The last full weekend of summer has crept up on everyone with cooler nights and darker evenings, but there were still lots of local events to enjoy. The Rotary Club of Ottawa-Stittsville held their second annual food drive in support of Operation Come Home; over at Stittsville Market at the Barn, Mandy and Dan were hosting their 3rd annual Butter Tart Festival; and at the Johnny Leroux Community Centre, the Stittsville Community Crafters, Producers & Vendors Market were hosting their 3rd annual Apple Fest. We were out to the events and are sharing some of the moments we captured in photos.
The Rotary Club of Ottawa-Stittsville held their second annual food drive on September 14 in support of Operation Come Home in partnership with Brown’s Your Independent Grocer. The Stittsville community was overwhelmingly generous providing donations of approximately $1,000 in cash and about 300 pounds of food items. John Heckbert, Operation Come Home Executive Director, shared, “It was a wonderful day and a very successful food drive. I had a great time meeting everyone and talking with the public. Thank you for hosting this for us and arranging all the details! What a big boost for the center’s programs and services for youth coming into the fall months.”
Operation Come Home serves as a center in Ottawa for homeless and at-risk youth aged 16-29 is dedicated to providing employment, education, and support services. The programs which prioritize the needs and aspirations of youth, foster personal growth on an individual level to make positive changes in their lives.
The 3rd annual Butter Tart Festival, hosted by Mandy and Dan owners of Stittsville Market at the Barn, was another successful event this year. The large crowd was entertained with the live music of Paul Crupi. Sponsors for this year’s event were Capital Services; Jessica Higgs with Right at Home Realty; and, Mavericks Donuts. Judges tasted each butter tart in the categories for best traditional, best signature, and best traditional gluten-free and, of course, everyone could vote for the People’s Choice award by purchasing a ticket. The winners were:
- Best Traditional Butter Tart squeaking it out from a three-way judges tie – Franks Catering and Baked Goods @frankscateringandbakedgoods
- Best Signature Butter Tart (for a second year in a row) with their new Sweet Heat flavour – Loughlin Country Store @loughlinscountrystore
- Best Gluten-Free – Bitty Bird Bakery @bitty_birds_bakery
- People’s Choice (and STILL undefeated in this category) – Atomic Tom @atomictomsbuttertarts
Over at AppleFest in support of Chrysalis House you could find everything apple of course! There were apples of several varieties for sale, along with homemade apple pies, apple butter, apple jelly and jam, apple cider, apple crisp, apple chutney and mint apple jam, and, not to be forgotten, crabapple jam! There was a door prize valued at $250 for a table of 10 at Yuk Yuks located at Biagio in Ottawa and a 50/50 draw for the vendors.
It was a great weekend of events and the weather couldn’t have been better for people to come out to enjoy and share in the fun that Stittsville offers.