The 95th annual Sundre School Fair brought many smiles to students, proud to display their artwork that they had put effort into during the last school year.
The gym at River Valley School (RVS) was packed with all sorts of artwork on Friday, including pieces from Sundre High School students. The fair was open to the public after teachers judged each category and announced the winners.
The categories include composition, social studies, science projects, math, health, penmanship, art projects from kindergarten to Grade 12, and high school cosmetology.
“All year teachers collect say the five best projects from whatever, say you write an essay or composition, they'll take the best five out and put them aside for school fair,” explained Kathy Doughty, teacher at RVS. “It takes a lot of staff and community effort to put it together.”
She said the students love the fair and ask during the school year when they are working on assignments if it's going to be a part of it.
“It gives the kids a chance to show off their work and they feel really proud of what they've done,” she said. “It's pretty special.”
She credits Karen Tubb, who is also a teacher at RVS, for organizing the fair for several years.
Seven-year-old Joel Gerbrandt won first place in abstract art, with seven-year-old Colin Newsham placing second in the category. They were both excited and said they were proud to have their work displayed at the fair.
There was also a pet parade held outside of Sundre High School in conjunction with the fair. About 20 pets were registered, which Ian Mulholland, vice-principal at RVS, said was the biggest turnout he's seen.
Meanwhile, the annual Sundre Community Fall Fair was open for adults at the curling rink on Friday. The adult fair is held in conjunction with the school fair each year.
As part of the adult fair, people take part in different classes and submit their creations for several categories and are then judged accordingly. The categories include baking, sewing and needlework, scrapbooking, handicrafts, horticulture (flowers and vegetables), gardening, painting, woodwork and photography.
Sundre resident Mona Kibblewhite was at the fair Friday afternoon and said she attends every year and enjoys viewing the gardening section.
Sundre resident Rosemarie Crouch was also at the fair and says she attends every year. She was with Jean McLerre, who was visiting town and was attending the fair for the first time. They were both enjoying the selection of items on display.
“It's nice that we have such a thing,” said Crouch.
Leonard Forbes was visiting town and attended the fair as well. He said it was interesting and enjoyed looking around.
