SUNDRE — A wide variety of local talent ranging from artists and green thumbs to cooks and quilters will be on display for the whole community to see this coming Friday during the Sundre School & Adult Fall Fair.
Sponsored by the Sundre & District Agricultural Society, the fair features components that offer youth and adolescents a chance to showcase their talents through the school portion, as well as a community aspect for adults.
Registration begins Thursday, when entries for the adult fair can be brought to the Sundre Curling Rink between 7-9 p.m. or the following morning on Friday from 8-9:30 a.m. just before judging gets underway at 10 a.m., said Karen Tubb, manager of the Sundre Municipal Library, which has played an active role promoting the event.
“We’re handing out the booklets and helping people pre-register,” said Tubb.
Also lending a hand to facilitate the registration process by providing entry forms and fair books is the Sundre & District Museum, the Visitor Information Centre, as well as a table at the Sundre Farmers’ Market in the weeks leading up to the fair.
Both Sundre High School and River Valley School will feature displays exhibiting the work of students.
“Teachers save artwork, stories, penmanship – a variety of school-related materials – and they’re all put up on display in the elementary school gym,” said Tubb.
“It’s actually really stunning to see all the art work up around the walls of the gym – it’s very, very impressive,” she said.
Albeit somewhat smaller compared with the display at the elementary school, the high school’s fall fair coordinator Melony Cormack said there will also be plenty of artwork on display there as well and added people are welcome to drop by and see the work students have done.
Over at the curling rink, the adult categories on display will include but certainly won’t be limited to a range of entries from flowers and vegetables to handicrafts and baked goods, said Tubb.
“We have judges from around the province that come and do the judging,” she said, adding the officials will start making their rounds on Friday at 10 a.m. for a few hours, during which time the facility is closed to the public.
But anyone’s who is interested in seeing what people in the community have been cooking up, creating or growing, can drop by the curling rink during the public viewing any time between 3-7 p.m. Viewing at the high school is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., while doors will be open from 1-4 p.m. at River Valley.
While an organizing committee lines up all of the fair’s logistical details, many local businesses also donate prizes for the different categories, she said.
“And the schools of course are involved,” she added. “So, there’s a lot of community partnership happening.”
Asked in the lead-up to the fair whether organizers perhaps had any particular expectations, Tubb said, “It seems like we have more people registered to participate. So, we’re really hopeful.”
The fair’s return last year amid the uncertainty of lingering pandemic-related restrictions turned out better than anticipated under the difficult circumstances at the time, she said.
“We were pleasantly surprised last year,” she said, optimistic about the possibility of seeing even more entries this time around.
A traditional element of the fall fair that organizers also hope to re-energize is the pet parade, which didn’t yield any entries last year. The pet parade is a fun opportunity for kindergarten age and Grade 1 students to relish the chance to show off their favourite animal friend.
“That can be anything from their puppy to their pet worm that they dug out of the garden that morning,” she said, adding participants meet at the grassy area between the Sundre Arts Centre and the high school’s cosmetology portable unit, with the pet parade getting started at noon.
“We’d really like to see kids out for that,” she said, adding prizes and ribbons are awarded following the parade.
Additionally, she said there is also a livestock category.
“Kids can bring their rabbits, or their chickens, or lambs or goats, or they can bring their horses and do some riding,” she said. “That’s part of the fair as well.”
No pre-registration is required for those events, she said, adding participants can just register on-site.
