But the big winner wasn’t the lucky ticket holder, it was the community groups that benefited from the Ag Days Gives Back community giving program which was the beneficiary of the draw.

It all started back in the fall of 2015 when Manitoba Ag Days announced the “Ag Days Gives Back” community giving program. One hundred per cent of the 50/50 funds raised at the show, which runs from January 22 until 24 at Brandon’s Keystone Centre, will go back to the ag organizations and communities where exhibitors and patrons live.

“We want to give back some of the show’s success to those exhibitors, patrons and communities which contribute to the show’s success,” says Kristen Phillips, Manitoba Ag Days general manager. “To date over $130,000 has been given back through the Manitoba Ag Days Gives Back fund to deserving communities and organizations across Manitoba.” Manitoba Ag Days was already giving back funds before the 50/50 community giving program was created, with over $300,000 having been given back since inception.

Tickets can be purchased at the top of the ramp and are three for $10. This year’s draw has a special focus and a special request for attendees.

“This year we are supporting a special young man in our ag community, who knows first hand what a metal BBQ bristle can do if it gets lodged in your throat,” says Phillips. “We never want to see this happen to anyone again. We are encouraging everyone to throw away their BBQ scrapers that have bristles and come and purchase a 50/50 ticket at the show and we will give you a wooden BBQ scraper, while supplies last.”

Manitoba Ag Days Gives Back will announce this year’s recipients on Tuesday, January 22 at 1 p.m. in the FCC Theatre.

Manitoba Ag Days Gives Back 2018 recipients were:

• Community Improvement — Edwards Sports Centre $2,000;
• Community Improvement — Heartland Recreation Commission $3,000;
• Community Improvement — agriculture and heritage, Manitoba Association of Agricultural Societies $5,000;
• Community Improvement — safety and emergency services, The Farm Safety Foundation $5,000;
• Education and Leadership — agricultural youth education, Agriculture in the Classroom $8,000;
• Education and Leadership — ACC Diploma Scholarship $3,000;
• ACC Diploma Scholarship — Braiden Setter-Shwaluk $1,000;
• U of M Degree Scholarship — Kate Green $1,000;
• U of M Diploma Scholarship — Renate Jochum $1,000.

The post Ag Days shares with Manitoba’s agriculture community appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

What he wants to do is help urbanites disconnected from the farm understand where their food comes from.

“I want them to know that an egg comes from a chicken, not Safeway, that pumpkins don’t come from a store in Texas, that potatoes grow underground here in Manitoba and don’t come from Sobeys, and that brown cows don’t give chocolate milk,” Penner says.

Penner is among a small but growing number of rural people involved in agritourism — getting non-farmers to visit farms. The Canadian Farm Business Management Council defines agritourism as “travel which combines rural settings with products of agricultural operations within a tourism experience that is paid for by visitors.” John Penner provides a good example.

Penner owns Penner Pumpkins and The Scarecrow Forest just north of Steinbach. This year he expects to welcome between 7,500 and 8,000 day-visitors to his location. About 80 per cent of them come from Winnipeg.

At first glance, Penner Pumpkins looks more like an amusement park than an agricultural learning centre. But appearances can be deceiving, as Penner demonstrates while escorting a visitor around his 10-acre site.

Yes, there are amusement activities aimed at children aged two to 12. There’s a paintball gallery where you shoot at a target, not at each other. There’s a zip line where kids climb into a harness and slide 200 feet from a 25-foot height along a trolley. There’s a play village inside an old Quonset hut where kids can dress up in a make-believe clothing store or pretend they’re in a classroom. There are also trained pig races (yes, really), train rides (ATM carts pulled by a tractor) and several playgrounds. Don’t forget the 1.5-acre corn maze, currently in its first year.

But there are also real-life farm attractions, such as goats, horses, chickens, ducks, geese and, of course, a pumpkin patch.

It’s all part of Penner’s objective to get city people out of the asphalt jungle, at least for a few hours, and taste the agricultural outdoors.

Of course, Penner Pumpkins isn’t a typical farm and doesn’t pretend to be. It’s primarily a gathering place, especially for families and corporate groups. The operation hosts banquet meals prepared in a certified kitchen that can feed up to 250 people with the specialty of the house: pulled pork, potatoes and baked beans. Penner has also converted a former workshop into a concession stand where people can buy burgers, hotdogs and fries on weekends.

