With spring on the horizon, it's almost time to roll up those sleeves and plant those gardens. That's why Thorold’s Knights of Columbus 2319 is preparing another edition of its annual Garden Fest.
“Garden Fest is an event where we sell fertilizer and grass seed and we provide compost for anybody who buys one of our products or makes a donation," says Robert Merrill, a member of the Knight of Columbus 2319. “We are also having a bottle drive.”
The money raised will go toward the Walker Family Cancer Centre, the Special Olympics, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Wellspring Niagara.
Garden Fest, which raised more than $4,000 last year, has been a staple event of the Thorold community for a long time. This year will be the second time the Knights of Columbus host it.
“It’s been in Thorold for the last five to ten years,” Merrill says. “They asked the Knight of Columbus if we could take it over and we said: ‘Sure, it sounds like a good fit for us.’ We’re going to do it every year and try to grow it into more of a truly festival idea where there’s a lot of things going on. But right now we’re taking baby steps, adding different products as we go along.”
Merrill is enthusiastic about the event because it helps people plant their gardens while helping those in need. He hopes Garden Fest will keep on growing bigger and better for many years to come.
“The whole idea in the future is to make this a regional event to get people to come to Thorold to see our city,” he says. “It’s a win-win situation for everybody.”
Garden Fest 2022 will take place from April 1 to April 3 in the parking lot of the Holy Rosary Hall on Queen Street South.
