New Tasting Passport includes Vernon on its map of featured locations

The BC Association of Farmers Markets has introduced a Tasting Passport for 2024, and Vernon is one of the cities on the map.

Melissa Maltais, programs manager with the BCAFM, says the self-guided tours have locations across the province and are part of the yearly marketing campaign for the BC Farmers Market Trail. The tours aim to highlight the various fun experiences people can have in the cities they visit, including Vernon.

“We, as a provincial organization, want to draw people to those areas,” said Maltais.

“So we're really looking at folks who are driving through the Okanagan over the summer and want to stop in Vernon and spend the night. Here's an opportunity with curated experiences already for you in this one location.”

The BCAFM has also added Indigenous-focused opportunities on the maps.

On top of providing agrotourism opportunities for visitors and locals alike, Maltais says the tasting map has check-in features where people can win prizes, like Farmers Market branded socks and pollinator seed packets.

They also have digital stickers to collect, which are a nod to scratch-n-sniff stickers from the 90s.

The Vernon map highlights places like Cambium Cider Co, Planet Bee Honey Farm, Grey Canal Trail, and, of course, the Vernon Farmers Market.

Maltais says the Tasting Passport is free for people to download via the BCAFM app, though places on the tour have things available for purchase.

“All of these things that fit with, like the Farmers Market vibe, I can take my kid to a park, things that are relatively low-cost, that families can afford. You know, where do I want to eat that I know has sourced sustainable, local food,” said Maltais.

It’s the first year of the Tasting Passport, and Maltais says it will continue in perpetuity. She’s hoping to see the map continue to grow each year. Vernon is the only place in the Okanagan with a Tasting Passport. Nearby tours are available in Nelson and the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast. Tours are also available in the Greater Vancouver area and on the island, among others.

Maltais says that when creating the map, the association put the call out to all the destination marketing offices in B.C. to see if anyone wanted to come on board and be a featured tour on the passport. She says Tourism Vernon was one of the first places to sign up for the opportunity, and content was created by Tourism Vernon and Destination BC’s Co-operative Marketing Partnership Program.

The Tasting Passport is available on the BC Farmers Market Trail app, which can be downloaded on Apple or Android here.