Circle Farm tour daytrip allows visitors to play tourist in their own back yard
Circle the wagons: the berries are coming -- Krause berries, that is.
I had the pleasure of meeting with the director of the Circle Farm Tours program in the community of Langley, and became aware of the benefits for business owners, farmers and community members from recognizing the treasures in our own back yards.
Krause Berry Farms in Langley, B.C.
The Circle Farm tours operate in a number of communities including Langley, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Abbotsford, Agassiz, Harrison Mills, and Chilliwack.
A Circle Farm Tour is basically a road map that directs you to a variety of specialty farm-gate vendors, open air markets, charming eateries, heritage sites, fairs, and other special events. There’s a brochure and map for each participating community.
The tours are self-guided, meaning that you travel in your own car, at your own pace, when it suits you. Each community brochure/map directs you to about 12 venues. All are related in some way to agriculture and the area’s farming heritage.
Depending on where you live, what your interests are, and how much time you have, you build your own itinerary for a day trip or full vacation. For each community, there’s a list of special events, and accommodation options along the route.
I decided to check out Krause Berry Farms as one of my initial visits to learn more about the businesses the support the Circle Farm Tour system.
The Krause Berry Farms' beautiful property and Farm Market buildings impressed me a lot. I was impressed from the moment I spotted the big, brilliantly painted blue buildings along the fields of berries and accessed by a well thought out and well directed parking lot that makes parking an easy task for everyone arriving whether on a motorcycle, car, truck or bus.
The property is spotless, and is an obvious source of pride not only for the management, but employees who seemed to cheerfully go about their business of either serving delicious foods such as corn pizza, delectable treats such as grilled paninis, fresh homemade fudge, overflowing berry pies, fresh organic produce and fruit, or savoury, fresh homemade lemonade.
Fresh produce at Krause Berry Farms.