Summer 2023’s debut is just around the corner, with fun family happenings being announced on the daily! We’ve tried our best to capture what’s on for PEC families in June and July 2023, but will continue to add to this post as events are announced (and various kinds of berries ripen for picking!). As always, send an email to andrea@pecparents.ca to let us know if we’ve missed anything.

We hope you enjoy this guide to a fun, family-friendly first half of summer in beautiful PEC. If you’re still looking for summertime childcare options, check out our Summer Day Camp Guide.

Photo: Sculpture Garden at Oeno Gallery.

Special events

June 24th – Revel is a free festival put on by The County Museums at Macaulay Heritage Park celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day, Indigenous History Month, Multiculturalism Day and diversity with music, food, art and more. Kid-friendly activities include Face Painting & Hula Hoops with Melissa Brant (12-4), Picnic table Painting with PELC students (12-4), Mystery Braids with Narda Julg (1-2 – pre-registration required), a Rainbow Flag Dance with Arwyn Carpenter (2-2:30), and a concert by Jennifer Brant (2:30-3:30).

June 24th – The “Skate 2 End Hate” Free Scooter/ Skate Competition will take place at the Picton Skate Park. There will be prizes to win and free facepainting. Email Skate2endhate@gmail.com for more info and to register.

June 24th – A family is hosting a Community Littles Swap (toys, clothes, etc.) in Black River area (970 County Road 13) from 11-1, and a Yard Sale fundraiser the following day. Email rachelkuzmich@trentu.ca for info and to RSVP for the Swap.

June 24th – The Sophiasburgh Recreation Committee is hosting a Bike Swap from 11-1 behind the Demorestville Town Hall. All sizes of bikes (kids and adults) welcome!

June 24th – From 1-4 p.m. Station Road Arts is hosting a Community Theatre Day at 246 Main Street in Bloomfield. Bubbles, scavenger hunt, free BBQ, crafts for kids, and a sneak peek of Station Road’s next play!

June 25th – PEC’s own Pride Unicorn will be at Benson Park at 11 a.m. for photo opps and a family “meet and greet”.

June 27th – All Welcome Here’s Community Picnic is back at Slake Brewery! Free food, outdoor games and kids crafts to a sunset bonfire (weather permitting). Everyone gets a free dog (meat or veggie) with your choice of a range of toppings created by local BIPOC restaurants, farmers, and food producers.

June 28th – Pride in the Park is a free, youth-organized all ages event in Benson Park from 1-5 p.m. organized by the Greater Than County Youth Collective. Family friendly activities, yard games, food & drinks, prizes and freebies!

June 29th-30th – The Prince Edward County Arts Council is hosting their inaugural County Arts Lab Exhibition featuring work from participants of all ages in their Late Spring classes, Art Together, and Art for Wellness programs! The opening event is on Thursday June 29th from 5-7, or you can drop by from 10-4 on Friday June 30th at the County Arts Lab (Unit 1E, Picton Armoury).

June 23rd-July 2nd – And for another special Art Appreciation outing, head up to PEC’s annual juried exhibition – Art in the County – featuring the work of 86 local artists, and ask for the kids’ Scavenger Hunt sheet!

June 30th – The Wellington Street Dance is back… and will be followed by a Drone Light Show this year! On Canada Day’s eve, enjoy food trucks in the park (5:30), a street dance (6:30), and a drone light show on the beach (9:50 p.m.)! Check out the Wellington Recreation Committee’s Facebook page for more details.

July 1st – Canada Day festivities will be taking place at Benson Park and Picton Main Street, produced by the Municipality, the Picton BIA, and Picton Recreation Committee. Enjoy a Picton Main Street Craft Crawl from 11-4 and an all-day sidewalk sale at participating businesses. Visit Benson Park (56 King Street, Picton) for live music (Cue the Funk – 12-2 and Roper&Roper 2-4), giant games, tasty treats, and more summery festivities. Check out The County’s website for details.

July 1st – Adega Wine Bar is celebrating Pride with a Drag Story Hour from 5-6 p.m.!

