48° and Fog
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The Lewiston Artisan Farmers Market was off this week so we decided to explore Canada and visit the Niagara Falls, Ontario Xchange, a vibrant market and community center Niagara Falls, N.Y. would do well to replicate.
The stateside market is about to undergo a renaissance with a new pavilion planned for Pine Avenue near McDonald’s.
Can anyone point to any “urban renewal” of 50 years ago that actually worked? We got a decimated tourism district now being reimagined.
The new pavilion and Gateway sites being constructed by the State are a great step in the right direction but low-income/subsidized housing being built around the Presbyterian Church is decidedly poor planning.
The area of First Street is close to hotels and the casino so there are places to work but there is no pharmacy, convenience store or grocery. It is essentially a food desert with no real access to public transportation. What makes it worse is the City Council, about 10 months ago, long before construction started, sat for a presentation from the developer and no one challenged it or had the vision to do more than offer a rubber stamp.
A couple months ago, the council sent a weak letter to USA Niagara Development questioning the Community Services 4Everyone project but too little, too late.
Meanwhile at the Exchange, there was one major outdoor fruit and vegetable vendor. We bought lettuce, leeks, beans and potatoes. A honey seller was there too.
Inside, a duo played live acoustic music accompanied by guitar and banjo.
I realized the harm our national discourse has done when Beth and I both saw a Haitian food stand selling soul food, as in beans and rice and Cajun chicken and made the same tasteless joke about cats and dogs.
How did we come to be so mean?
Inside vendors included a couple crafts people, a guy selling excellent artisanal cured meats and sausage, a soap maker and a baker. There were maybe a dozen vendors. Niagara Falls would do well to emulate it.
After the market we traveled to Balls Falls Conservation Area and hiked a portion of the Bruce Trail and a side trail along Twenty Mile Creek. The salmon are spawning and the leaves are changing.
After our hike we wandered to Calamus Winery where tastings are complementary and Gord got lots of love. The meritage was awesome. We left there for Flatrock and shared an outdoor flight before heading to Sue-Ann Staff winery where Gord played with a Bernese Mountain Dog named Brix.
Over the summer I had tour guests who fancied themselves as foodies and were raving about wonton soup from Country Fresh Donuts in Niagara Falls, Canada. It sounded weird but we stopped and got some before crossing back stateside. It was fantastic.
