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Hey, Tracy here from GL Heritage Brewing Company.

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Still we are doing the Amherstburg Farmers Market and I think this is probably episode six or

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seven here.

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So it's not that I just don't change my clothes.

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I actually have just filmed a lot today and I finally was able to pin down the co-owner

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of GL Heritage Brewing Company, Jen Desjardins-Grandon.

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And yes, I had to look down because she has a hyphenated name and I'd screw it up.

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Thank you for coming today.

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Oh, I am having a blast and it's been packed today and I want to remind everybody that

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Howard Avenue is open again so it is easy to get to the brewing company for the farmers'

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markets that are here every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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So if you're a vendor, get in contact with her and if you are a purchaser, get your

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butt out here because it is the vibe.

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I love it here.

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Thank you, thank you.

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Really appreciate you being here.

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Thanks for highlighting all of these amazing local vendors.

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We've got a great combination of returning vendors and some new vendors that have never

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been out here before.

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And they're loving it from what they told me.

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It's great.

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You know, we've got a volunteer committee behind the market and we all work really hard

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to create the vibe.

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But just like casual comfort.

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Everybody becomes friends after they've been here one time.

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Live music, fresh breakfast, coffee and great local shopping.

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It's honestly an honor to host it here at the brewery.

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Oh, it's gnats, wraps and aps.

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The deep-fried French toast sticks I had this morning, they were so good.

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And then the big wrap egg rolls which taste like a Big Mac in an egg roll.

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It was so good.

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They are here intermittently at the brewery for the weekends.

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We love working with them and other local Amersburg business.

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And they are so great to work with.

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They're also very community-minded, community-focused.

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They support a lot of fundraisers and special events like these.

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And it's great because, I mean, this place, even if it's not the market, we were here

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last night, Friday night, and it was packed.

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They had live band and we brought the dog out.

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It was very, very puppy-friendly.

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And it was so much fun.

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We would have stayed out here all night if we didn't have to get ready for the market

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today.

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Well, thanks for coming out last night.

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So it was a kickoff of our celebration weekend because it's our seventh anniversary for the

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brewery.

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Seven years that flew by, half of that was a certain period of time that a lot of businesses

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struggled through.

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So we're kind of like recovering like a lot of businesses are.

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So our seventh anniversary is really special to us.

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And yeah, we've got live music, local performers every day of the weekend.

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And we had a great turnout yesterday.

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I think the combination of the weather, the music, the food, the cold drinks on tap, you

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know, it was good.

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Yes.

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And again, they do have seltzers.

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We're working on getting them bottled, but right now you can only get them here and they

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are beyond amazing.

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Yeah.

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So we've got a lineup.

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The craft beer is great.

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It's award winning.

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My husband is the creator, the brewmaster of all of the recipes and they're really, really

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tasty.

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You know, I know I'm biased, but they're good.

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So we've got a diverse selection of craft beer, but we also launched the hard seltzer.

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It's called Lazy Day Seltzer.

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So it's gluten free, but it's a hard seltzer.

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So those that don't drink gluten or eat gluten or whatever, they appreciate the seltzer.

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We also have a hop water, which is non-alcoholic and gluten free.

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So just something special for everybody.

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And the seltzers go down really good.

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Really, really good.

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I like them too.

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Yes.

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Yes.

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Now, how long have you been doing the Amersburg Farmers Market?

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So the farmers market came here.

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This is the fifth season.

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So in 2020 was our first season.

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So we opened right after they announced the pandemic.

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So that was really interesting.

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But we had a great turnout because at the time there was very few markets that were

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happening in the region.

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So we quickly grew.

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And again, we just continue doing it because we see the positive benefits to the community,

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to these small businesses whom we love to collaborate with.

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We just really, really enjoy it.

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And I love creating between the brewery and the farmers market, this community hub for

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everyone to enjoy.

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Family friendly, pet friendly.

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It's really casual laid back.

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Yeah, and this weekend, because it was special for the seventh anniversary, we did have the

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friends at Fort Malden here and they were shooting off the muskets.

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And then as I was trying to do a podcast a few times, you see horses walking by because

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Sarah Parks is out here too.

