There is something decidedly quaint, even coloured with a tinge of nostalgia, about the idea of a country market. You might think of a place in the countryside where local families frequent to purchase their groceries and other necessities. Perhaps it is situated at the crossing of two important rural roads, down each of which you see nothing but fields. It is where neighbours meet. It is where the storekeeper is known and valued in the community, where you have your own account, kept in a little frayed, pencil-marked, brown book. The canisters of milk line the porch. The laughter on the inside is momentarily interrupted by the squeak of the front door. You can almost hear the horses neighing outside waiting for their owners.
Ideas of wellness and wholesomeness are just about palpable here in the play of sunlight filtered through the leaves of the old oak tree in the yard outside of the Market. The term Country Market also, of course, immediately brings to mind ideas of freshness and quality. RSE, in celebrating the equestrian and country lifestyles, and remembering that food is centrally important to any lifestyle, is embarking on a new initiative that seeks to offer quality food choices by our new partnership with The Wild Stand General Store of Collingwood, which features organic and local produce.
Today, the notions of wellness and wholesomeness also suggest the concept of food grown with care ... food which has been cultivated and produced with an emphasis on the protection of the health and wellness of the consumer, the animals and the farmland upon which the food is produced.
Thinking about the idea of a country market does bring to mind ideas of nostalgia and memory. Perhaps because in the past there was, at least to a somewhat greater degree, a willingness to take a little more time with things. Taking the time to talk with a neighbour. Taking the time to hand pick weeds from a garden. It is not necessarily simply nostalgia that so much appeals to us, as it is the attributes that we have come to associate with yesteryear: ideas of quality, honesty and wholesomeness, to name a few.
While, admittedly, Collingwood and area will be served best by this new initiative, all of the products will be available to be purchased online. In this way even those from afar can enjoy some of its “General Store” items, such as environmentally gentle cleaning products. The website www.TheCountryMarket.ca will be online soon. Watch for notice when it is live. We hope to offer a weekly Farmer’s Market.
We hope to see you soon!
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