from left, Julie Whiteman (HRA), chamber executive director Nancy Allanson, Mayor Bob Crate, Councillor Dennis Savery, and chamber executive director Nancy Allansonat at a new visitor information sign in Hastings.

Federal Funding A Boost for Tourism

A Look at Funded Projects in Campbellford, Hastings and Warkworth

…from a Kayak rental facility/launch to EV charging station, Pride benches, picnic tables, bike racks and more

Editor’s Note: Our reporter John Campbell went on the road trip to see just where the federal funding was being spent.

Article/images by John Campbell

Trent Hills - Fri., Nov. 19, 2022 -

Efforts to boost tourism in Trent Hills were given a major boost this year with $300,000 in federal funding for more than a dozen projects, ranging from Pride benches, bike racks and an electric charging station to kayak launches and a rental facility.

The municipality, Trent Hills Chamber of Commerce, and Campbellford Business Improvement Area (CBIA) each received $100,000 in non-repayable contributions from the Tourism Relief Fund through Regional Tourism Organization 8.

RTO8 was given $3 million to distribute by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario “to help local local tourism organizations and businesses safely welcome back visitors, recover from the impacts of the pandemic and prepare for future growth,” according to a news release issued Wednesday, Nov. 16 when a road trip organized by the chamber was held to recognize the projects that the funding had made possible in Campbellford, Warkworth and Hastings.

The money paid for Pride benches, picnic tables, bike racks and message centres with literature holders in all three communities, as well as portable toilet murals and picnic table art.

What follows are projects specific to each community:

Jodi Summers (CBIA), chamber co-chair Adrianne Towns, Councillor Gene Brahaney, chamber executive director Nancy Allanson, Trent-Severn Waterway business development manager Lance Sherk, Heather Hodder (CBIAA), Councillor Dennis Savery, CBIA vice-president Dawn Fryer, and CBIA administrator Jenn Hudson. They are at the site of the future kayak rental/kayak dock and launch in Campbellford.

Campbellford

The chamber and CBIA collaborated on a kayak rental facility that includes a fully accessible kayak dock/launch beside the tennis courts on Trent Drive.
“Kayak rentals is one of the top requests we receive at the visitor information centre and this is a natural fit for a Trail Town community like Campbellford,” chamber co-chair Adrianne Towns said. “This has been a project in the making for more than year.”
The funding will cover the cost of eight kayaks and accessories and a storage trailer “complete with murals promoting all there is to do in Trent Hills as a visitor.”
The facility will operate seven days a week from the end of May to late September, the prime summer season.
CBIA vice-president Dawn Fryer said the kayak launch being developed by RJ Machine out of Lakefield “will meet everyone’s needs regardless of ability. The design will enable someone with a mobility aid, even a scooter, to access the launch. With the stable carriage that holds the kayak, it will be an easy transfer for the kayaker into the waterway so that we all can enjoy the Trent-Severn.”
The launch, when built, will be stored at RJ Machine until next spring’s installation.
“The total cost is estimated at $69,000, quite an investment but necessary to ensure we are an inclusive community,” Fryer said.
Towns said the chamber has been “working with prior kayak rental provider Campbellford Stand Up Paddle to purchase the equipment and we appreciate their willingness to share best practices and tips both now and in the future.”

CBIA administrator Jenn Hudson, Jodi Summers, chamber co-chair Adrianne Towns, Councillor Gene Brahaney, CBIA vice-president Dawn Fryer, and CBIA president Eva Allaire. The Pride bench is in Campbellford.

Fourteen permanent, self-watering planters will be installed in key areas throughout Campbellford for beautification and there’s a Pride bench already in place outside the Bank of Montreal.
It shows “we’re very welcoming to everybody” and are an inclusive community, which will make it “even more attractive” to tourists, CBIA president Eva Allaire said.
The business association is also creating a new website that will be user-friendly on tablets and smartphones.
“That’s been on our list for years and we finally were able to make it come to fruition,” Allaire said.
With all the improvements taking place “it means … we can really put our best foot forward out there and showcase Campbellford,” she said, “and get the people to come in and enjoy our beautiful town year-round.”
The chamber also used some of the funding it received on signage, radio, print and digital marketing support, and to make improvements at its Visitor Information Centre in Campbellford. They included better lighting, brochure displays and counter space for serving customers.
Chamber executive director Nancy Allanson said Trent Hills already offers “many things to do” for tourists but the projects “are going to enhance” their experiences while here.
RTO8 executive director Brenda Wood said some of what has been done is “very visible,” which “might just cause some impromptu stops” by people travelling through the municipality.

Chamber executive director Nancy Allanson, WBA chair Jodi Adams, Councillor Rick English, and WBA past-chair Perry Melzack at the new EV charging station in Warkworth.

Warkworth

Message centre with literature board in Warkworth. There will be two placed in each community. This one is in Warkworth.

The two-unit EV charging station at the arena is “really crucial” to attracting tourists to the area, said Trent Hills community development officer Kira Mees. With Trent Hills being off the 401 corridor, the charging station gives visitors “confidence that they can come here with their electric vehicles, spend time in Trent Hills, and make it home.”
“It’s a real benefit for the village,” Councillor Rick English said.
“I’m ecstatic that it’s finally happened,” said Perry Melzack, past chair of the Warkworth Business Association, who had lobbied council for a charging station to be installed in the village, after the municipality had put one in beside the emergency services base in Campbellford.
“I’m extremely excited to have this in our little village,” echoed current WBA chair Jodi Adams.

Hastings

The new kayak launch on the north side of the Trent River was used every day from sunrise to sundown, Mees said.
Trent Hills Mayor Bob Crate said he’s spoken to numerous kayakers and “everybody raves about it … it’s been a great addition to the waterfront … You drive by here on a weekend (it’s) a busy spot.”
Crate said “tourism is one of the main drivers of our economy” in Trent Hills and Northumberland County “so we’re looking to enhance anything that brings people here … to let them know what a great community we live in.”
Julie Whiteman, a member of the Hastings Revitalization Association, said the new message board is “a huge asset” to business owners in the village, as it informs visitors what stores and services are available in the community.

Speaking generally, Allanson said it’s been “a really good tourism season (for) many communities (as) people were just glad to be able to get out and travel again.”
“Festival events were huge,” she said. “Westben had a great year.”
Towns said “boat traffic was up significantly” which it could be, in part, “a post-COVID thing” because Americans were once again travelling the waterway, but it also has to do with “all the efforts that (went into) marketing the system.”