increasing the variety and scale of events.
• Collaborative Marketing Efforts with partners and the Regional Tourism Organizations.
• Clarify Roles and Responsibilities, Formalize commitments and roles for partner organizations to ensure efficient use of time and resources.
• Encourage increased overnight visitation to Kingston and Frontenac.

Proposed 2025 Format:

The initiative will shift to a focused, one-weekend event from Friday, September 5, to Sunday, September 7, 2025. This format consolidates efforts while maximizing impact.

Proposed Itinerary:

• Friday:
  • Kick-off event at the Frontenac Farmers Market with a ribbon cutting.
• Saturday and Sunday:
  • Signature farm-hosted event with event coordination support (admission structure to be determined based on scale).
  • Additional farm-hosted events, business-led experiences, and community activities.
  • Farmers markets across the region.
  • Wolfe Island and Frontenac Plowing Matches.
  • Farm-to-table dining options highlighting local products throughout the weekend.

The 2025 Open Farms initiative represents a refined approach to promoting agri-tourism and local connections in Frontenac and Kingston.

By streamlining goals, improving collaboration, and focusing on a unified event format, the partners aim to enhance the experience for both participants and attendees.

Specific details and logistics will be finalized through continued discussions with partners and participating locations. You will hear from us very soon.

If you know someone that would like to be added to this email list or if you no longer wish to receive these emails, please let Debbi know.

On behalf of the Open Farms partners, thank you for all you do to connecting farming & food in our region.

Debbi, Amanda & Ashley