Hobbit holes, day trips, river access win Haldimand awards
Recipients receive seed money and mentorships in campaign aiming to boost tourism
A hobbit-hole village, curated day trips and infrastructure to help tourists access Caledonia by water are the winning ideas in Haldimand County’s Spark 2.0 mentorship and grant program.
Designed to boost new tourism ideas in the county, each recipient receives $3,000 in seed money plus mentorship opportunities to help make their business plans a reality. The program aims to find, foster and support new tourism ideas, experiences and partnerships that will enhance current offerings, address gaps or challenges, motivate travel and longer stays and increase year-round visits in the region.
Eleven applications were submitted, with the top five invited to participate in a virtual pitch session in December.
Spark is a partnership between the Tourism Innovation Lab, Southwest Ontario Tourism Corporation, Haldimand County Tourism, Libro Credit Union and the Grand Erie Business Centre. While it’s not an annual contest, Haldimand County has participated in two rounds of the Spark competition, with the first round in 2022.
Here are this year’s recipients and their award-winning ideas.
Awdshire Village Resort
If all goes to plan, “Lord of the Rings” fans will soon be able to spend a night in a Canfield hobbit hole.
That’s the vision of Justin Awde, the visionary behind Awdshire Village Resort, one of three winners of this year’s Spark 2.0 contest.
After finding himself out of work during the pandemic, Awde decided to devote his full attention to a longtime dream of creating a farmstay resort at his 27-hectare property between Cayuga and Dunnville, where families, couples and fantasy buffs can enjoy a night’s stay in a magical environment.
Awde described the hobbit holes as earth-covered structures with round doors. Inside, the rooms will feature all the amenities you would expect in a regular hotel room, with two queen-sized beds, an ensuite bathroom, a TV, refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker.
Using his experience in shortterm rentals and farming, Awde hopes to create Canada’s first hobbit-hole resort. The idea was inspired by the Hobbiton movie set in New Zealand and a few other resorts Awde has found in North America with at least one hobbithole unit.
Awde has been working with the county for nearly two years to acquire the necessary approvals and permits for Awdshire. He hopes to break ground this spring and welcome his first guests in 2025.
“It’s important in designing the village that everything is going to feel like it’s in a quaint little magical village,” Awde said. “And we’re going to try and put a little fantasy twist on almost everything we can.”
Along with 12 hobbit-hole units, the resort will include a venue space suitable for weddings and vendor markets. Awdshire will also include farm animals, a market garden, orchards and walking paths.
Taste like a Local, Door 25 Road Trip Getaway
Natalie Strouth and Jan Vilaca are teaming up to help travellers discover Haldimand’s hidden gems through a series of curated day trips launching this spring.
Strouth, who operates Door 25 Stays, and Vilaca of Tasty Road Trips, will help guests explore Haldimand’s best artistic, cultural and outdoor features while savouring unique culinary creations.
Door 25 offers three vacation rental properties, including the Hoover Point Lake House along the Lake Erie shoreline in Selkirk.
“We’re going to create an exclusive experience for our guests that helps them travel around Haldimand County and explore culinary gems, restaurants and cultural stops,” said Strouth. “We’re partnered with Tasty Road trips, which is already a really well-established, respected culinary tourism provider.”
While Strouth has welcomed guests from around the world to Door 25’s Selkirk site, she’s often asked for ideas on what to do and where to eat. The goal of Taste like a Local is to answer those questions while encouraging guests to return and spend their vacation dollars in Haldimand.
Through Tasty Road Trips, Vilaca curates all-inclusive day trips in partnership with local businesses. Excursions include visits to six to eight locations, emphasizing history, culture, the outdoors and a range of culinary experiences from farmers markets to fine dining. There’s also an element of surprise, as details of the itinerary are only revealed a few days before the trip.
“We’re opening the door to this really cool collaboration that creates sustainable tourism, that creates economic impact for guests for the one day but for guests to return over and over,” said Vilaca. “It’s just a win-win to have people fall in love with Haldimand County.”
Strouth said vacationers can check door25.ca for updates on the day trips.
Enhancing Waterfront Experiences in Caledonia
Jessica Lymburner, executive director of the Caledonia Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Blain Albin, co-owner of Grand River Dinner Cruises, have partnered on an effort called Enhancing Waterfront Experiences in Caledonia.
Lymburner said the goal is to establish a dock along the shore of the Grand River in Caledonia near Kinsmen Park, for pleasure crafts like boats, canoes and kayaks.
“It would be open for people to come to Caledonia,” said Lymburner, who noted no direct access point currently exists between the Grand River and Caledonia’s urban area.
Designed to promote tourism, Lymburner said the dock would benefit Grand River Dinner Cruises as well as central Caledonia businesses. Currently, the only other access in the area is several kilometres west of downtown Caledonia at Harrison’s Landing, Lymburner noted.
“The hope is that people come in through Kinsmen Park, grab lunch here in town, go through the trails and do some shopping,” said Lymburner.
Albin, co-owner of Grand River Dinner Cruises, said the goal is to install a 100-foot long floating dock located upstream from the dam at Kinsmen Park. The dock would include four or five slips for recreational watercraft like boats, canoes and kayaks.
As a secondary opportunity, the dock could provide shoreline access for one of Grand River Dinner Cruises’ three pontoon boats, allowing patrons to visit historic sites and businesses in the heart of Caledonia.
Albin estimates the floating dock could be built for about $100,000. While the $3,000 in seed money will help launch the project, Albin said the mentorship is the key component of the Spark program. Albin and Lymburner are working with a business mentor from the Town of Blind River in Ontario’s Algoma District to help guide the dock project to completion.
“That to me is the most valuable thing with the Spark program,” said Albin. “That person, with their experience, is really priceless.”
While the proponents would like to see the new dock in place as soon as possible, Albin and Lymburner said 2025 is a more realistic timeline.