If you want to take home some farm-raised food (besides pumpkins, that is), Penner sells free-range eggs, chickens processed at a nearby abattoir and vegetables in season.

Longtime dream

It’s been a long journey since 1990 when Penner, 67, bought the site just across the road from the dairy farm where he grew up.

Penner Pumpkins began inauspiciously when his three kids began selling pumpkins at the end of the road in fall. But customers, most of them from Winnipeg, kept asking questions about farm life and Penner gradually recognized a potential business opportunity.

Today, after operating for seven years, Penner Pumpkins grosses roughly $100,000 a year and is experiencing a 20 per cent annual growth rate. But expenses are high and Penner invests any remaining money back into the business. He still has a day job selling trailers.

Penner advises people going into agritourism to do their homework first. Ample parking on the yard is a must, since parking cars on the road leaves pedestrians vulnerable to oncoming traffic. Buildings and attractions should be spaced well apart to avoid crowding. Facilities must be kid-proofed for safety. A good public liability insurance package is essential. Adequate staffing is also important. Penner employs up to 10 local people on weekends, plus his grown children.

There are other efforts to encourage agritourism in Manitoba. Last month, a record 44 farms across the province opened their doors to visitors during the seventh annual Open Farm Day. Total attendance was down slightly from last year’s peak of 6,500 because of unsettled weather. But organizer Wendy Bulloch still pronounced the event a success.

The purpose of Open Farm Day isn’t just agritourism. It’s also agricultural awareness, says Bulloch, a private consultant who co-ordinates the event for the Manitoba Association of Agricultural Societies, which took it over from the province two years ago.

“Do we change people’s minds and do we broaden their horizons of knowledge about agriculture? I would hope we do. That’s our main reason,” says Bulloch.

Although agritourism is a small industry in Manitoba, it is big business in other tourism regions of North America. A report for the Southwest Ontario Tourism Corporation calls agritourism a way to supplement farm income, utilize farm resources and “provide income for family members, which in turn may contribute to the stabilization and sustainability of rural economies.”

Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler believes producers can make money from agritourism by attracting urbanites with farmers’ markets, U-pick operations, bed and breakfasts and direct marketing.

“Once they start coming, they’ll come on a regular basis,” Eichler says.

The post Helping city people reconnect with the farm appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Michael Fuller, age three, made this point to Mom, Karen Fuller, on the drive home to Brandon from Open Farm Day.

Michael and two city cousins had just spent the afternoon connecting with a real farm for the first time – and they couldn’t have been happier.

“They can’t stop talking about it,” nurse Karen Fuller said Friday, five days after the event. “They went to preschool and told their teacher and told the other kids. If it’s open next year, we’ll definitely go back.”

They enjoyed the wagon ride with the horses, loved digging for plastic eggs in the straw, brushed the pony, touched the horses, even patted chickens. They saw the billy goat, and the dog that was in with the sheep.

They sat in the cab of a real farm tractor and, with adult supervision, actually moved the tractor’s bucket themselves.

“They thought they were just in heaven,” Karen says.

“All the staff there was just more than accommodating. The gentleman driving the horses let all the children have a turn at holding the reins, so they felt like they were running it. That was very gracious, and really cute.”

Province-wide

The Colin and Ann Hunter farm, near Rivers, was one of 44 participating in the 2016 Open Farm Day. The event began six years ago as an initiative of Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives. It operates since 2015 through the Manitoba Association of Agricultural Societies (MAAS).

“We get funding to run the program through Growing Forward 2 with Manitoba Agriculture,” MAAS executive director Marlene Baskerville said. “There’s no charge for farms to sign up, nor is there a charge to attend.”

MAAS hires a co-ordinator for Open Farm Day. It also supports the program with promotion, signage and direct assistance. The co-ordinator, or an assistant, visits each farm that registers, to set it up for success.

MAAS also encourages local agricultural societies to get involved in the day, both by helping directly at host sites and by doing something supportive in the area the same day.

