Supper markets staying at Henley
Port Dalhousie supper markets will stay at Henley Island for this year, despite the reopening of Lakeside Park.
They are held every Tuesday evening during the summer and the park was their home for the first seven years.
But flooding forced the city to temporarily close Lakeside Park this year, prompting the market’s move to the island.
“Henley is … part of our community as well. This market wouldn’t have gone on without them,” said organizer Chris O’Connor, who added “we’ve welcomed thousands of guests, neighbours, newcomers.”
Before a decision is reached for next year, visitors will be surveyed online and at the market to see what they want — to remain at Henley or try to move back to the park.
Acknowledging “there’s a history in Lakeside Park,” O’Connor said organizers want to “alleviate some concerns people are having.”
“So we will ask what people like about Henley, what they don’t like about Henley, would they like to see it stay here in the future or go back to Lakeside Park … we want to make sure we’re listening to our customers.”
The online survey is at SurveyMonkey.com/r/7CSX7S2 and on the supper market’s Facebook page.
The family-friendly supper markets start at 4:30 p.m. and end at dusk, featuring specialty food trucks and live entertainment in a picnic-style outdoor setting.
Returning to Lakeside Park this year isn’t an option. Piled rock and debris and equipment from construction at the piers means “we cannot safely enter the park with a dozen food trucks,” said O’Connor.
Trees planted near the historic carousel — it reopens this weekend — have blocked what otherwise might be a secondary entrance for trucks.
Construction will likely also be an issue again next year and O’Connor said organizers will take that into account, along with visitors’ opinions, in deciding where to operate in 2020.
He credited Canadian Henley Rowing Corp. and St. Catharines Rowing Alumni for stepping up and making the island available for the supper markets this year.
“We are doing our best and Henley has provided us an amazing canvas to paint on,” he said. “We will be happy to stay there if we’re welcomed …
“If we can go back to Lakeside Park and that’s what our community wants, we’re willing to do the work and to make that happen. We just want to have the conversation.”