GUELPH/ERAMOSA – It has taken a lot of paperwork, labour, money and a few headaches for the owners of Thatcher Farm but years of hard work will soon pay off as their on-farm venue is set to host its first events.
A part of Thatcher Farms, on Fifth Line in Guelph/Eramosa township, now hosts a new structure and event area called Barn Swallow Fields which Dana Thatcher said in an interview was named after a bird commonly seen at the property.
Thatcher and her husband Adam are first-generation farmers who have slowly been adding to the property since they first bought it.
She noticed over the years people have increasingly been coming to farms like hers for more than just to buy products.
“We found that people would show up and start wandering around,” Thatcher said. This led to adding experience-based things such as strawberry and pumpkin picking, sunflower fields and events.
She said people, especially those who live in a city, are longing to come out to enjoy nature and fall in love with farming are fuelling the rise in agri-tourism.
“The countryside, it just draws people, it’s a quiet space and there’s good food and there’s just kind of beauty all around,” Thatcher said.
This new event venue is an extension of this. Thatcher said they had a large tent used for events but wasn’t suitable in case of rain.
“We thought a permanent structure would be helpful and if it rained or it was bad weather, it wouldn’t matter,” Thatcher said.
Building wasn’t an easy task and required a lot of work with the township including zoning and site plan approvals. Overall, Thatcher figured the process took more than three years to see through to completion.
Guelph/Eramosa council approved the zoning change in June 2021 and at the meeting it was noted this may be precedence-setting as the venture may be the first of its kind in the township.
Nearly a year later, Thatcher said the venue is almost ready to host seasonal events like concerts, farm dinners and weddings, among other things.
The Thatchers have built the barn to fit in with the existing feel of the farm. Thatcher said she considers it to be rustic, clean and elegant.
“I think we’re pretty unique in our county as well, like there’s not a lot of this available so to be able to invite the community out to enjoy the farm or have a wedding it’s pretty unique,” Thatcher said.
She was unsure what the first event will be, there is a tentative plan to host something for father’s day but that is still to be determined. However, a Canada Day live music event is set to go and weddings are booked for August and September.
Next year is still open but Thatcher is confident that will fill relatively quickly after they have examples of what can be held.
“I think once we get a few events under our belt, I think that we’ll see a big snowball effect,” Thatcher said.