“The host sites do this out of the goodness of their hearts, basically, to support and promote agriculture,” Baskerville said.

“Safety is of paramount importance. We provide site signage. We talk to them about the pro-cess they want to ensure safety, and we give the hosts a couple of safety vests so they can be easily identified.”

Co-ordinator Wendy Bulloch said cloudy, rainy weather this year reduced participation at some popular host sites in the Winnipeg area, but that overall attendance was roughly 5,000 people. There are still some locations that have not reported their numbers.

Visitors came from nearby towns, from cities, and even from out of province. The guest book at one farm was signed by visitors from other countries, including China.

A farm, museum and agricultural society at The Pas joined the Open Farm Day program for 2016 – with outstanding results.

“The Opasquia Agricultural Society site had 4-H kids, all kinds of display, and about 250 visitors,” Bulloch said. “The Round-The-Bend farm has bison, honey, and about 40 visitors for the event.”

Why the bother?

The Brandon cousins were among just over 100 visitors this year at his farm, Colin Hunter said. It was an increase from 80 visitors in 2015.

“In preparation we probably had only an extra day and a half of work. We got the barn and the pens cleaned up, but it wasn’t really extra work,” he said.

The extra work was in getting animals into position for easy viewing, in setting up the sheep shearing and the clean deep straw for a playpen, in guiding visitors with signs and ribbons, in getting helpers to operate the wagon ride and the tractor with the special ‘people-carrier’ box on the back.

Ann operated the little red farm shop where she sold farm-raised beef, lamb and pork, plus her own garden vegetables. Colin circulated, trying to keep the whole event running smoothly. Both, along with helpers, were bombarded by streams of questions as well as wide-eyed curiosity from their urban visitors.

The Hunters had worked with sheep in Wales, before moving to Canada about 12 years ago. They have about 200 cow-calf pairs and 60 ewes today, and four sheep guardian dogs.

“The two (dogs) we shut up for this are called Filthy and Dirty,” he said with a grin. “When they were pups, they were always in the wettest mucky spots. We’ve also got Reba, the one that was barking for everyone, and Dolly.”

As for farm management, Colin says, “We’ve reached our limit for what we can cover ourselves.”

Yet, they add to it to host a non-profit open house for six hours the third Sunday in September.

There’s a reason Colin is happy to give.

“In the U.K., I saw the towns and the country separate. After the split, they became two communities that have very little to do with each other. I could see it beginning here.

“When Open Farm Day came along, we felt that we could do our part in trying to hold the two communities together. There needs to be more interaction. Town people need to know where their food comes from, need to care where their food comes from.”

Connecting dots

Ben and Lacy Kontzie went to Open Farm Day from home in Brandon with Shaelynn, nine, and son Matthew, six. The two town kids get exposed to a farm somewhere once or twice a year, Lacy said.

“I heard about it (Open Farm Day) through a pamphlet my son’s teacher sent home from school. I just wanted to expose my kids to where their food comes from, give them some understanding of agriculture in Manitoba, and how it relates directly to them,” she said.

Her children ‘connected the dots’ in the Hunters’ barn. Nearly side by side, they saw and participated a bit in sheep shearing. They saw fleece being spun into wool. They saw wool being knitted into mittens.

“They could see the connections. Ben and I both grew up in rural Manitoba, and we’ve moved to the city. We feel this is important, for the kids to be out there, and experiencing life on a farm,” Lacy said.

“You were able to walk into the barn, look around, see how things go on, and the farmers were there to answer questions. Everybody seemed quite friendly and talkative about their operations. I think we’d go again.”

The post Farm visit leaves lasting impression appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Those words truly sum up a Shoal Lake Agricultural Society director who served for nearly 40 years before resigning her post in 2015.

Prior to her resignation, Sophie Sytnyk was among the eight elite directors within the province to be recognized and honoured with a Manitoba Association of Agricultural (MAAS) Societies Honorary Life Memberships at the 28th Annual MAAS Conference held in Brandon.

Born in Vista in 1923, Sophie eventually married Joseph Sytnyk, and they raised five children on the family farm, south of Shoal Lake. She was a stay-at-home mother and their boys were part of the 4-H Beef Club and the girls participated in the Shoal Lake 4-H Home Economics program. Son Perry continues to operate the farm with his three children and brother Brian who helps when he can.

