Weekends in Perth - theHumm August 2021

As pretty well everyone knows, small independent businesses have not had the easiest year-and-a-half of it. At the same time, tourism associations have had to balance public safety concerns with business interests. With the advent of Step 3 of the Roadmap to Reopen Ontario comes a loosening of restrictions and the opportunity to encourage folks to come on back — safely — and enjoy all that our charming small towns and rural areas have to offer. Perth Tourism is doing just that through their “Weekends in Perth” and “Picnic in Perth” initiatives, so we contacted Kathryn Jamieson, Heritage Tourism Manager of the Town of Perth, to find the fun details!

theHumm: What kinds of weekend activities do you have planned to welcome people back to Perth?

Kathryn Jamieson: Lucky for us, the businesses in Perth have really worked hard to not only promote themselves and the Town, but to be welcoming to their local clients and to visitors. To build on that, Perth Tourism is promoting the town across the province with a focus on day and weekend visitors from Toronto through to Ottawa. There are so many activities to do in Perth this summer! Perth Tourism coordinates #WeekendsInPerthON in partnership with the Perth BIA. This is a pop-up event series that started last year and took a hiatus during the lockdown but is up and running again now. These events bring entertainment to the streets and parks and can feature all sorts of entertainers, from musicians to stilt-walkers, and from caricature artists to costumed characters — even a nine-foot realistic-looking dinosaur! We want to make sure people have a great excuse to return to Perth each weekend, and we hope people will enjoy the entertainment and help promote the town by sharing their trip on social media.

We’ve recently updated the tourism website perth.ca/en/visit/tourism.aspx to make it easy for people to plan their trip. Details about events, activities, attractions, accommodations… it can all be found there.

Perth has many amazing restaurants, but not all of them are right in the main business area. How is the Picnic in Perth initiative addressing that?

The Picnic in Perth initiative is organized by the Perth BIA, so that is primarily focused on the downtown; however, Perth Tourism has recently added a page about picnic spots to the website detailing where to go across town. We recommend ordering takeout from your favourite Perth restaurant (or, trying something new!) and packing a blanket to head to a park. Stewart Park and Last Duel Park are popular spots, but there are other options too, such as Conlon Farm, the Darou Farm Trail, the lookout at the end of Tay River Pathway, and Perth Museum’s gardens.

This summer Perth Tourism reached out to local restaurants and food businesses to offer Terrace on the Tay (on Mill Street beside Stewart Park) as a low-cost option for an additional venue. Picnic Café + Catering has partnered with Weatherhead Brew Co. and been serving at Terrace on the Tay since early June. Later this month, Michelle’s Filipino Food will be there, and in mid-August Michael’s Table will be at Terrace on the Tay. It has been a great way to involve businesses that are not usually right downtown.

Another great way to explore Perth from end to end is the Great Taste of Ontario foodie passport. Order takeout from the restaurants on the passport and enjoy them picnic-style this summer. You simply download the free Perth passport to your phone like an app, check in to all 15 stops by the end of the year, and win prizes! you can find the information and link on our website.

As we start to take our first tentative steps back into activities like sightseeing and shopping, how are you balancing safety precautions with fun?

A staff member accompanies all entertainers to monitor visitor numbers and to assist with sanitizer, etc. when appropriate. When visiting restaurants and stores we ask that you take the time to read the signage on the door and look for capacity numbers or contact tracing requirements. And before your visit to Perth, please review the page on the website called Visit Perth Safely which includes information from the Province and the Leeds Grenville and Lanark Health Unit.

Have you found that residents have been supportive of their local restaurants and small businesses over the course of the pandemic? What are some other ways in which Perth Tourism has helped to connect customers with area businesses?

It has been a difficult year for many with lockdowns and changes, but I’m thankful to Perth residents who have supported the businesses here though lockdowns and changes. Perth Tourism has been running a campaign called Shop Here Dine Here and people have been quite receptive to it. It has been a combination of print and radio ads, as well as a series on social media promoting local businesses twice a week by theme. We’ve also been including more businesses in the Perth Proud blog, and we’ve been sharing their social posts to our Stories to help increase their reach.

What other initiatives (either ones that used to occur or new ones) are you looking forward to being able to resume in the near future?

We’re really looking forward to bringing back some of our previous events, and to try new events and activities too. The fall and winter holidays are coming quickly, we hope to have fireworks later this year, and we’re planning a new night market (as long as the case numbers and regulations permit it!).

Find details about all these initiatives — and many more — at perth.ca/en/visit/tourism.aspx !

Chris Lemaire — Powerful Art - theHumm August 2021

By Sally Hansen

Art… and Soul

It’s both refreshing and disconcerting when you encounter evidence that causes you to question your preconceptions (i.e., biases). So I was a bit surprised that a guy who describes himself as a redneck, worked as a heavy equipment operator, builds muscle cars and worked as a logger, creates artworks with the emotional clout and beauty that Chris Lemaire does.

Skies rule in his paintings. Lemaire credits the five years he spent in Newfoundland with his emergence as an accomplish......

Weekends in Perth - theHumm August 2021