It may feel as though Spring has just arrived, but this Saturday, May 12 the Horton Farmers' Market opens and ushers in the first sign of summertime in St. Thomas. The Horton Farmers’ Market was founded in 1878 and is named after Ed Horton, a former St. Thomas mayor who donated land for the market site. The Horton Farmers’ Market, located on Manitoba Street, is a community-driven market with over 35 vendors providing the people of St. Thomas with fresh produce, baked goods, flowers, home decor, delicious meals, and much more. Most importantly, the market offers the city of St. Thomas a sense of community. Vicki Asher, the Horton Market Manager, has big plans for the market this year; “I’m working hard to make the market an experience each and every week - I’ll have buskers, children activities, and artisans with interactive displays, artists, wool spinners, and pottery” says Asher. ​

Barn quilts are large wooden squares painted to resemble a quilt block that has significance for the location in which it is found. They are usually hung on the side of barns by the land's owners, who create the design based on the properties’ heritage. When there are many quilts in the same area, they become a trail which you can follow, discovering each location’s depiction of their history. The purpose of these barn quilts are to tell a story, draw attention to unmarked historical places, make a themed trail, and lead visitors from one site to the next.

Elgin County is home to its very own barn quilt trail consisting of many barn quilts, all of which depict a different story about Elgin’s history. Here are the locations and stories of some of these barn quilts, which you can visit yourself to learn more!
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St. Thomas provides some great opportunities to get outside and get active all year round.  Disc Golf provides one of these opportunities!

The fifth annual Railway City Arts Crawl was held February 23 & 24 at venues around the city.  With over sixty artists participating and hundreds of visitors through each of the pop-up gallery locations, the 2018 crawl provided a window into the incredible amount of talent the St. Thomas art community possesses. 

If you follow us over on Instagram you might have seen the announcement already about our partnership with Railway City Brewing Co. to create limited edition bottles for the Railway City Arts Crawl. Artists participating in the crawl submitted their work for a chance to be featured on the labels and the winning designs are now available in store at the brewery! 

The selection panel chose a total of twelve artists this year and you can pick up packs of 6 ($20) or get a full set of 12 ($35) while they last. It's a great mosaic of the talent featured throughout the event and a fantastic way to commemorate your trip to the crawl!

Congratulations to the selected artists!
Elizabeth Kusinski, Irv Loewen, Vicki & Shelby Down, Judy Ross, Robin Grindley, Chris Cherry, Ann-Marie Cheung, Ben Vandevooren, Mary Tuff, Aganetha Sawatsky, Katelyn Tippin, and Kelly Wilson.

The Railway City Arts Crawl is an annual event that takes place the last weekend of February at venues across St. Thomas.  Join the celebration of local arts February 23 & 24, 2018.

All bundled up and nowhere to go? Winter in St. Thomas provides unique opportunities for adventure and discovery and if you are feeling a little bit of cabin fever, this list might be just what you need to make the most of the final weeks of crisp air and sparkling snow.

​February might be a short month but it is still packed with things to do!
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​As February arrives, the bustle and warmth of the holiday season have past and winter has well and truly settled in.  Spring may still feel like a long way off, but St. Thomas has something exciting upcoming that is a little closer on the horizon. The Railway City Arts Crawl is the perfect reason to bundle up and head out into the community February 23rd and 24th!
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