Nominated by the Shoal Lake Agricultural Society, which has been in existence since 1884, Sytnyk has served as a director on the local agricultural society’s board for a total of 39 years. She has been an exhibitor at the Shoal Lake and Hamiota fairs from 1976 to the present. She is also known for her plants and flowers and beautiful yards — on the family farm and presently at her residence in Shoal Lake.

Because of her involvement with the Shoal Lake Agricultural Society, as well as numerous other community achievements, Sytnyk was noted as a deserving recipient of an Honorary Life Membership.

The 2015 MAAS Conference was her fourth attendance, noting back in 1992 she was awarded first prize in the Poster Competition. Eight years prior, she designed a Centennial Quilt, which was raffled off as a fundraiser for the local society. She was also a 4-H leader for over 19 years, member of the Royal Canadian Legion Auxiliary for 25 years, volunteer with Meals on Wheels for six years, and an active member of St. Josaphat’s Ukrainian Catholic Church.

At 92, Sytnyk continues to be an inspiration to not only her family, but to all past and present ag society directors, and the community.

Along with Shoal Lake’s nominee, Russell (Bud) McKague and wife Frances — lifetime members of the Oak River Agricultural Society were also chosen for the Honorary Life Award. Also honoured were John Holland and Katherine Wilkinson of the Springfield Ag Society, Allen Anderson and Ken Weins of the Opasquia Ag Society, and Doris Fletcher of the McCreary Ag Society.

The MAAS Conference in 1992 was the inauguration of the Honorary Life Memberships program. With individual ag societies putting forward nominations to the MAAS board, the Honorary Award is based on member’s contribution to the local agricultural society, the community and the province.

MAAS provides the vehicles and opportunities to develop and promote vital rural communities and agricultural societies. It continues to look at new and innovative educational opportunities and partnerships to enhance agricultural education and awareness in Manitoba.

The post Shoal Lake Ag Society director recognized by MAAS appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

We were dumbfounded when we read the article, “How open is open farm day? Livestock industry is risking its social licence,” and the comment, “farmers need consumers, but consumers don’t need farmers,” by Shannon VanRaes.

Does this mean that people haven’t made the simple basic connection that when they buy a jug of milk, a dairy farmer made that possible? Or that when they buy a loaf of bread, a grain farmer made that possible? That is exactly what it means. We believe an easy equation to remember is: no farmer equals no food.

Always optimistic, we choose to believe that most consumers understand the ‘no farmer equals no food equation’ and perhaps, just perhaps, the writer of the statement, “farmers need consumers but consumers don’t need farmers” wanted the agricultural industry to realize, ‘yes you are busy producing food for the masses but maybe the masses don’t know who you are, and consequently are starting not to care.’

OK, we can buy the argument that maybe we do need to remind consumers that there is a face behind that jug of milk and loaf of bread. In today’s 10-second world, when everyone is so busy, we completely take for granted that we can stop at the corner store and get whatever we want to eat or drink.

How many of you gave a second’s thought, today about the food you have consumed and where it originated?

Open Farm Day is the annual opportunity for consumers to touch the farm. We all have a responsibility in this event. We encourage farmers to continue to take the time out of your crazy schedules and tell the consumers your story by opening your farm gates once a year.

Consumers, reconnect with your food. Learn about where and how it is grown and gain an understanding of the complexities that farmers navigate on a daily basis to ensure that you have a safe and healthy food supply. That’s the point of Open Farm Day.

Open Farm Day celebrated its fifth anniversary in 2015, the third Sunday in September. Tens of thousands of Manitobans have hit the road over the past five years to visit their local farms, to enjoy a day in the country and to learn more about where their food comes from.

Mark your calendar for Sunday, September 18, 2016.

The post In defence of Open Farm Day appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The association representing this province’s 59 agricultural societies will take the helm for future events, and will look after finding host farm families, co-ordinating and promoting what has become a popular one-day trip to the country for tens of thousands of Manitobans since 2010.

“I think this is an excellent fit for MAAS (Manitoba Association of Agricultural Societies),” said its executive director Marlene Baskerville.

