Temperatures soared but attendance fell at this year’s edition of the Salmon Arm Fall Fair.
The high summer-like temperatures could be part of the reason this year’s attendance of 8,000 was down from the 9,400 people who visited the 2010 fair.
“I asked some of my friends what they thought and someone said they’d much rather spend the time camping and hiking because they couldn’t do that in July,” said Phil Wright, president of the Salmon Arm & Shuswap Lake Agricultural Association Monday. “That’s one of the reasons, but I think the economy is a little bit tough, there’s not a lot of disposable income.”
That the fair went ahead with exhibits in place is testament to the devotion of volunteers who stayed until 2 a.m. Thursday after a power surge Wednesday night knocked out the computer system.
“You get that sinking feeling in your stomach, like a deer in the headlights, your mind freezes, you ask yourself ‘what are our options?’” said Wright of his reaction to the “horrific” event that wiped out all the data.
Some 2,600 entries had to be entered into the computer again, data that then had to be sorted into divisions and arranged in alphabetic order by hand.
And somehow it all came together, as it always does.
Wright says the goat and sheep shows were larger than they’ve ever been, something he attributes to enthusiastic participation by 4-H and senior exhibitors.
“In fact the number of entrants in the open dairy goat show was larger than the IPE’s,” says a delighted exhibitor Star MacGregor. “The evaluator from B.C. Fairs was impressed with our fair and made special comments about the new composting program and our continuing efforts to make this a green event.”
Out on the dirt track, lawn tractors were whizzing around the dusty oval, attaining speeds of up to 60 km/h.
“The lawn tractor races were real crowd pleasers,” he said of the heats that raised true grit. “They filled the grandstand.”
Wright agrees the midway was well-suited to children and families and notes that once again, teens made known their wishes for more thrilling rides.
“We introduced composting and still maintained the recycling,” said Wright, pointing out commercial exhibitor and food kiosk co-ordinator Lori Graham’s system was not as well used as hoped. “We will continue with the program. It’s an education process and people will get used to it just as they did the recycling.”
A master gardener program in the Active Artisan barn convened by June Griswold was a success, with several people stopping by to ask about plant species, diseases, types of soil and many other issues.
A First Nations cultural display that featured hands-on birch bark basket-making for kids, was extremely popular.
“It was almost too successful,” laughs Wright. “They had hoped to get four at a time and got more than a half-dozen kids.”
The Pioneer Club convened by Stan Pollard and the Threshing Club were very popular again, particularly the “very first showing of the calliope,” thanks to Dwight Johnson of Village Cheese in Armstrong.
“The light horse show had many senior participants, which is a change from previous years, with a young group usually showing,” says Wright laughing. “The Jack Benny club was well represented.”
Wright was well-pleased with 4-H’s strong presence in beef, dairy, goat and sheep as well as the mutt show, something he describes as a perennial favourite.
The Saturday morning parade organized by Tracy Nash had between 60 and 70 entries, comparable numbers to last year – 20 of them large and more elaborate. The judges’ choice this year went to Shuswap Day Care.
“I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the talents and abilities of our local citizenry,” said Wright of the popular entertainment venue next to the food court. “We had the Just For Kicks dancers, which are local and well-appreciated by our people and Shuswap Idol is a good investment.”
Also well-appreciated are the service groups that participated in the official opening and helped out at the gates and information booths.
Looking ahead, Wright says there were some innovations that will be included next year and, as always, more exhibitors and enthusiastic volunteers would be welcome.
One group is very grateful to the agricultural association.
Silver Creek playground committee members set up a booth where they gave out water in return for a minimum $2 donation.
“We brought in just over $1,600,” says Cindy Oosterhuis, a delighted member of the playground committee.
Other fundraising efforts continue for the playground that will be installed Saturday, Oct. 15. A dance originally scheduled for September has been postponed to Oct. 22.
A bottle drive runs Oct. 1 and $20 tickets for an Oct. 8 duck race are available at Silver Creek School and the store across the road.