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So you're really involved in the community of Amersburg.

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Do you sit on boards or?

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I'm on the, I'm the vice president of the Amersburg Community Foundation.

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So we've got a volunteer board of some really amazing people that have diverse skill sets

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and experience that bring all that to the table.

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And our mission is to support initiatives financially, solicit donations for initiatives

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that are healthy and communal and inspiring and inclusive for the entire town of Amersburg.

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So we're really, really proud of the initiatives that we're working on right now.

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And we'll just keep doing it as long as we can see the town thrive and the residents

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enjoying it.

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That's what we do.

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And it really has because I mean, I remember before the pandemic, you would come out here

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and there, but when they started shutting down down Howe C Street in order to be able

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to feed people, like so they could go to the restaurants and that, and now they've kept

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it open or closed on the weekends during the summer for the open air.

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It's amazing.

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And it's a go to place, Amersburg.

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So this place is just right on the way.

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If you come out Howard, you hit the market, continue on into Main Street, Dalhousie and

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hit the open air, you can make a whole day of it.

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Absolutely.

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There's amazing things that are happening in the town of Amersburg, which we're all

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very, very proud of.

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And there's like pockets of, you know, activities and festivals and fairs and things like that

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happening.

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And our strip here on Howard, we call it the Howard Hop Along.

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And the Howard Hop Along includes businesses like Wolfhead Distillery and Dancing Swallows

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Winery, which is right next door to us.

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We've got Sprucewood Winery as well.

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Just a couple of concessions over Sarah Perks Horsemanship.

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So we've got lots of great businesses that are kind of on this Howard Avenue corridor

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that are really supplementing many of the things that are happening downtown.

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Yeah, it is really enjoyable.

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And again, I can't reiterate this enough.

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We say farmer's market.

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It doesn't just mean fruits and vegetables.

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They have a lot of vendors, a lot of really creative people here.

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We do have Sammy's Q Barbecue and we have sauces.

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We have little crochet.

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This was from Simple Stitches.

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She is 15 years old.

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This is one of her first markets and she was really nervous.

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She's got great product.

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And this is an example of the artisans who come here.

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We've got upcycled, recycled clothing, beautiful designs.

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I'm hitting there for a shirt after.

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It's really, really cool, unique pieces that are from reused materials, very eco-friendly.

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So between the artists selling art pieces, the creators, the bakers, we're really proud

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to have such a diverse selection, including some of the fresh produce that comes here

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week over week.

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Yes, we do have Burr Oak Farm here.

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So we do have it, but it's not always going to be that.

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It's just a huge collection of our community.

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And our community is very tight knit and we all support each other.

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So it's really nice to see all the vendors hugging each other.

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They haven't seen each other in a bit or it's been a few markets since they got here.

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We have new ones like King Street Cafe from Harrow.

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They just opened their businesses here and this is their very first market.

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Yeah, very excited.

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Again, right here, Healthy Creations, that's their very first market too for gluten-free

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products.

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It's wonderful, amazing product, high quality product.

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You'll see when you come and you shop the pieces that are here, you'll see the passion

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that goes into, the love and passion that goes into everything that's created here for

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us, for us to enjoy.

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And we also, as part of the market, every week we offer free spots for non-profits and

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charities.

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So if there's anyone out there that is a service provider or a charity organization that benefits

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the community, you're always welcome here.

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I will always make space for anyone that wants to do that.

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You guys are doing a fundraiser soon.

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We are.

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In fact, one of the non-profits and charities that's here today is Briarswood Youth Camp.

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It's an Optimist Youth Club camp that's just a few concessions the other way.

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And they're here at the market quite a bit.

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They are raising money for some facility renovations to make it more accessible to all of the participants

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there.

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So we've got a fundraiser dinner that's happening here at the brewery on the 31st of July.

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Tickets are available on Eventbrite.

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We've got live music from Don MacArthur, Nancy Roy, part of the River Rock Ramblers crew.

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We've got Nats, Raps and Naps is coming back for that fundraiser as well.

