TheBulletin.ca Journal of Downtown Toronto
By Jon Stoller –
Things are looking up for Far Enough Farm.
The Toronto Island attraction, which was set to close at the end of June, was granted an extension by council until the end of the year, giving supporters time they say they need to find a long-term solution.
“It doesn’t solve the problem, but it buys some time for everyone to try and address this issue,” says Steve Fry, president of Friends of Toronto Islands. “Perhaps to build up public opinion so that politicians realize that this isn’t really that costly. We also don’t want to close the farm right at the beginning of the summer.”
Fundraisers have already begun to help shoulder the roughly $200,000 required to operate the farm. In late June, Island residents threw a charity concert (“Livestock”) at the local Ward’s Island Association clubhouse, which managed to raise about $4,000.
“It was a great success,” says Island resident Lynn Mortimer, who is fighting to save the farm. The concert included performances from local residents, as well as a silent auction.
Another fundraising initiative is also in the works. Fry says his organization is working on a charity barbeque to be held on the island in August.
Donations have also been coming in. In early June the farm received a boost from Centreville amusement park owner Bill Beasley, who pledged $30,000, and promised to match donations from the public up to an additional $30,000.
“We believe that we are on track to achieve the $30,000 goal,” says Fry. In addition to the $4,000 raised by Livestock, approximately $9,000 has been raised from online donations and money dropped in donation boxes at the Toronto Island ferry terminal and on Centre Island.
If enough money can be raised, the focus can shift to finding a sustainable solution to fund the farm. “The best solution is if we can find a partner that would like to have associations with the farm,” says Fry.
Local councillor Pam McConnell is exploring a different possibility. She is currently hoping to bundle the farm up with Centreville when the amusement park’s lease comes up for renewal at the end of the year. To that end, she forwarded a member motion for council to provide transitional support for the farm to continue operations until the call for bidders to operate both Centreville and the farm can be issued.
Although the motion passed, some remain critical of this potential solution. “It’s not a good idea,” says Mortimer. “[Centreville is] only open in summer months, and uses inexperienced students—the animals need experienced people like those already running the farm.”
Critics are also concerned that bundling up the farm would result in visitors having to pay an entry fee. Mortimer says this is unfair, because people already have to pay $7 to get on the ferry. “The increase in ferry fares, which happened about the beginning of June—as far as I can see, they are charging people more, but giving them less by closing the farm.”
“Over one million visitors come to the Island each year, and many of these people drop by the farm. It is one of the few attractions that visitors to the Island are able to access free of charge, a welcome relief to financially hard-pressed families.”
