A couple of weeks ago I took the trip to the New Farm Festival. The festival is an annual fundraiser that supports ‘Farms for Change’; which is a partnership between Canadian organic farmers and community food centres. With unreal food, some great music, amazing weather (thankfully we got lucky), and a good cause, it’d be hard to find a reason why you shouldn’t attend next years New Farm Festival.
If there’s anything we love more than a good international trip, it’s a road trip. There’s just something about hopping into a car, blasting your favourite music and hitting the road to a new destination. One of the other best things about a road trip? Getting to try out a new car. I was really pleased to find out that Ford Canada was going to be our sponsor for the trip because their cars represent something we stand for as two restless professionals; reliability, stability and style.
Riding in a Ford Flex
We got rid of our car a couple of years ago, we worked out it would be cheaper to rent a car when needed than it was to keep our car full-time. This past weekend while Madi was at her Bachelorette, I got the pleasure of embarking on a pretty bad ass road trip to Hockley Valley with Ford Canada. Being from England, it’s still sometimes hard for me to get used to driving on the other side of the road but when Soheila from Soheila Online picked me up in the new Ford Flex, I couldn’t wait to get in and drive!
From Toronto, Hockley Valley Resort is only an hour outside of Toronto which makes it the perfect spot for a day trip or even a weekend getaway. When driving out of Toronto it’s always best to get a car that can handle anything.
The Ford Flex is a 7-passenger vehicle with a very powerful engine (365 horsepower for anyone who knows what that is), meaning you’ll get to your destination quickly, and safely. The Ford Flex is best for road trips especially for families. The way it drives, it’s meant to handle tight turns and warns you if traffic is slowing or coming closer to you. There was one point on the road trip getting out of the city where traffic was a bit heavier suddenly and the car not only chimed to warn me but provided brake support making it easier for me to stop in time. Seriously, it’s the car of the future guys.
The multi panel vista roofs made it seem as if you were driving in a convertible, no joke. It’s the perfect vehicle for summer road trips because not only do you feel like you’re outside while driving, there was a seat cooling function! No road trip would be complete without music though and the Ford Flex’s Sony stereo system with Sirius XM was so key!
The New Farm Festival
Going into its 8th year, Farms for Change aims to raise money for small organic farms in Ontario. Hosted at the picturesque New Farm located just 2 hours outside of the city, some of Toronto’s most popular restaurants were in attendance. Last year the Farms for Change raised over $100,000 to support other small organic farms in Ontario. This year, they surpassed that!
All of the participating restaurants are ones that purchase their organic ingredients from New Farm. Some of the restaurants participating in the event included; Collette, The Drake Hotel, Momofuku and Fairmont Royal York. Needless to say, it was some of the best tasting food we’d ever had!
My favouite meals from the night were from Momofuku and Collette. At the Momofuku booth I had roasted lamb, broccoli Kimchi and chickpeas. At Collette they were serving rotisserie goat, babaganoush and hummus.
Once we had tested all 12 restaurants and tried the beers from Creemore brewery, the night was capped off with a performance from Joel Plaskett & The Emergency. The atmosphere was perfect as a kick off to the summer. Sitting in the grass, full and enjoying the refreshing beer we watched the band play in the barn until late into the night.
Thankfully the event let us park our Ford Flex overnight safely. Having been given wristbands, we were able to eat and drink as much as we wanted all night.
Hockley Valley Resort
When I sent Madi photos of the Hockley Valley Resort, she wasn’t too pleased to be missing not only such a cool event but a great hotel stay as well! The resort is surrounded by a beautiful golf course and while I didn’t get to play a round while I was there (too busy driving around, ha!), it looked like a great place to play.
The Hockley Valley Resort was the perfect escape from the city for more than just its view. The super comfy bed had me wanting to sleep in but the delicious buffet breakfast convinced me to get out of bed! From what I was told, there are actually a lot of weddings that happen at the venue too.
All in all it was the perfect way to spend a summer weekend. What could you love more than a road trip, an amazing live band and unreal food?
*Thank you to Ford Canada who helped to make this weekend unforgettable weekend. If you’re looking for more information on the Ford Flex (you definitely should be) you can check it out here. Photos of the Ford Flex were provided by Soheila Online – thanks doll!
