Taste sweet heirloom tomatoes at a tomato-tasting workshop, watch a seasoned chef make a dish infused with local ingredients, and explore a local farm.
Open Farm Days 2024 are back this August and September. Whether you indulge in a culinary experience, visit a charming farm or farmers’ market, or participate in an action-packed community event, you’ll support local producers in Kingston and Frontenac County.
You can take part in the following ticketed and drop-in events.
Culinary experiences
Chef demonstration in the amphitheater at Springer Market Square
August 24 (11 am–noon)
Bar Mayla’s sous chef, Hediye Cifci, brings her culinary expertise to Springer Market Square with an interactive chef’s demonstration.
Cifci will discuss the dish’s preparation, the local ingredients used, and provide a sample of the cuisine for $2.
Try some delicious food and improve your skills in the kitchen. Registration is not required.
Farm-to-table dining at Donald Gordon Hotel and Conference Centre Coach House Pub
August 24 (6 pm)
The executive chef at the Donald Gorden Hotel (421 Union Street) is whipping up a seven-course experience using ingredients from a wide variety of local partners.
You’ll indulge in local flavours, from produce grown by Fruition Berry Farm to dairy sourced by Limestone Organic Creamery, while enjoying the ambiance of a historic limestone carriage house. Buy your tickets today.
Kingston Food Tours – Classic & Tapas
Various dates in August and September
Stroll around downtown Kingston and learn about the Limestone City’s eclectic selection of restaurants. On the Classic and Tapas Kingston Food Tours, you’ll learn about local farmers and visit the restaurants that feature their fresh produce and meat.
Dianne’s Fish Shack & Smokehouse– specializing in tacos and fresh nautical fare–and Atomica Kitchen & Cocktails–serving a diverse array of pizzas infused with local ingredients–are just two restaurants you’ll experience on your culinary journey in Kingston. Both restaurants are Feast On certified, meaning they are committed to sourcing Ontario food and beverages.
You can purchase tickets for both the classic and tapas tours on Kingston Food Tours’ website.
Food and drink pairings with Bloom Farm & Rampant Kitchen
September 14 (3–7 pm)
Explore food and drink pairings filled with the fresh flavours of Frontenac County at Bloom Farm (4723 Petworth Road).
Chef Elisa Corrigan from Rampant Kitchen creates eight dishes for you to taste. You’ll even meet the farmers who cultivated the produce and meat featured in each food and drink pairing at this ticketed event.
Oktoberfest at Myers Cave Resort
September 21,22,28,29 (4-9 pm)
Surrounded by fall foliage and Celtic music, enjoy a pint of local craft beer from Kick & Push Brewery and a freshly baked pretzel from Grain & Goods Farmstead and Bakery at Myers Cave Resort’s (2471 Hwy 506) Oktoberfest celebration.
Locally made sausage from Seed to Sausage and produce from Glen Creek Farm are served underneath a cozy tent overlooking Georgia Lake. After finishing your Bavarian meal, put on a traditional German outfit and snap a photo with your friends and family. Buy your tickets today.
Farmers’ markets
Events at Frontenac Farmers Market
Tomato tasting – August 23 (3–7 pm)
Food & drink pairings – September 13 (3–7 pm)
Oktoberfest – October 4 (3–7 pm)
Frontenac Farmers Market (4500 Centennial Park Road), featuring vendors such as the Kingston Pickle Company and Grains & Goods Farmstead and Bakery, is hosting three Open Farm Days this year.
From giant heirlooms to plump Roma tomatoes, Field and Forest Market Garden & Bloom Farm are teaching you how to grow and use all types of tomatoes on August 23.
Explore food and drink pairings from the farmer market’s vendors on September 13 or experience traditional Bavarian culture at their Oktoberfest celebration– featuring live music and a beer garden–on October 4.
Registration is not required for any of the events.
Events at Sharbot Lake Farmers Market
Tomato-tasting workshop – August 24 (11 am–noon)
Farm-to-table BBQ & beer garden – August 31 (11 am–1 pm)
Bloom bar – September 7 (9 am–noon)
This farmers market framed by the tranquil waters of Sharbot Lake (Medical Centre Road) is offering a variety of Open Farm Days this year, including a tomato-tasting experience, a beer garden & BBQ, and a pick-your-own flower bouquet event.
Like the Frontenac Farmer’s Market, Sharbot Lake is also hosting a tomato-tasting experience on August 24–you’ll sample a selection of specialty and heritage tomatoes.
Indulge in food and beer from local suppliers at the farmer’s market’s Farm-to-table BBQ & beer garden on August 31. Come back to the quaint farm and pick up a bouquet of roses and hydrangeas during the Bloom Bar event, taking place September 7.
Registration is not required for any of the events.
Block party at Memorial Centre Farmers Market
August 25 (9 am– 2 pm)
The Memorial Centre Farmers’ Market’s (MCFM) block party brings beloved local vendors together to mark the height of harvest season.
The market is collaborating with Loving Spoonful–an organization that provides programs to improve access to local food products–to deliver an action-packed block party, featuring a DJ, fundraising events, and educational food activities highlighting the nuances of Kingston’s local food system.
Alongside the market’s usual produce, dairy, and grain sellers, the block party is serving prepared food items.
As summer gives way to fall, visit MFCM to celebrate the anticipated transition. Registration is not required.
Farm experiences
Lawn alternatives with Rebecca Boyar from West Coast Seeds
August 24 (11 am–noon)
Ditch your monochrome green lawn and create a colourful oasis brimming with bumblebees and butterflies.
