Here we are in warkworth, ontario.
[cheering & applauding]
I tell you, looking around this gorgeous little town,
Set in the rolling green hills of northumberland county
With a thriving and eclectic downtown core,
It's hard for me to imagine that through the 60s,
70s and 80s, things were looking sort of run down.
Closed up shops, beautiful brickwork
Hidden behind hideous siding.
Many would say that this town was saved by an incredible
Art scene, and a thriving gay community.
All this from a town that was just a simple farming town.
You went from e-I-e-I-o to lgbtq.
[laughing]
And things turned out to be a-okay.
[laughing]
[applauding]
When you go up in a small town in newfoundland,
You see that people have a sense of humor about hard times.
Check, check.
I turned that into a career and hit the road.
Mister jonny harris!
Now I'm on a mission to find the funny in the places you'd
Least expect it, canada's struggling small towns.
Towns that are against the ropes, but hanging in there...
Still laughing in the face of adversity.
This is warkworth, ontario.
♪
[cheering & applauding]
This town specializes in diversity in more ways than one.
The sheer range of things that go on here.
The fall fair, huge maple syrup festival,
High end antiques, high end fashion.
You know, scott's variety.
[laughing]
[applauding]
I went for a walk through warkworth with a guy
Whose family goes way back here.
They are into- talk about eclectic businesses-
Cattle farming and insurance.
And he and I were the perfect fit.
Many would say he is an insurance expert.
Many would say I am a liability.
[laughing]
When it comes to warkworth's history,
He gave me excellent coverage, bryce allen.
[cheering & applauding]
♪
In the 50s, the village was alive.
When the agricultural community or the farmers
All came into town, it was a good time around here.
And as a kid, you looked forward to it.
Bryce remembers when warkworth was the place to be
On a Saturday night.
It was Saturday night live.
People were in for a haircut or whatever,
Or a game of pool or the ladies did shopping on the street.
He said the farmers, after a long day in the fields,
They would gather their families and bring them
Into town to do some shopping.
And were there bars?
No, this this village in this municipality
Were dry up until...
- Oh, the early 70s. - Is that right?
Yeah, that's why the barber shop stayed open 'til one o'clock.
- [laughing] - okay, I got you.
They put the "bar" in barber.
[laughing] yeah, could be, yeah.
Some people got their hair trimmed,
Everybody got half cut.
[laughing]
They broke a few rules, including the age old rule of,
Never "rum" with scissors.
But bryce said that the pride of warkworth has
Always been its main street.
People were proud of their properties.
Many families lived above their business space.
But there came a time when people started moving away and
Real estate prices hit rock bottom.
As those people moved on or closed down their business,
The same pride did not come in.
There was a lot of absentee landlords.
It moved away from that pride of the village,
Pride of ownership concept...
To more of, "I own a building.
I think I'll fix it over into some apartments and
Rent it to some people".
Even the grocery store was divvied up
Into cheap apartments.
I think that would be weird if you lived in a grocery store.
Like does your address include an aisle number?
[laughing]
He said things were looking sort of bleak when suddenly,
They decided to build just outside town here,
The warkworth institution.
In the mid 60s, the federal government
Decided to build a penal institution.
It was a minimum-security institution.
Some people refer to the prison simply as warkworth.
And I like that 'cause this is one town where I can come,
Go do yoga in the park and still sound tough.
Yeah, I did a stretch at warkworth.
[laughing]
Along with the institution came a lot of aspirations and
Hope for people that this is gonna rejuvenate
Part of the community.
Ironically, one group of people who immediately benefited from
The prison being there were absentee landlords.
If families from the
Residents of the institution moved here,
They might stay here for maybe two months, three months,
And then move on and be gone again.
So, the people that are moving into your town,
They could be the loveliest people in the world,
But they're not there to put down roots or run for
Town council or open up a business.
Right, they're there for short- bryce said in some instances,
It could be a matter of months.
I think the standard lease was five to ten,
You could be out in four.