July 1st – Wellington’s festivities continue with a Canada Day parade! Follow the Wellington Recreation Committee’s Facebook page for more details.

July 1st – The Ameliasburgh Rec Board is hosting a Canada Day event with fireworks and entertainment at Roblin Lake Park.

July 6th-9th – Just over the bridge, the Belleville Waterfront & Multicultural Festival offers food from around the world, live music performances, and more.

July 8th – The Consecon Legion will host the Consecon Kids’ Fishing Derby right behind the Legion (184 County Road 29) from 11-1. Ages 12 and under.
Free hot dogs and drinks for kids. Registration opens at 10am

July 8th-9th and 15th-16th – The Prince Edward County Lavender Festival will run on these 4 days from 10-5, featuring live entertainment, pick your own lavender, Little Ray’s Reptiles, face painting, bouncy castles, food vendors, and more! Admission is $12.50, children 12 & under are free. Cash only!

July 13th-16th – The World’s Finest Shows Midway comes to Belleville’s Waterfront park this weekend. Unlimited passes are $30, other price packages available.

July 15th – The Bloomfield-Hallowell Recreation Committee is hosting its annual Soapbox Derby! For kids ages 5-12, registration from 8:30-9:30, races begin at 9:30. Bring a helmet, close-toed shoes and long-sleeved shirt. They will have soapboxes on site but you can also BYO.

July 22nd – From 3-7 p.m. Oeno Gallery is hosting their 20th anniversary Sculpture Garden Celebration. Come meet gallery artists, dance to music of KOJAK, vibes by DJ Akasha, County drag performance by Ethan, take snap shots in a photobooth and imbibe tasty offerings from Onesta, Oystar, Falafel Royal and The Pop Stand. The garden boasts over 30 new sculptures this year. 

Harvest

Pick-your-own (PYO) Produce

Campbell’s Orchards in Carrying Place is currently offering PYO strawberries, and raspberries should be up next. Say hello to the resident animals, hit the playground, and reward yourselves with apple fritters and other treats.

Laundry Farms just outside of Picton offers PYO strawberries and raspberries.

The Blueberry Patch in Waupoos will be offering PYO blueberries (mid-July to Labour Day) and also has a farm stand with a variety of ready-picked fruit.

Waupoos U-Pick Highbush Blueberries offers PYO “pesticide-limited” blueberries beginning mid-July.

Laura’s Blueberry Farm, located close to Sandbanks’ Dunes Beach area, offers free blueberry picking – they simply ask that you pick one container for them for every one you take home. Otherwise, 1 pint = $5. BYO containers, or purchase on site for 25 cents. Pesticide-free!

Farm experiences

Lamb’s Quarters Farm just outside of Picton hosts Farm Animals Experiences on weekend mornings. Book here; the cost is $15/adult, $10/Kids 3-17, and free for 0-2.

Noble Beast Farms is offering a few different alpaca experiences. Check out the options and prices here.

Struisvogel Ranch offers $5 self-guided Ostrich Walks from Thursday-Monday from 11-5.

LOHA farms also offers farm tours to meet their pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, and sheep; message them to book a time.

There are a few other farms where kids can interact (mostly from a distance) with farm animals:

• Hagerman Farms, just outside of Picton on the way to Bloomfield, is one of our favourite spots – enjoy a treat from Farmhouse Eats cafe, pick up gorgeous local produce, and say hello to the animals hanging out in the outdoor pens.
• You can say hello (from outside the gate) to some furry friends including goats across from Waupoos Estates Winery & Restaurant. It would be unwise to leave without sampling from the winery’s extensive array of chocolate, candy, and gelato treats across the street!
• Carson’s Garden & Market has a friendly goat herd on site!

The fields at Prince Edward County Lavender will be in full bloom in July. You can take a wander through the fields for $8/person (kids 12 and under are free). The store carries a variety of lavender-flavoured treats, including gelato, shortbread, and chocolate bars.

Sunnydale Farms and Sunflower Fields Ice Cream Shoppe offer access to their sunflower fields for a small fee during their brief but beautiful mid-summer bloom period – check their social channels for updates on timing!

