Arts in our County

The Highlands has long been known for it's artistic culture. The lure of the Highlands is strong to artisans of all forms of media. The fact that we are home to the Haliburton School of Fine Arts, Sir Sandford Fleming College, and a fabulous sculpture forest certainly aide the cause. I have always been incredibly proud of living in The Highlands and have met some amazing artists and seen some incredible works of art - most recently, the bronze statue erected in the sculpture forest this August of Gelert the wolfhound in which a local community was named after. The artist, Mary Anne Barkhouse, lives locally but is world renowned for her work. What sparked this blog today is my recent visit to a new website that provides an avenue for local artists to sell their wares - http://www.madeinhaliburton.ca/ .What a beautiful website displaying works of art in a very professional, clean fashion - you see the artwork first and foremost.

I know there was dissention amongst art council members surrounding the value of this website and not all artisans are participating. There was a report released recently, covered by the news media, that noted that Canada was far behind other countries when it came to internet sales of products - mostly because of customs delays and fees. Here is an opportunity, on a much smaller scale, mind you, to take full advantage of the internet and the chance to reach a wide audience. I am so excited for this initiative - what a wonderful job! Now everyone - check it out!!

Luxury Properties

Haliburton County has seen a rise in luxury properties in the past few years. People have been moving away from other traditional high-end vacation areas and noticing what they can get for their money in the Highlands. Taxes are considerably lower than neighbouring tourist areas. The trade off is the size of lakes. We do not have a Lake Joseph in our County. What we do have is 600 lakes of varying sizes. Our lakes have a wonderful mix of the beginner cottager, the old traditional family cottage, and the beautiful new cottages with spectacular views and amazing water frontages. There are large, grand boating lakes, chains, and quiet, exclusive lakes. In 2011 there were 31 waterfront listings at a price range from between $800,000 and $2,800,000. Through all that choice, there were only 6 sales in that price range. The reason? Buyers do not yet think of Haliburton County as a choice for their luxury vacation property. Some of the properties in our area are outstanding, but we do not yet have a lot of buyers. Time will fix this, but it does show opportunity for Buyers to look at our County now. As more and more luxury properties are being built, there will eventually be more and more on the market. Because we are a "new" area to this specialty market, values will only grow, so a purchase now could provide good gains in the future. Worth considering!