[laughing]
I said to bryce, I said, "was there any like fear
Amongst people here in the town, you know,
Having a prison nearby?"
He figured that people weren't on edge.
But he said there were certain practices and
Protocols in place.
When I was first married, I lived about a mile and a half
From the institution, our first home.
And if there was a breakout,
We always left the keys in the car.
Bryce said, "if there was a breakout,
And inmates were looking for a vehicle,
Leave your keys in your car." right, just let 'em have it.
Otherwise, they've gotta come into your home
Looking for the keys.
Then they got to duct tape you to the radiator.
It's a whole thing.
[laughing]
Just let- that's what he said!
He said, "let 'em steal your car."
And he works in insurance!
[laughing]
[cheering & applauding]
♪
In the late 80s, after decades of decline,
It was artists and the lgbtq community who began
Moving in and renovating main street.
Now I'm not a great drawer, but I managed to trace this
Movement back to one guy, an artist, a sculptor,
Who helped shape this transition, paul portelli.
[cheering & applauding]
People will say that you're sort of the guy
Who first rolled the dice.
It's funny people say that, jonny.
And really and truly, you know, I think I was a young artist-
'cause I was 29 when I moved here.
When I bought the building, I really,
Truly was just looking for cheap studio space.
Paul lived in toronto, and he figured, you know,
As a sculptor, as long as he could ship his work,
Then he could live wherever he wanted.
Artists don't have to move to toronto.
Even though that's what my parents told me
When I moved back into their basement.
[laughing]
I felt a bit of a fish out of water in the beginning,
But I looked around and the welcoming to this community
Was not like anything I had in the city.
Paul started to renovate his building.
And he said the fact that he was a gay man in a rural area
In the late 80s wasn't even really a factor.
People were thrilled that somebody was making an effort,
That someone was bringing a small part of the downtown
Back to its former glory.
In my gallery, we'd have openings once a month.
And every show, easily,
We'd fill it with 100 to 150 people.
'cause I always served wine, always served hors d'oeuvres.
And jonny, I know how to sell out a show.
His place became a warkworth institution,
Not "thee" warkworth institution.
- Big difference. - [laughing]
Over at paul's studio, if someone got their hands on
The cheese knife, the worst thing they could do
Is a jackson pollock.
[laughing]
No but, you know, the wine you would
Get at paul's was much better.
It was made in tuscany, not in a toilet.
[laughing]
But paul said before he knew it,
Somebody else had bought a building and they were
Renovating and turning that into a gallery.
And then somebody else bought a building,
And they opened a coffee house.
The rejuvenation here became a big story.
The globe and mail did a write up on it.
They used the line, "queer eye for the countryside".
Each one of our businesses work together
To make this community work. We never advertised a business.
We advertised warkworth.
He said if they had enough money,
They would take on a full back cover of a magazine.
And the idea being that even if somebody discarded
The magazine, if they threw it face down,
Somebody might come along and- regardless of gender or
Orientation- hopefully, would check out your backside.
[laughing]
♪
Many landmarks of the early days of warkworth
Still stand today. I strolled past a
Cherished monument known as the yellow bordello.
Built in 1850, two storeys on the outside,
Hundreds of stories on the inside.
[laughing]
And this place was in a sad state of disrepair
When a couple bought it and began restoring it,
Let's say to its former infamy,
Jackson thurling and randy pearle.
[cheering & applauding]
Welcome to the yellow bordello.
So, did you know the history of the place when you bought it,
When you guys came here?
No, absolutely not.
It wasn't 'til later that we found out from the town elders.
They would hear stories from the older farmers, you know,
About when they were kids coming on horse and buggy with
Their grandfather up to the yellow bordello.
Grandpa would come upstairs, and he'd be back in 15 minutes.
[laughing]
And then suddenly, you're usually grumpy granddad
Comes out with a big smile on his face.
[laughing]
Or who knows, maybe he'd come out crabbier.
I don't know, I don't know.
[laughing] oh!
Listen, usually only fishing towns get a crab joke.