Farmers’ markets

Stroll the stalls and sample the treats at the Wellington Farmers’ Market (Saturdays 9-1:30), Wellington Community Market (Saturdays 9-1) and the Picton Town Hall Farmers’ Market (Sundays 9-2). Bonus – the latter two are both playground adjacent – Wellington Park and Benson Park respectively; and the Eddie Hotel & Farm where the WFM is located offers lots of gorgeous nature to run around in.

Art, Dance, Mini-Putt, and the Beach!

Enjoy art “en plein air” at the Oeno Gallery Sculpture Garden! A new exhibition is installed each May, and the garden is open every day from dawn ’til dusk. Free, but donations welcome.

Base 31 is hosting Friends & Family Dance Adventures on Sundays from 10-11 ($15 per person).

The County’s mini golf destination, Caddy Shack, is open for business on weekends, and as of June 22nd, 7 days a week. – $15/adult, $10/youth (7-15), $5/kids 6 and under (tax included). Hit the patio for wood-fired pizzas and sweet treats. Live music on Thursday evenings.

Hit the beach, but if you’re heading to Sandbanks (Outlet, Dunes, or Lakeshore Beach) or North Beach Provincial Parks, be sure to make a day use reservation first! You can reserve 5 days in advance, and print out and place the confirmation on your dash to skip the check-in line. Wellington Rotary Beach has a $10 per person entry fee on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays in May, June, September and October; and 7 days/week in July and August. Residents can obtain a free pass.

Check out our handy lists of County beaches and other outdoor recreation spots and playgrounds for more outdoor fun ideas during the warmer months.

Music and Movies

The Prince Edward County Lions Club’s Music in the Park summer concert series is back in 2023, running from June 13th-September 10th on Tuesday nights and 2 Sunday afternoons. It runs from June 14th – September 11th in Wellington Park, with live music and a hotdog BBQ happening every Tuesday night as well as on 2 Sunday nights – July 31st (Cue the Funk) and September 11th (The Reasons).

The Ameliasburgh Recreation Board is celebrating summer with a concert series happening on Sundays from 2-4 at three rotating venues: Consecon Park, Ameliasburgh’s Roblin Lake Park, and Rossmore Park.

The Mustang Drive-In shows double features every Wednesday – Sunday; show-time is just after sunset. Entry is $30 per car load of up to 5 people. Check out the lineup here, and make sure to read through the Rules/FAQ section. Pro-tip – BYO mosquito covering for your windows! You can also meander their Trunk Shows, which happen every Sunday from 10-4, with over 50 vendors (selling oddities, collectibles, vintage items, crafts & more) and live music by local musicians.

(Mostly) indoor fun

The Prince Edward Fitness and Aquatic Centre offers indoor public swims on Fridays from 6-8pm, Sundays from 1-3pm, and every 3rd Tuesday of the Month from 7-8:30pm. Contact PEFAC for rate details.

Base 31 is hosting Family Art Brunch (Sundays 11-1, $55/adult, $40/child) and Wired for Art sessions (Saturdays 10:30-12, $34).

The PEC Public Library is running a wide variety of children’s programming all summer long including Friday morning Toddler Time and Saturday morning Storytime at the Picton Library, Camping 101 and Nature Literacy sessions at the Ameliasburgh branch, and “Weekly Wonders” workshops at Wellington Library.

Escape Camp Picton is offering one outdoor adventure (Master Spy Academy) and two indoor escape adventures (A Spy’s Workshop and The Secret Guild) this summer. Check out the “Age Restrictions” section in the FAQ for more info on playing with kids!

Four of the County Museums are currently open to the public – Ameliasburgh Heritage Village (Wed-Sun 10-4), Mariners Park Museum (Fri-Sun 10-4), Macaulay Heritage Park (Wed-Sun 10-4), and Rose House Museum (Fri-Sun 10-4). Wellington Heritage Museum will re-open on July 5th for the summer season (Wed-Sun 10-4). Check their website for details.