North Huron Council approved renewal of Blyth Festival Harvest Stage agreement

BY SCOTT STEPHENSON

On Feb. 2, North Huron Council voted to approve the renewal of its land use agreement with the Blyth Centre for the Arts (BCFA). The agreement will allow the BCFA to continue using Blyth’s Harvest Stage for outdoor performances and special events for another five years.

 

A report submitted by Director of Recreation and Children’s Services Kelly Steiss recommended that the agreement undergo several updates before being approved by council. 

 

She points out that the Harvest Stage is located on township-owned land adjacent to the Blyth Campground and that the original land use agreement was established in 2021. At that time, the township and the BCFA partnered to create the outdoor stage as a way to continue theatrical and musical performances during restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the stage has been actively used during the summer and early fall performance seasons.

 

Steiss reports that, as part of the renewal process, township staff met with BCFA General Manager Rachael King and Artistic Director Gil Garratt to review the agreement. The terms of the revised draft extend from Feb. 1, 2026 to Feb. 1, 2031. It also removes various references to COVID-19 that staff feels are no longer relevant.

 

The updated agreement also acknowledges that the Blyth Centre for the Arts has consistently operated the stage since 2021, and contains language that allows for added flexibility by permitting special or other events, subject to discussion and agreement with the township. 

 

One notable amendment shifts some of the responsibility for co-ordinating performance and event schedules on the Harvest Stage and campground to the township, whereas previously, the BCFA has been solely responsible for such matters. Deputy-Reeve Kevin Falconer asked staff to explain the reasoning behind the change.

 

Steiss told council that, as the landowner, the township should take the lead in co-ordinating use of the site. She emphasized that this would be done collaboratively with community partners, not in their absence. “We want to make sure that we have the opportunity, through our recreation department, to ensure the co-ordination of those services, and not have negotiations rely solely on just the users,” she said.

 

Garratt, also in attendance, spoke in support of the renewed agreement and the broader community use of the stage and campground. “One of the things that we tried to do when we set about building the Harvest Stage in the first place was to make sure that we were talking to all of the other parties that use those facilities and that site,” he said. “It’s a tremendous community resource, and we’re so grateful to be a part of it.”

 

Council unanimously chose to support renewing the updated land use agreement.