You should be so lucky.
[applauding]
The highlights would be the lobby, slash, ballroom
Soon as you walk in. And then probably the
Dining room with the silk ceiling.
And was that sort of a thing they did?
No, it was the thing that jackson did.
He just one day thought it would look good.
So, it's just, you know, turned into what would probably
Appear to be a parody of a victorian bordello.
The house has hosted several fundraisers for local charities
Or events, and it's become a party house.
It's just nice that the yellow bordello is once again a place
Where the people of warkworth can conjugate-
Congregate, congregate!
[laughing]
[cheering & applauding]
♪
There's a beautiful chocolate shop here.
Warkworth might have a men's penitentiary, but she is the
Woman behind the bars, angela roest.
[cheering & applauding]
Angela told me that her family were living in peterborough,
Planning to move to ottawa, when they discovered warkworth.
Had one look at the town, had one look at the building and
Decided in the moment that they were gonna be here.
I'm not usually an impulsive person at all.
But it just felt really right. So we live just upstairs.
My commute is awesome.
And I, yeah, my family lives on top of the chocolate shop,
So it's kind of fun.
I'd like to move in above a liquor store.
[laughing]
And that way, when my mom calls me and asks me about
My drinking, I can honestly say I'm on top of it.
[laughing]
When I moved here, I wanted to focus on exploring
Through chocolate, what flavors exist around me.
I get my inspiration here.
And these are flavors that nobody has done before.
And now, she's making fascinating flavors
Like tea and toast.
So, it's like breakfast in a chocolate bar.
Blueberry bee pollen. So weird and good.
It's fun. [laughing]
Gin and tonic. Oh, mother of god.
- [laughing] - that's delicious.
Toffee and potato chip.
That one doesn't sound too crazy.
I might give that one a whirl when I get back.
I figure if I melt down some chocolate and then
Toffee and potato.
I wonder if I could just sweep off my coffee table.
[laughing]
But perhaps her crowning achievement in chocolate is a
Chocolate that she has made that is infused with saffron.
Every year there are international chocolate awards.
And so, it went to first the canadian round of the
Competition and it won gold.
Then she sent it to europe for the world championships,
And she got silver.
[cheering & applauding]
And now at this point, I'm sure there are some people
Who are thinking, there's no way she sourced saffron
Locally in southern ontario. It doesn't grow there.
But she did, and it does.
And I talked to the guys who grow it,
Eric charbonneau and martin albert.
[cheering & applauding]
These guys, they met in toronto.
They were working actors, but both from rural roots.
♪
12 years ago, we went, "that's enough of the city."
- Is that right? - Yeah, we still work there.
But not every day as actors, as you know.
And so, basically, this gave us an opportunity to do what we
Wanted on our land and, and this ended up being a thing.
Saffron, I tell you, I'm always like amazed by
The curious nature of humanity.
Somewhere in history, somebody was looking at a crocus flower
And going like, see inside the petals,
There's three like little, teeny tiny,
Almost looks like little bits of red thread. Do you see?
Do you see what I'm talking about?
That might taste good.
[laughing]
Fast forward 1000 years, eric and martin are sitting down
With angela going, "it might taste good in chocolate."
[laughing]
[applauding]
But these guys decided to grow saffron.
I think martin decided to grow saffron, talked eric into it.
Well, it was a friend's idea. He said,
"you need to do that, you can grow anything."
I said, "no." but somehow, within two weeks,
I'd ordered 50,000 bulbs.
Eric was like, hang on, why don't we experiment?
Why don't we get like 2000 bulbs? And martin said,
"okay," and he got 50,000 bulbs.
[laughing]
Don't order 50,000 bulbs. Ever take my advice?
- It's hard. - It's back breaking.
And they have to be twisted in as level as they can.
That's why we rely on...
Folks, his parents, friends, the community.
The fellas, by their own admission,
Had neither the expertise nor the manpower
To plant that much saffron.
How many actors does it take to screw in 50,000 bulbs?
