Carrot Fest - "The World's Greatest Carrot Festival!"

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Carrot Fest

1 day until Carrot Fest: Throwback Thursday!

8/15/2019

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Carrot Fest starts tomorrow! Check out some of these pictures from Carrot Fest in past years: 
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2 days until Carrot Fest: 2 frequently asked questions!

8/14/2019

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 1. Are there any admission costs? 
Entry to Carrot Fest is completely free! All the shows and entertainment at the festival are free, except:
  • Wrestling Show on Aug 17 at 6:30 pm requires paid tickets (the 11:30 am show is free!) 
Note: Some vendors only accept cash, so it's a good idea to bring some just in case.

2. How can I get water at the festival? 
The Healthy Communities Committee will be handing out free re-usable water bottles at their tent beside the Town of BWG Info Booth (at Holland & Barrie St.). The Committee will also have water jugs for you to fill up your bottle. At the Info Booth, the Town will be selling re-usable Carrot Fest water bottles for only $5! Inside the Community Centre, there is a water fountain by the washrooms. 

Bonus question: Are there any Carrot Fest giveaways/souvenirs? 
On Friday and Saturday, the Info Booth at Holland & Barrie St. will be giving out free Carrot Fest souvenirs including carrot-shaped pens and temporary tattoos! This Info Booth will also be selling Carrot Fest t-shirts in different styles and sizes.

On Saturday, the Info Booth at the Community Centre will be giving out free Carrot Fest pop sockets and stickers! Also on Saturday, t
he Holland Marsh Growers Association will be giving out bags of free carrots (at Holland St. E. & Bingham St.). 
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3 days until Carrot Fest: 3 ways to eat carrots!

8/13/2019

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1. Carrot Juice
Sabella
Sabella will offer carrot juice, along with Italian and Mediterranean food (including pizza and sausages). 

Freshii 
Freshii will offer their Renew and Recharge cold pressed juices, including carrot juice.  

2. Savory Carrot Foods
Liko's Hawaiian BBQ
Liko's Hawaiian BBQ will offer Kalua Pork on a bun, topped with Hawaiian BBQ sauce, pineapple, and  carrot salsa ! They will also be serving chicken and pork skewers, cooked onsite at their charcoal grill. 

La Mexicanada 
La Mexicanada will offer tacos with carrot salsa, and churros! They will also be serving a variety of drinks on their patio, including beer, margaritas and mojitos. 

Hay Caramba
Hay Caramba will be serving carrot tacos, along with fresh corn on the cob! 

Auntee Donnas Jerk Products
Auntee Donnas Jerk Products will be selling carrot marmalade, as well as jerk sauces, hot sauces, jellies, jams, and more! 

Glad I Ate Here
Glad I Ate Here will be offering their signature poutine with a glazed carrot topping! They will also be serving hotdogs, fries, burgers, sausages, and chicken tenders. 

3. Carrot Desserts 
Hutchinson Maple Syrup
Hutchinson Maple Syrup will be offering various maple products including maple carrot cupcakes, maple syrup, maple sugar, and more! 

The Strudel Lady
The Strudel Lady will be serving fresh-baked strudels stuffed with carrot cream cheese! Other strudel fillings will include apple, cherry, Muskoka wild blueberry, and strawberry. 


 
 

 

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4 days until Carrot Fest: 4 must-see attractions!

8/12/2019

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1. The vendor market
On Friday, the vendor market will only feature vendors based in Bradford, so come support your local businesses! On Saturday, more than 200 vendors will be lining the streets of downtown Bradford, with a mix of local and non-local businesses, including food trucks and artists selling handmade goods.


