AUGUST 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


5


Annual fairs celebrate hard work, diversity of farmers There’s plenty to discover across British Columbia, from cattle to cotton candy


Think back to the first time


you saw a cow up close, not from the car as you whipped by on the highway, perhaps


Viewpoint ALLISON MARKIN


“mooing” from the backseat as a kid. Or when you encountered a pumpkin so big you were sure you could fit in it. Were you at an agricultural fair? And was it the first time you realized that the “fall fair” wasn’t just about deep-fried foods, riding the Tilt-a-Whirl or winning a prize at the midway? For many people, children and adults alike, wandering through displays at an agricultural fair was their first real-life exposure to the importance of agriculture in our province.


Long history


Dozens of fairs and exhibitions are held across BC every year, some celebrating more than a century of service. Speaking of anniversaries,


the BC Association of Agricultural Fairs and Exhibitions has been supporting agriculture for 107 years. Created by the BC Ministry of Agriculture, the


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mission of BC Fairs is clear and simple: to provide leadership, resources and services to all association members so they can effectively celebrate the diversity and importance of local agriculture in


communities throughout BC. The association does this with a shoestring budget but with a heartfelt vision to represent its many members and increase awareness of the importance of BC agriculture, from the dirt under your feet to the championship livestock that tread upon it.


Every corner


Fairs take place in every corner of the province. Three fairs in BC are marking more than a century in operations and their stories mirror key moments in Canadian history as we celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday this year. Chilliwack, in the heart of the Fraser Valley, is in its 145th year, and two Vancouver Island fairs – Cowichan and Saanich – are a whopping 149 years old, just shy of Canada’s banner birthday. In the Vancouver Island


region, the Alberni District Fall Fair has been a signature autumn event for decades. Just down the highway, the small village of Coombs


welcomes more than 8,000 guests at its fair, as does Salt Spring Island, filling up ferries with excited exhibitors and families. Have you had corn from


the Fraser Valley? More than 10,000 celebrate this vegetable at the Agassiz Fall Fair and Corn Festival – this year marking 113 years of exhibitions. Abbotsford, Aldergrove and Cloverdale welcome thousands. More than 20,000 attend the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Country Fest, rumoured to attract more kids to its 4-H programs than even the largest event in the province, the Pacific National Exhibition (aka the PNE). The latter has much more to offer than the legendary wooden roller coaster. The Ashcroft and District


Fall Fair may welcome less than 1,000 guests but it’s gaining community support. North Thompson Fall Fair in Barriere owns its fairgrounds and is dedicated to promoting agriculture and agri-tourism in the region. The charming hamlets of Pass Creek and Rock Creek, the latter in the Boundary area, have incredible attendance and passionate volunteers. On a larger scale, the Interior Provincial Exhibition in Armstrong hosts 150,000 and this year the theme “Field to Plate” highlights the fact that our food supply starts in the


field. The Cariboo and Chilcotin


areas surely will recover from this summer’s wildfires – as agriculture thrives – and northern BC is not to be forgotten with small fairs welcoming a few hundred – Kiskatinaw, at 75-years-old, hosts 550 guests – all the way up to 17,000 attendees in Smithers at the Bulkley Valley Exhibition.


Pioneers


It was pioneers at all of the fairs and exhibitions who recognized the importance of coming together to celebrate hard work, build connections and create a sense of community around agriculture. They grew in size and scope from small, enthusiastic groups of


volunteers opening their own properties for the first fairs in BC to major events that promote education and excellence in hundreds of areas from 4-H to home arts to backyard farming. How wondrous to feel the


ground beneath your feet, the sounds of livestock, the smell of fair food – part of the colourful history of our country and our province, growing and adapting for decades.


Our fairs are rooted in


history. Now, let’s celebrate their future and get out to visit a BC fair this year! Allison Markin is the media


consultant for the BC Association of Agricultural Fairs and Exhibitions and principal of All She Wrote Consulting in Penticton.


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