St. Jacobs

Old Order Mennonites settled Waterloo County from Pennsylvania in the early 1800s and the community remains substantial; the horse-drawn buggies on the roads around St. Jacobs are working transport, not display, and roads carry buggy lanes and warning signs. The St. Jacobs Farmers' Market is the largest year-round market in Canada, with several hundred vendors selling produce, meat, summer sausage, apple butter and quilts, many of them Mennonite families. Photographing Old Order people without permission is a genuine offence to their beliefs about images and is asked against repeatedly. The village itself has a quilt and Mennonite interpretive centre.

What you actually see

• The farmers market - Canada's largest year-round market, hundreds of vendors.
• The buggy traffic - Old Order Mennonite transport on the surrounding roads.
• The Mennonite foods - summer sausage, apple butter, pies and preserves.
• The interpretive centre - the community's history and beliefs explained.

When to go

Year-round; the market runs Thursdays and Saturdays all year with more days in summer. Saturdays are busiest. Autumn brings the harvest and the largest produce selection.

Honest expectations

Photographing Old Order Mennonites is against their beliefs and should not be done. Saturday parking is difficult and charged. Part of the market area is a flea market with ordinary goods.

Nearby

Elora lies northeast; Kitchener-Waterloo is south.