Their grassroots association’s members are well positioned to encourage more farms to host visitors and have new ideas about how to include a greater diversity of farms, she said.

“Between MAFRD and ourselves, we felt that agricultural societies could connect with farming operations in their communities and could really help promote it,” she said.

Open Farm Day was a hit from the start in 2010 when overwhelming numbers of visitors jumped at the opportunity to visit nearly 40 farms hosting visitors that fall.

The one-day event was launched by the Department of Agriculture to help more Manitobans who might otherwise never venture onto a farm, meet farm families, learn how they operate their farms and spure more awareness and interest in agriculture overall.

MAAS has helped provincial staff promote Open Farm Day in 2014 and this year, but after this will take the lead role to co-ordinate and deliver the event.

MAFRD sees a MAAS-led event becoming a stronger event, said MAFRD acting manager of front-line agricultural extension Susan Nicoll, who describes 2015 as a transitional year.

MAFRD also sees agricultural societies helping Open Farm Day better achieve its main objective, which is to raise awareness about the wide diversity of all types of farms in Manitoba, Nicoll said.

Open Farm Day has had no shortage of farm hosts participating, but the predominant type of host farm has been those doing direct-marketing product or with some agri-tourism component as part of their business. Conventional grain farms and larger livestock operations have been notably absent from the yearly lineup.

“We are hoping that MAAS will be able to widen that scope of farms,” said Nicoll, adding it is “an ongoing quest” to get larger conventional grain farms to participate.

Visitors clearly love the smaller sites that offer hands-on activities for children, she said.

“But as a department, and as an agricultural industry, we see Open Farm Day as an opportunity to give information on all kinds of farms. And there’s such a variety out there.”

Nicoll said MAFRD will continue to support Open Farm Day even as MAAS now takes the reins.

“We’re still very interested in Open Farm Day and our staff will help make those connections and help promote it,” she said.

Baskerville said MAAS will talk with members about their new role at their annual convention in Brandon October 24. Members have already started thinking about creative ways to attract more diverse participation from farmers.

Grain farmers can’t be expected to host visitors during harvest, but there could be ways agricultural societies’ members could show visitors a harvest in progress, for instance.

“Perhaps a partnership could be created in the community and maybe the ag society could tour people in a people-mover around the edge of the field,” she said.

“We’ll look at creative partnerships for showcasing some of these things.”

This year approximately 37 farms are lined up to host visitors on September 20.

Wendy Bulloch, who runs a consulting business Building Up has been hired to assume the role of delivering an Open Farm Day in the future.

“I am very excited to be part of this agricultural awareness program promoting agriculture to all Manitobans,” she said.

Bulloch has visited this weekend’s farm hosts and says visitors will receive a very warm welcome on Sunday.

“They’re so welcoming and proud of what they’re doing and wanting to share that with others in Manitoba,” she said.

Open Farm Day is supported by Growing Forward 2 funding for agricultural awareness initiatives and this funding remains available for the next two years.

More information about this Sunday’s event, including maps of host farms, can be found online at the Manitoba Agriculture website.

The post Ag societies take the lead on Open Farm Day appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“Open Farm Day is our opportunity to showcase Manitoba’s agricultural industry and to give a glimpse into how today’s farms are managed,” Kostyshyn said. “It’s also a chance for farmers and others with farm-based businesses to reach new customers, creating opportunities for economic growth and diversification.”

Open Farm Day is an opportunity for Manitobans to connect directly with farms, ranches and market gardens across the province. Host farms will be provided with signs, posters and brochures. They will have an opportunity to be featured in videos that can be used for additional marketing purposes.

Kostyshyn noted the Manitoba government is continuing its partnership with the Manitoba Association of Agricultural Societies (MAAS) on Open Farm Day.

“The Manitoba Association of Agricultural Societies welcomes the opportunity to work together in promoting the diversity of agriculture in Manitoba,” said Annette Young, MAAS president. “It is an exciting and educational opportunity to showcase what producing your food is all about.”

