Is it my imagination,or have there been more farmers’ markets around HRM this summer than ever before?
Two in particular have been making headlines lately, namely the new Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market each Saturday at Pier 20 and the expanded Alderney Landing Farmers’ Market on the Dartmouth waterfront.
The Seaport centre opened last month and is the oldest continuously operating farmers’ market in North America. I understand eventually it will be a six-day-a-week retail operation with the actual market days themselves planned for Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The Alderney Landing operation has been a year-round fixture each Saturday for a long time now but vendors recently felt they could support another day. Consequently, they’re also open on Wednesdays- until the end of October - from noon until 6 p.m.
The reason I mention these two markets is because I’m hoping to visit both soon and discuss a little challenge with the vendors.
As you probably remember, some young friends from St. Joseph’s Children’s Centre and I have grown a vegetable garden in the Grand Parade and we’ve been donating the produce to the Parker Street Food Bank.
Well, we’ve been wondering whether the vendors at the two big downtown farmers’ markets would be interested in matching our donations to food banks around metro.
(Or doubling or tripling them!)
We’ll see what they say. Stay tuned!
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I spokeat a very interesting conference in P.E.I. last week. It was called the Palmer Conference on Public Sector Leadership and it dealt with the relationships between public servants, politicians and the media.
All three are partners in the act of governance with each contributing unique “gifts” - experience and vision, for example - to our democratic system. As such, I believe it is important that we examine these interactions periodically, to ensure society is receiving full benefit from them and, where possible, to strengthen them even more.
I mention all this because I’m interested in hearing your thoughts about the state of governance and public leadership today. I invite you to contact me by any of the ways listed at the end of this column. I hope you will.
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You may neveractually run across Metro Transit’s new operations and maintenance centre which opened last weekend in the Ragged Lake Business Centre in Halifax but, take my word for it, it won’t be long before bus riders start enjoying its benefits.
The centre will allow us to add new routes and beef-up existing ones because it can handle many more buses than our Burnside facility.
Case in point: regional council had previously authorized purchase of 45 new “bendy” buses and now, thanks to the space available at the new centre, the first 15 should be arriving soon.
These new vehicles can carry up to 50 per cent more passengers than the older models, which means they’ll be very efficient people-movers. Not only that but, being so roomy, they’ll be a welcome sight for everyone waiting for a bus during bitterly cold winter rush hours!
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And finally, on a personal note, I’m looking forward to returning to Mount Saint Vincent University this fall to continue working towards my tourism degree.
It isn’t easy working fulltime and pursuing an education, as anyone who’s doing it can tell you. It adds pressure and challenges to the job and to the home front. Even so, I find it really stimulating being around so many bright, energetic young people.
Gotta run! It wouldn’t do to be late for my first class...
Reach me at kellyp@halifax.ca or on my personal website www.peterkelly.ca or by phoning 490-4010. You’re also most welcome to join me on my Facebook or Twitter pages. Or talk to me on my blog at http://mayorpeterkelly.wordpress.com/.
