North Bay Farmers' Market co-founder to retire as vendor
After about 20 years, the co-founder of the North Bay Farmers' Market is ready to retire as a vendor.
Ron Warman, known as the 'Rhubarb King' was instrumental in turning the farmers' market into what it is today.
"The customers have been giving me a hard time telling me I can't retire," chuckled Warman. "They've been congratulating me. But it's time. You have to know when to hang it up."
The farmers' market was originally under control of the Downtown Improvement Area (DIA). When it ended, Warman and a couple other vendors envisioned and started running a vendor-based market.
"The public wants to support local. That's huge," he said. "I think our timing was excellent. When the public supports local, they come out in the thousands."
The new market began to pick up steam. The public was thrilled with the idea of supporting local farmers and artisans.
"We took the market from an arrears situation to a profit," said Jaimie Board, who worked with Warman to revamp the market. "I'm really proud of him and now he has a few years of relaxation and he deserves it."
Warman and the team crafted the guidelines that makes the farmers' market what it is today.
"He's the 'Rhubarb King'. I've never seen someone sell so much rhubarb," said the farmers' market's current chairman Mitch Deschatelets. "He's one of the pioneers. He helped make the constitution and that's what makes the great atmosphere we have here."
From working on farms as a teenager, Warman dreamed of owning his own farm. While it was not financially feasible, he bought an old homestead on Alsace Rd. in Powassan building a greenhouse and gardens naming it 'Alsace Gardens' after the road and the Alsace-Lorraine region between France and Germany.
"I've made a lot of friendships," Warman said. "Same with the vendors. It's been like a big family and a successful market runs like a big family."
Warman plans to officially close down as a vendor later this year when all of his product is sold.
But, he plans to continue to supply vendors with his rhubarb to keep a presence in the market through his produce.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit natural gas levies to the federal government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer filled with relief and grief following acquittal in death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
North Bay doctor accused of assaulting patient, threatening another
A North Bay doctor is facing charges after allegedly assaulting a patient with a weapon and threatening another person at the hospital, police say.