This year, Open Farm Day takes place on Sept. 20. Last year, 47 farms participated in Open Farm Day and attracted more than 8,000 visitors. Farm sites with livestock, grain and fruit or vegetables can participate, as well as agri-tourism, horticultural and farm-focused agribusinesses. Many sites provide demonstrations, recreational activities, tours and other events as part of their Open Farm Day celebration.

Potential host farms must apply by June 1. The application is available online at the Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development website.

The post Farmers encouraged to register for Open Farm Day appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Think of yourselves in a new light and reach out to youth on their terms, says Peter Male.

Male took that message to the recent annual general meeting of the Manitoba Association of Agricultural Societies and spoke of how that approach revived his organization, the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver.

“In the end, really what you are is a socio-economic force that can affect the economy and the social lives of the people around you,” said Male, the exhibition’s vice-president of sales. “That is a powerful thing to be.”

Male was given the job of finding new attractions and year-round bookings to keep the 110-year-old venue “busy,” when he was hired in 1997. It was no easy feat, with a long-standing operating agreement with the city about to be phased out, the local NHL and CFL teams moving to new stadiums downtown, and the province questioning whether it should be in the fair business.

“The place was in a state of chaos. Change was overwhelming it,” he said.

Like many small-town agricultural societies, management had to face the facts and decide where its future might lie. The organization didn’t focus on its infrastructure (six massive buildings, livestock barns, and an amusement park), but instead searched for one “powerful” fundamental principle that would guide change.

“What are we in this marketplace?” said Male. “The common denominator was that we were a gathering place.”

“Bringing people together” became the guiding principle and was key to the revival of the exhibition, which now generates $40 million in revenue from 1,800 event days each year.

That approach is something ag societies in rural Canada need to consider and they should also look at how current trends can be harnessed, Male said.

For example, unemployed youth and those only able to find part-time work are a rich, untapped vein of volunteer manpower, he said.

But to bring them in, ag societies have to step outside their comfort zone and allow youth to participate in ways they want to — which today means digital and Internet technology. But it can lead to surprising and exciting outcomes, Male said.

For example, officials at the Walker Art Gallery in Minneapolis weren’t expecting much when they agreed to host an event screening silly YouTube videos of cats. But throngs of people showed up, many bringing their pets or dressing up as cats. There was also enthusiastic participation in a sculpture contest for cat carvings made out of butter and lard.

“They expected 300 to 400 people to show up, but the thing exploded on them,” said Male. “The entire crowd was chanting, ‘Cats, cats, cats!’”

The event ended up drawing 12,000 people, who paid $25 each to attend, and the Internet Cat Video Film Festival, originally devised as a means of maintaining event continuity at a time when their theatre was under renovations, is now booked solid until June 2014 for showings in Europe and Japan.

The older generation is the foundation of ag societies, but it can’t be an “island unto themselves,” and must find ways to engage youth, said Liz Roberts, superintendent of the provincial organization.

That may mean that a new event or initiative doesn’t have to be directly agriculture related, she said.

“(The PNE) is an agricultural society. Look at how they have rejuvenated themselves,” she said.

There is a tendency to do the same things over and over, while hoping for a different result, said Marlene Baskerville, the association’s executive director.

“You know the coffee shop talk: The world is a mess. They should do something,” said Baskerville.

To bring communities together, ag societies have to reflect the interests of the target groups, she said.

“If YouTube or short videos or whatever is the thing, how can a community create an opportunity for that to happen?” she said.

It’s easy to bemoan the fact that today’s youth spend every waking hour staring into glowing screens, she said.

But if technology is their current obsession, then maybe there’s potential for bringing it into the community event mix, through texting contests or organizing spontaneous “flash mobs.”

“You can’t problem solve your way into the future,” said Roberts. “Instead of seeing problems that need to be solved, we have to start seeing possibilities.”

The post Getting youth involved key to winning, says speaker appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

That’s just one idea for how agricultural societies might join in the celebrations when the Canadian 4-H program celebrates its 100th anniversary next year.

It’s not too early to begin thinking about ways to include 4-H’s anniversary celebrations in next year’s fairs, said provincial council representatives in a short address to the Manitoba Association of Agricultural Societies (MAAS) recently.

The 4-H program and summer fairs have long been linked, making the agricultural fairs a key place to showcase the program and its century of achievements, said Manitoba 4-H council president Trevor Carlson.