2. Music performances 
All music performances at Carrot Fest are completely free to attend! The Main Stage will be located by the Village Inn at Holland St. & Simcoe Rd.
Main Stage - Friday: 
  • 5 pm: Big Shiny 90s (90s alternative rock cover band)
  • 8 pm: Coming of Age (classic rock)
Main Stage - Saturday: 
  • 12:30 pm: Rolling Stones Tribute Show
  • 4 pm: Monkey Wrench (Foo Fighters tribute)
  • 6 pm: Neon Nostalgic (hits from the 1980s to present)
  • 8 pm: Joy Brigade (hits from the 1980s)

On Friday, a secondary stage will be set up in the parking lot of the Courthouse (on Holland St. E.). 
Courthouse parking lot - Friday: 
  • 6 pm: Neo Young (Neil Young tribute) 
  • 8 pm: British Invasion (1960s music)

3. Busker shows
Buskers will be showing off an amazing display of talents, including fire breathing, juggling, aerial acrobatics, stilt walking, drumming, and more! Busker shows will be on the Main Stage and at the Tim Hortons Busker Pitch on Holland St. E., and the Alectra Busker Pitch on Holland St. W. 

Main Stage - Saturday: 
  • 9 am: Fire Guy Show
  • 10 am: Steve Goodtime Rock n Roll Comedy Show 
  • 10:30 am: The Circus Drummer
  • 3 pm: Spencer Scurr Magic Show
Tim Hortons Busker Pitch - Saturday:
  • 10 am: Fire Guy Show
  • 12 pm & 4 pm: Spencer Scurr Magic Show
  • 1 pm, 3 pm & 5 pm: Bex in Motion Hula Hoop Show
Alectra Busker Pitch - Saturday:
  • 10 am, 1 pm & 3 pm: The Stupendous Silver Sisters Aerial Show
  • 12 pm & 5 pm: The Circus Drummer
  • 2 pm & 4 pm: Steve Goodtime Rock n Roll Comedy Show 

At 7 pm on Saturday, don’t miss Carrot Fest's grand finale, The Flaming Carrot Show, where various buskers will come together to perform a magical show! 


4. The food and drinks
Explore all the different food and drinks Carrot Fest has to offer, whether you’re into savory or sweet, hot or cold! Here’s a sampling of the different food options available: 

Savory Food:
  • Hay Caramba (Mexican)
  • Milanoz Pizzeria (Italian)
  • Kenzington Burger Bar
  • Golden Taste of Asia (Indian) 
  • Freshii (vegan options)
  • Tornado Potato Canada
  • Auntie Jo's Kettle Corn
Desserts:
  • Sweet B’s desserts
  • 3 Scoops Kawartha Dairy ice cream
  • The Strudel Lady
Drinks:
  • McCafe drinks (coffee, smoothies, etc.)
  • Beer gardens at the Village Inn
  • Beer and Margarita gardens at La Mexicanada (includes patio with live music) 
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7 days until Carrot Fest: 7 activities kids will love!

8/9/2019

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1. Pony rides
Take your kid on a free pony ride! Pony rides will be on Saturday from 10 am – 4 pm outside the Bradford & District Community Centre.

2. The Aqua Dogs show
Kids will love seeing dogs perform incredible tricks in the water! The free Aqua Dogs show will be on Saturday and Sunday from 10 am – 5 pm outside the Bradford & District Community Centre. 

3. Face painting
Two face painting booths will be set up in the vendor market on Saturday on Holland St. E. (Face Painting 4U) and Barrie St. (Bling Face Painting). 

4. Airbrush tattoos and henna 
A henna booth will be set up in the vendor market on Friday on Holland St. W (By Ana Henna Art). On Saturday, a henna booth will be outside the Community Centre (By Ana Henna Art) and a henna and airbrush tattoo booth will be on Holland St. W. (SVP Arts & Handicrafts).

5. The ice cream eating contest 
The ice cream eating contest is held by 3 Scoops in front of their store on Barrie St. The contest is open to kids 12 years old and under, and you can register in store ahead of time or the day of.  The contest starts at 3 pm on Saturday, and first prize is a $25 gift certificate!  

6. Inflatables in the Kids Zone
In the Kids Zone, there will be tons of inflatable mazes and slides for kids to play in, along with free juggling shows on Friday at 5:30 & 7 pm, and balloon twisting from 6-8 pm. The Kids Zone will be open from 4-9 pm on Friday and 9 am-midnight on Saturday. 

7. Carrot arts and crafts 
At the Town of BWG tent, there will be free carrot-themed arts and crafts for kids to make and take home as a Carrot Fest souvenir! 

