COMBERMERE – The Ottawa Valley Tourist Association brought the county’s newest visitor information center attendants to explore Combermere for the day.
The group, consisting of summer students from around Renfrew County, started their tour off with a hike in Shaw Woods on June 29. Later that day, the group arrived in Combermere, stopping first at the Hyde’s Bay Model Train Museum followed by a visit to the Mission House Museum.
Melissa Marquardt is the marketing coordinator for the Ottawa Valley Tourist Association (OVTA). She said the FAM tour is a one-day familiarization tour so that students can get a firsthand glimpse of what they will be promoting to visitors.
Historically, it was a three day FAM tour all over the county, but now the kids go to the Ottawa Valley Trade Show and do a one day FAM tour instead.
“Because the county is so large, we are only able to pick a couple of communities each year,” Marquardt said. “So this was the year that we were coming down to this end of the county. We wanted to go around the Barry’s Bay and Combermere area.”
That same day, the group also had lunch at the Bent Anchor, followed by a guided canoe paddle on the Madawaska River with Madawaska River Rentals.
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