“Ag societies have been a huge part of the success of the program not only in Manitoba but across Canada,” he said. Clubs and area councils are also being encouraged to start planning events, added Carrie Elliot president-elect.

“We’re encouraging lots of local and regional celebrations,” she said.

Manitobans and the rest of Canada heard more details of the 4-H anniversary when national and provincial 4-H program representatives did a media launch at Ag Days in Brandon.

4-H began in Canada as the Boys and Girls Club in Roland in 1913.

The post Start planning to celebrate 4-H appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

At the other end of town, another small crowd settled onto lawn chairs and blankets to spend the day and evening to listen to folk music and munch on hotdogs and spicy Jamaican jerk chicken.

It was fair – and festival – day in tiny Kelwood, where a traditional agricultural fair and the more recently organized Harvest Sun Music Festival have become a draw for a somewhat eclectic crowd.

“We joke that we triple our population,” says Nadia Kuhl, the young Kelwood mom whose close ties to the Manitoba folk music scene led to founding the Harvest Sun Music Festival here in 2006.

The Kelwood fair and festival is a mix of old and new, the former run by an ag society around for 114 years, the latter just six years young.

BUMPS IN THE ROAD

There’s been a few bumps along the road to link the two events together, say organizers. As Pearl S. Buck once put it “you gauge your age by the amount of pain you feel when encountering a new idea.”

But parked in his pickup at the music festival entrance gate, agricultural society president Duane Stewart said he’s just sorry his double hip replacement keeps him from making the trek into the festival site.

“It’s all worked out very well, the two of us working together,” Stewart says. “One event compliments the other. We’ve been really pleased with their support and we hope they’re pleased with ours.”

Kuhl’s a hometown girl, who left Kelwood for a few years, then returned when a house she’d always loved came up for sale.

Now raising her young family here, and running a catering business, Kuhl said she saw an opportunity, among folk music fans who were also attracted to rural life, to link a music festival with the fair. The fair by itself wouldn’t get them to come out to Kelwood. But the combined event does.

NEW POSSIBILITIES

And while here some do a little tire kicking about what it might be like to live in a small, rural village like Kelwood.

“There’s a lot of people who come out here for the music festival who drive around town that weekend who start thinking, ‘I could live here,’” said Kuhl.

“It’s changing views about rural life.”

The Kelwood Improvement Society is the small, charitable group that runs the music festival.

They also put a “thank a farmer” focus to the festival, bringing in speakers such as Janet Smith with Manitoba Farm and Rural Services to give a little talk between musicians, and share a piece of the farm story. They want to help non-farming people see ways they could support the local farming community, Kuhl said.

“We’ve worked on different ways to provide a voice for farmers,” she said, adding that the festival benefits piggybacking on the fair because it’s part of their community’s heritage and “very accepted.”

“We wanted to connect with them in some way and see where it can take us.”

The fair and festival also collaborated with the Riding Mountain National Park this summer arranging for a shuttle bus to carry visitors in Wasagaming out to Kelwood.

PARTNERSHIPS

The co-joined fair and festival exemplifies the kind of partnerships the Manitoba Association of Agricultural Societies is urging ag society members to pursue as fair attendance dwindles and fair volunteer bases lose steam.

The August 20 and 21 line up included alternative-country musician Nathan and Juno award winning Chic Gamine, the Dust Poets with Murray Evans of Onanole, Neepawa traditional singer-songwriter Rob Waddell, Trio Bembe, Deep Dark Woods, The McKillop Family Band, Rick Neufeld, (composer of Moody Manitoba Morning), The Liptonians and Washboard Hank.

Organizers expected to exceed their festival’s 2010 attendance number of 350 during the weekend.

lorraine@fbcpublishing.com

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“It’sallworkedoutverywell,the twoofusworkingtogether.One eventcomplimentstheother.”

– DUANE STEWART, KELWOOD AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY PRESIDENT

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TO SEE MORE KELWOOD FAIR AND HARVEST SUNMUSIC FESTIVAL PHOTOS LOG ON TO:

www.manitobaco-operator.ca and then click on multimedia/image gallery

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