Grade 3 students to celebrate Agricultural Awareness Day before the 146th Annual Shelburne Fall Fair

September 5, 2013 · 0 Comments

This year’s Fall Fair is Shelburne’s 146th and promises to be a family event of fun filled, prize winning, shopping festivities worth participating in.

As most school age children can tell you, they have been looking forward to the Fall Fair since school let out in June, and have already been thinking ahead to what they will enter in one of the many wonderful contests and are already dreaming of the prizes to be had.

As a precursor to the Agricultural Fair, Wednesday, Sept 11th will be a special day for Grade 3 students who will take part in the Agricultural Awareness Program held at the Fair Grounds each year in Shelburne. Junior Fair Coordinator, Marion Web, a retired school teacher, has taken part in the organizing of the Fair for nineteen years and looks forward to the Agricultural program each year.

“Grade three students from Primrose Elementary, Hyland Heights Elementary, Glenbrook Elementary, and Centennial Hylands Elementary will all take part,” explains Webb. “We have six stations set up for the children to experience, Dairy, Beef, Heavy Horse, Sheep, Alpaca, and Angora Bunny.”

Farmers both locally and from the surrounding area will be able to explain the animal’s use and purpose with regards to farming, the care the animal requires, what they eat and as Webb remembers the most popular question being, ‘What is the animal’s name?’. Each station will be visited by the children for approximately ten minutes, exposing them to an hour of farming experience and education.

And the reason this educational experience is imperative? Webb’s explains, “Our kids know less and less about farming every year. They live in a farming community and know nothing about farming. We like to bring a little farming into their lives.”

Webb goes on to say, “This year’s theme is ‘Preserving The Harvest.’ The Fall Fair can be very exciting for the kids. Some have them planned ahead regarding what they would enter in the Fair. There is money and prizes to be won and the kids are so eager to run around and see how their entry placed.”

Webb includes likely candidates in junior entries can range from three year olds to twenty one year olds and because the Fall Fair is so diverse in the nature of entries and there are so many categories, there is likely something for everyone to take part in.

“We get entries of carrots, beets, pumpkins and other vegetables, but also crafts, school projects, including poetry and other writing. Teachers even get involved. It’s a lot of fun. Entries for the Fall Fair can start being delivered to the arena the evening of Thurs, Sept 12th, through to Friday Sept 13th around noon,” informed Webb.

The Fall Fair is not just for kids. Adults looking to get some great Christmas presents early will be in the right place as there will be many crafters in attendance. Clothing, knitted products, beautiful quilts, are just a few of the delights to be had. According to Webb, there will also be a Demolition Derby, Fun Dog Show, Baby Contest and many more fun events to be enjoyed.

Webb encourages participation saying, “Everyone should come out and enjoy the Fair, pay a visit to ‘The Big Red Barn’ and see the animals, see the farmer’s and get involved. It’s so great to be a part of the community. There will be plenty of food vendors as well. Just a great time for the whole family.”

Contact Junior Fair Coordinator, Marion Webb at 519-925-3648. Anyone interested in being a sponsor should contact Sue Peterson at 519-925-6791. Go to Shelburne’s 146th Fall Fair Website page for a schedule of weekend events at www.shelburnefair.com

By Alex Sher