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10 days until Carrot Fest: 10 Interesting Facts about the Holland Marsh!

8/6/2019

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Why is Carrot Fest so focused on carrots?  The majority of Canada's carrots are produced in Bradford West Gwillimbury and specifically the Holland Marsh, which has undergone an interesting evolution in the past century. 
 
1. The Holland Marsh stretches across more than 16,000 acres and 60% of the area is agricultural, the remaining 40% wetland. These farms were only created in the 1920s through marsh drainage systems.  
 
2. Rotten forest vegetation became the foundation for the first layer of organic soil that formed 4000 years ago in the Holland Marsh area. Roughly 30 cm of dead matter built up every year, resulting in extremely fertile black organic soil (i.e. muck soil). Partially decomposed vegetation accumulated on top of the muck soil, forming a layer known as peat. Muck soil and peat can hold 3-4 times their dry weight in water, which allows the Holland River valley to be a saturated marshland.

3. In the late 1880s to early 1900s, marsh grasses were cut and used for stuffing mattresses. The first hay harvesters used a scythe to cut the hay, and twisted the hay into ropes by hand. The curled ropes were later unfurled and teased by mattress-makers to fill mattresses. In the 1890s, horse-drawn mowers replaced hand-powered scythes in hay harvesting. Horses wore “wooden shoes”, which were rectangular boards tied to their feet, so that they could pull mowers across the Marsh.
 
4. The Marsh drainage project began in 1925, in which the Marsh was drained of its top layer of mud, so that vegetables could be grown on the muck soil underneath. In the early 1900s, Dave Watson was a farmer who had acquired a grocery business where the Village Inn now stands. He contacted Professor William Day at the Ontario Agricultural College to see if the Marsh could be drained by building a canal. Professor Day recognized the value in the muck and peat soils for vegetable farming, and led the drainage project in which a 24 km canal was built around the perimeter of the Marsh to divert water from the Holland River.
 
5. 
Old cars were buried to form dykes and willows were planted over to anchor them, in order to prevent the canals from overflowing into the fields. A dam was also constructed, and pumps were used to control water flow at the dam to bring the Holland River water over the dam and into Lake Simcoe. The Marsh drainage project was completed in 1930.

6. Initially, Canadian farmers weren’t used to farming the muck soil in the Marsh and in the early 1930s, 18 Dutch families settled in the area to farm the Marsh. Today, many farms in the Marsh are run by descendants of the original Dutch families in the 1930s, with 75% of farmers second generation and 56% third generation farming the same property.

7. Today the Marsh is known as the “salad bowl of Ontario”, for supplying 14% of all vegetables in Ontario.  The Marsh grows more than 66 kinds of vegetables, with carrots and onions as the predominant crops. 
 
8. Roughly 36% of the Holland Marsh farmland is used to produce carrots. Other vegetables grown include onions, celery, parsnips, beets, Chinese broccoli, and Asian radish. 

9. The cost of the Holland Marsh drainage project was $197,000 divided between the three townships, and subsidized by the Ontario government. Today, produce from the Holland Marsh is worth an estimated $450 million annually, from 125 farms. 
 
10. Drones have been used to take aerial pictures of crops in the Holland Marsh, as a new way to detect early signs of crop disease like leaf blight. These tests were performed by the University of Guelph’s Muck Crops Research Station in the Holland Marsh, which conducts research on topics including disease control, insect control, weed control, and nutrient management. 

Do you have an interesting fact or piece of Holland Marsh history you'd like to share? Leave a comment down below! 

Sources/Further Reading: 
www.archives.bradford.library.on.ca/index.php/holland-marsh-story
www.archives.bradford.library.on.ca/index.php/early-days-of-marsh
www.townofbwg.com/Shared%20Documents/Leisure/BWG_Trail_System_Master_Plan.pdf
www.townofbwg.com/Pages/Community%20and%20Events/History-Timeline.aspx
www.planscape.ca/planscapePDFs/40-plan2.pdf
www.hollandmarshgold.com/uploads/1/7/2/8/17281360/hollandmarsh_sustainabilitystrategy_final_sept2018.pdf
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