[laughing]
- More than two. - [laughing]
We could come to the field, and there'll be
10,000, 16,000 flowers.
And they must be processed that day.
You experience all the feelings that a farmer would.
The dread of having to deal with it.
The joy of the potential product you can create.
You're never sure when the flowers will bloom.
But when they do, you gotta pick them that day or
They'll rot and die. It's no time to get picky.
Well, it is time get picky, it is...
As in like picking.
[laughing]
Is it the most expensive spice in the world?
- By weight. - Yeah.
Saffron can sell for up to $60 per gram.
The most I've ever spent on a spice was $20 a gram and
That was for oregano and not on purpose.
[laughing]
[applauding]
♪
Main street today looks very different
Than it did 30 years ago. But to my surprise,
Main street also looks different than it did
Like three days ago.
Suddenly, all these ribbons went up all over town.
And I'm grateful to say,
A couple of local ladies explained it to me.
Jodi adams, raquilda van zoeren.
[cheering & applauding]
It's our gratitude project. So, each year,
We have our ribbons on display for people to fill out.
Write what they're grateful for on it.
And display it all through the village,
Year after year after year.
This is six years' worth of ribbons you see.
- They're everywhere. - Yeah.
It looks gorgeous.
This is all to support the local food bank.
And in a way, what they do for the community is a bit like
What I do for a living, right?
You try to find some material that will work,
And you do some soft "ribbin".
[laughing]
But then they said to me, "okay, jonny, just...
You know, write down something that you're grateful for."
You go first.
Well, I'm extremely grateful that I found a man that would
Marry me that had a very nice, simple last name.
What is your maiden name?
Bit of a funny story, something that they're each thankful for
Is that they both married men with "normaler"
Last names than they had before.
[laughing]
Like, as I'm sure most of you know, jodi was a hooker.
[laughing]
And raquilda was a monster.
[laughing]
- Spelled like "monster?" - like "monster".
My dad's bakery was bakery monster.
And the biggest crime of it all was her father was a baker and
Didn't call his business the cookie monster.
[laughing]
But eventually I was like, okay,
I got to write down something on my ribbon,
Something that I'm grateful for.
I think this is gonna inspire me.
[laughing]
And in the end, I just decided that I was grateful
That they'd asked me to participate.
Alright.
So, I wrote down the one word that actually I had on
All my sports ribbons as a kid: Participant.
[laughing]
So, we went and we took our ribbons.
And there was a bunch of the locals there who helped us out,
And we were tying them up on rails and the
Branches of the trees and around the trunk of the tree.
So, let me just say this for the record before
The press gets a hold of it.
Yes, I did tie one on in warkworth and
I wrapped something around a tree.
[laughing]
[applauding]
I feel like what warkworth has been able
To do here is remarkable.
You've put together, you know, an experience.
People come here to pop in the shops at the end of the street,
Put some chocolate in their belly.
Cruise the muse or start a new art collection
With paul portelli.
[chuckling]
Main street feels full of life. The nearby hills feel mellow.
And I'm not even going to talk about the kind of feels
You'd get at the yellow bordello.
[laughing]
Out in the fields, in the sandy soil,
The saffron is picked and is drying.
In town you see a sense of gratitude literally
With thousands of ribbons flying.
Long-time locals like bryce remember the old pride,
Though for decades the tide surely turned.
But in more ways than one,
A new sense of pride in warkworth has returned.
Thanks for coming out everybody. Thank you.
[cheering & applauding]
Jonny should probably get a life sentence
Because he really killed tonight.
The history of warkworth, you know, the heart,
The message, he got it. And so, here we are today.
Still standing.
[laughing]
Can we charge more for this saffron 'cause jonny planted it?
Nobody will forget this night that lives in warkworth,
That's for sure.
I think too what he was able to do was instill
A bit more town pride for us.
It's wonderful to be part of the evolution of warkworth.
Super proud.
I am thankful for kittens.
Oh, that's cute.
♪
[laughing]