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And it's going to be a really nice night that is an important cause because their programs

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really support the development and interaction between the youth in our community.

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Yeah, because that used to be the old Go Guide camp.

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When I did Tracy's Garden during the pandemic, I actually had a booth there during their,

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I think it was Earth Day event.

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And yeah, it really honestly, it needs help.

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It really needs help, especially being nonprofit.

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The community does need to get involved because it's a beautiful space.

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Their property is gorgeous.

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Their facilities are great.

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But of course, they need to be kept up like any facility.

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Years ago, as part of the Community Foundation, we did a survey of the community trying to

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understand where their priorities were, you know, so we could focus our initiatives and

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our support in those areas.

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One of the top categories that the community wanted to focus on is on services and activities

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for youth.

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The Briarswood Youth Camp is one of the great offerings in our area.

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We just need to educate people that it's there, what they offer and help support it financially.

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Yeah, because I think it's just so far out there, people think of it as the old Girl

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Guide Camp and they forget that it has been revitalized.

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And it's still, you know, it's still a work in progress, but they still are able to offer

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a lot of good programs for children.

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Yeah, absolutely.

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And it's all like outdoor activities, put the devices down, interact, learn, educate,

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you know, natural ecosystems and pollinators and things like that.

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But you can also rent their facilities for camping.

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So if you have, you know, a group outing or a family outing, contact them and talk to

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them about the space that they offer outside of the program that they have for youth.

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Oh, that's great.

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That is great.

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I love how you are community oriented.

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We all have to try.

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I love that.

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And it really, it has a community feel here.

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And that's what me and my husband were saying last night when we were here and it's like,

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it's just, it's very relaxing and it almost feels like home.

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Like it's a place you just want to hang out at and we wish we could have stayed longer.

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But the five month old puppy was, she had had enough after an hour and a half, she was

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starting to get like a toddler.

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I'm done.

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Oh, she was so cute.

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She was so cute.

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She's a beautiful little puppy.

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She loves the music.

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Yeah.

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We're known for playing music on vinyl.

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So we've got a big vinyl collection, a really interesting collection in-house.

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But we do like every other week, we try and bring in a local performer because we love

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to celebrate that talent that we have close by.

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And of course the community loves to hang out on a sunny patio with a cold beer and

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listen to live music because we've got extraordinary talent.

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Like Sharon Pockett-Lowes that's performing for us right now at the market.

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She's one of the many that can truly, you know, bring everybody together.

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But honestly, even before she was able to get here, the music, it was like, okay, just

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turn it up because it was a great selection of just chill music.

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Thank you.

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Yeah, we try.

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When we opened this brewery seven years ago, my husband, myself, his brother Greg and sister-in-law

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Cathy, we wanted to create that environment like you were coming to our kitchen.

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You were coming to our back deck, hanging out in our backyard.

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So hopefully we've created that vibe where everybody's just comfortable and just wants

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to hang out and meet people at the next table.

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That's the thing that brings me a lot of joy is people getting to know each other at the

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next table and then converging together and they leave friends.

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So that's beautiful.

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Yeah, it is great.

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And if you are in Amherstburg, Ontario, or if you're in Windsor, just take the drive.

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It's not that long out to GL Heritage Brewing Company and just enjoy the space.

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It's beautiful space.

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They have, I mean, there's soybean fields behind us, but we have this beautiful brewery.

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They have cornhole.

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They have, it's just amazing.

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Thank you so much, Jen.

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Thank you very much for supporting us.

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You and Jake from Made in YQG have been extraordinary in terms of helping us get the word out on

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what's happening here with the market and our celebration.

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Thank you for that very much.

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Oh, no problem.

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And if you want to be a vendor at these markets, they're held until...

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So the last market is October 12th.

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So they're every Saturday, rain or shine, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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Again, there's always live music, breakfast and coffee, great shopping.

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It changes every week, like we mentioned earlier.

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You can learn more at amherstburgfarmersmarket.ca or you can send an email or contact us through

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the brewery as well.

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And again, my name is Tracy Martens and thank you so much for joining me for another episode

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of YQG in Bloom.

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You guys have a great day.

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Have a great week.