Prince Edward County: a hot spot year-round

September 19, 2016 at 1:58 pm

By Meaghan Bury and Charlotte McParland

PICTON – Residents say Prince Edward County has a lot more to offer than just its summer season. Some even say they prefer it during the fall and winter.

The County was named one of the top travel destinations 0f 2015 by the Los Angeles Times.

Mike Sims has been living in the north end of the County for 15 years and visits Picton often for the unique shopping.

“Picton’s a nice kind of old county place…the whole surrounding area is nice.”

He also said that he loves the County during its off-season.

“When you come here in the summer it’s quite a different place,” said Sims.

Slickers County Ice Cream has just opened up a second location on Main Street in Picton.

Its primary spot in Bloomfield is closing for the winter. The new spot is staying open and adding new items to its menu such as baked goods and specialty coffees to keep people coming throughout the winter season.

Andre Aubertin, owner of Innovative Jewellery, says that his busy season is during the fall.

“September and October is really like the summer for us, I would say that summer doesn’t really end until Thanksgiving. But if it’s nice weather people still come and enjoy the wineries. It’s great.”

Aubertin believes there is more than tourism that draws people to Picton.

“We’re the first stop for anyone coming from Quebec, all the services are in Picton as well. That’s really what makes Picton year-round and the big draw. It actually draws for the whole community.”

Lyndsay Richmond, manager of the Business Improvement Association, has lived in the County her whole life. She says the number of people visiting Picton this summer was definitely up, and sales for businesses were on par with or higher than the previous year.

She says the County is more than just wineries and beaches.

“It’s a very friendly people-person place, it’s unique to other small towns I think. It is a place where you can live, work, shop and play.”

She says, “It’s not like a niche-y type of downtown market,” adding that there is a hardware store, grocery store and book store.