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
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
As GC Strategies partner is admonished by MPs, RCMP confirms search warrant executed
The RCMP confirmed Wednesday it had executed a search warrant at an address registered to GC Strategies. This development comes as MPs are enacting an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power, summoning one of its contractors to appear before the House of Commons to be admonished publicly for failing to answer questions related to the ArriveCan app.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.