ottawa foodies

just back from setting up at the CE Centre...looks really nice!

should be a great event and venue.

open tomorrow and the next 3 Sundays from 9-3pm.

Free admission...chef demos...details at www.ottawafarmersmarket.ca

I understand that they had no choice, but what a terrible location. Pay $7 for parking, or poor bus connections, and no cycle connections. Total thumbs down.

The location of the CE centre is ridiculous...went to the Pet expo couple weeks back and it was jammed since everyone drives out there, the line-up for parking was backing up onto the main road causing big traffic. I will never go back espicially for 7$ parking and 10$ of gas. I have my fair share with driving all the way to the Scotia bank for games and being stuck in traffic that the CE centre is just not worth it and while Lebreton flat perfect location is just not being taken into consideration....

TD the market is inside at Christmas...where at Labreton is there an inside facility big enough to house 100 plus booths? Plus I'm sure there would be parking fees at Lebreton...Lansdowne had parking fees, if you remember.

Approx. 1500 people at the CE Centre yesterday.

@spud guy
Yes, they also had parking fees for the Christmas Market at Lansdowne last year...but you could turn in your parking ticket for $5.00 off any purchase you made inside the market. Are they also offering this at the CE Centre?

I'd really like to go but the $7 parking fee is a bit of a deterrent at the moment.

I would like to point out that my family went to the Christmas market yesterday and really enjoyed it. They pointed to the large variety of vendors and the copious amounts of food available. My 1 and 3 year old kids loved it, as did their older mother, as did their even older nana and grandpa.

And seriously... why so much hate on the 7 dollar parking? It costs me that much to park at my dentist's and I dislike that experience much more than nibbling on treats while listening to a duet of violin and cello.

Grow up people.

Okay, all this bitching about the $7 parking at the CE has to stop. I probably started it and I'm sorry for that. It's just a reality. I hate paying for parking as much as the next guy and nobody likes to pay for something that they can get for free someplace else. Regardless, it will cost you that much to go.

If I had a free weekend between now and Christmas, I might consider going. However, that isn't an option for me so I can have a bit more perspective on my original misgiving.

I'm grumbly about the $7 parking too, but I plan to pack my car full of people and we can all split the cost of that! $1.50 is a lot more palatable :P

I will say, however, that you should remember to bring your own water bottles as there are no fountains at the CE Centre and bottled water costs $3. Though I'm sure there will be lots of cider available from the vendors as an alternative (and yummier) drink option.

The CE Centre is awful, but of course, I'm still going; nothing could keep me away from the Christmas Farmer's Market!

For the record, not offering any tap water and charging people for bottled water is way more criminal than charging for parking.

How about taking a bus?

Okay, the markets over for another year.

CE Centre, did anyone attend...what did you think?
Any feedback would help, to help the Board plan for next year.

Saurian, I disagree...water isn't free. Someone has to bear the costs.

I attended and thought there were a lot of great things, but in terms of foodie gift buying, I wish they were open this weekend. Some of the things I really would have liked to buy were perishable, and a three week old bag of freshly roasted coffee or a nice fresh pie that had to be frozen to last until Christmas were not really what I wanted to give. I did buy lots of things like pickles and honey that were not so susceptible to spoiling.

Agree with blubarry. There were a number of products I would have bought for Christmas Eve & Christmas, but my freezer was already full of my own baking, so I didn't have room to buy & freeze products from there. I also bought what I thought was a lot of apple cider, but my son drank it all. Thankfully, I found more Hall's cider at the Metro in the Glebe.

I also really missed outside vendors. Fresh greenery is so much more appealing outdoors. Indoors, it just look sad and limp. I didn't get that great fresh smell. There also were not many outdoor displays and wreaths, which was disappointing.

The market was fine, but not great. Hopefully you find a better spot next year. Part of the fun of Christmas markets is the outdoor/indoor options.

Good to see all the familiar vendors there this year, as well as a few new ones. Also great to see that some vendors are starting to take debit/credit, since I always seem to not bring enough cash even though I'm sure I walked in to the market with a wallet-full...

This may be helpful to others who don't need to spend as much time as I usually do, but the CE Centre parking is free if you manage to get in and out within 20 minutes. If you know exactly what you want, you can rush in there, armed with your wad of cash and hopefully make it out fast enough to save the $7 parking!