Rebecca Boyar from West Coast Seeds is teaching you how to transform your lawn ahead of the winter at Sun Harvest Greenhouses (2542 Perth Road). She’ll tell you the benefits of having a lawn boasting various plants and flowers and show you how to achieve such gorgeous foliage.
Additionally, Boyar describes what seeds you’ll need and how to care for your new-and-improved lawn. The event is free, but registration is required.
Fall floral bud vase workshop at Maple Ridge Farm
September 19 (6 pm)
Cultivate your own blooming bouquet at Maple Ridge Farm (3098 Alton Road East) this September.
You’ll create beautiful floral arrangements bursting with rich hues and experiment with various design techniques. Take your creation home in a handcrafted vase created by Hyla at Root Cellar Studio.
Prime your green thumb and buy your tickets today.
Walking farm tour at Maple Ridge Farm
September 21,22 (10 am)
Nestled in a warm sweater, surrounded by orange and yellow fall foliage, discover this charming farm near Kingston.
The owners of Maple Ridge Farm (3098 Alton Road East), Mark and Becky, show their sustainable and regenerative farming practices, taking you through their sweeping fields and rustic barns encircled by herbs and livestock. Afterward, indulge in Maple Ridge’s fresh honey and purchase a jar of the golden liquid.
Buy your tickets to explore this outdoor oasis.
Beekeeping experience at Maple Ridge Farm
September 21,22, (1 pm or 3:30 pm)
Learn what it takes to produce Maple Ridge Farm’s sweet honey during their one-hour interactive beekeeping experience.
Dressed in a beekeeping suit, you’ll conduct hive investigations and learn about the black and yellow insects’ vital roles in our ecosystem. You can purchase your tickets today.
Microgreen learning experience at Collective Joy Farm
September 28 (9 am–2 pm)
Boasting 500 pounds of fresh produce, Collective Joy Farm (477 MacDonnell Street) will give you an insight into their microgreen expertise.
During this experience, Collective Joy Farm teaches you how to cook with and grow your own greens. They even offer a tour of their farm where produce is grown sans herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers.
Grab a cold-pressed juice or smoothie on your way out. Registration is not required.
Community events
Canadian, Frontenac County, and Wolfe Island Plowing matches
Wolfe Island plowing matches – August 27
Canadian plowing matches – August 28–30
Frontenac County plowing matches – September 8
Take the short ferry ride over to Wolfe Island and watch farmers battle it out on their plows.
The Wolfe Island plowing match takes place on August 27 at Morningsight Farms (1227 Reeds Bay Road), with lunch served between noon and 1 pm.
The next day (August 28) on Morningsight Farms, the Canadian Plowing Championship commences, bringing together farmers from across the country. After the opening ceremonies at 9 am, farmers plow one plot of land. Competitors who advance to the next round plow again on August 29 and 30 to secure their spot at the World Plowing Championship in the Czech Republic.
Ron and Ruth Tate’s farm (4297 Perth Road) in Frontenac County is also hosting a local plowing match on September 8. If you’re not one of the competitors who’s cutting, lifting, and turning over the soil, there’ll be wagon rides, food trucks, and music at the farm.
Develop a new appreciation for the arduous process of cultivating fields and take your family to see a free plowing match this August and September. Registration is not required for any of the plowing matches.
A night in the village on Wolfe Island
August 29 (4–8 pm)
Cozy up in a horse-drawn carriage or snap a photo next to a vintage tractor on Wolfe Island.
A night in the village on Wolfe Island (1191 County Road) features local vendors, a life-sized model milking cow, and horse-drawn carriage tours of the city.
Just a short ferry ride from Kingston to Wolfe Island, make this quaint event your next family outing. Registration is not required.
Verona Lions Club Garlic Festival
August 31 (9 am–2 pm)
Grab some garlic to incorporate into your pasta or stir fry at Verona Lions Club Garlic Festival taking place in Verona Lions Hall (4504 Verona Sand Road) on August 31.
The event boasts local garlic, food, and a plethora of vendors. Registration is not required.
Perry Farm at Food Less Travelled
September 7 (10 am–4 pm)
Come to Perry Farm (6674 Road 38) to see Black Maine-Anjou and Speckle Park cattle, calves and bulls, donkeys, and pigs on September 7.
In addition to a variety of livestock scattered throughout the space, Perry Farm offers roping demonstrations, local foods, and baked goods.
Kingston Fall Fair
September 12 to 15
Kingston’s Fall Fair (303 York Street) featuring a neon Ferris wheel, tubs of cotton candy, plus beef, dairy, and horse shows is back for its 192nd year. From September 12 to 15, the fall fair hosts competitions in culinary arts, home crafts, flowers, and produce in support of local providers and farmers.
Buy your tickets to the Kingston Fall Fair on their website today.
The Great Wolfe Island Bake Off at the Blue Moose Bed and Breakfast
September 14 (11 am–4 pm)
Grab your whisks and rolling pins–the Great Wolfe Island Bake Off at the Blue Moose Bed & Breakfast (1277 Highway 96 (Main Street)) takes place September 14.
Competitors bring their best pie or cookie recipes for judges to taste. They’re scored based on the baked good’s taste, decoration, and use of locally sourced ingredients. If you’re not showcasing an apple pie or chocolate chip cookie, there’s be signature snacks, refreshments, and a cookie decorating station for your enjoyment.
So, take the ferry ride to Wolfe Island, bring your best-baked goods, and participate in the flour and sugar-filled fun. Registration is not required.
