South Dundas has been drawing some serious attention from those who live outside our borders.
The huge bluegrass festival was in June. A major ball tournament, with teams from Toronto and Montreal took place on the diamond in Morrisburg this past weekend. Again this weekend, the Morrisburg waterfront was the exhibition site for over 100 cars in town for Cruise In for Cancer. And the beautifully renovated beach at Iroquois has been packed since May with many of the sun worshippers coming from afar. Les Beaux Détours from Quebec travelled to South Dundas to visit our Seaway sites and to learn the story of the Lost Villages. The Vintage Iron and Traditions of Eastern Ontario group heard about South Dundas from the Eastern British Home Child Society volunteers and decided to hold their big picnic here this past weekend. They’ve never visited this area before. Upper Canada Playhouse draws hundreds to this community virtually every day all summer long.
What are these out-of-towners saying about South Dundas? “We were totally impressed with this area,” said the president of the 200 member Vintage Iron group, “and with the reception our members have received from the community.” Parents and supporters of St. Hubert Quebec’s ball team expressed their delight with both the groomed ball diamond, and with “this really beautiful place. We had no idea a place like this was here,” said one woman. “Can we hold all our kids’ baseball tournaments here?” asked another. Exhibitors attending the car Cruise In were equally impressed. “There couldn’t be a prettier place to hold a car show,” said one car-owner. Band members from Tennessee, here for the Bluegrass festival, described this region as one of the most beautiful they’d ever been to, and one of the friendliest, a sentiment that was echoed by many of the Festival campers, who have begun making it a point to come back to this area every summer.
To a large extent this praise, and growing interest in what South Dundas has to offer, is due to the efforts of volunteers in our community. These volunteers organize sporting tournaments, set up the contacts for tours and company picnics, put in extra effort at our outstanding beaches and parks, look after events and willingly contribute endless hours behind the scenes to make visitors feel welcome.
It is a grass roots movement in the truest sense. And it is paying off.