As the Creston Valley Fall Fair gears up to celebrate 100 years as an agricultural fair, and the Community Arts Council is planning its 50th anniversary next year, we thought it timely to share a bit of the Full Plate experience of being part of a Canada 150 project.
A momentum started in 2016 when Brenda Brucker had an idea to bring awareness to our local agriculture through the arts as fitting for a local project. A Full Plate for Canada 150 became an ad hoc organizing committee under the Community Arts Council of Creston (CACC), and a working group under Fields Forward. The project was made possible through volunteer efforts and collaborators including individuals, organizations, and businesses across the valley. We received funding from the Community Foundation Fund of Canada 150, the Creston Kootenay Foundation, CACC and Fields Forward.
We launched our idea at the 2016 CV Fall Fair. Tammy Bradford of the Creston Museum framed the concept and set a tone for inspiration through creating historical panels of some of the key events that have shaped our agricultural history since 1868. She also hosted a museum summer display of “Art Meets Agriculture’ as well as contributing relevant displays at three other events: our FULL PLATE launch in January 2017, the 2017 Fall Fair and Full Plate Chautauqua January 2018.
Local artists Gary Deatherage and Alison Masters picked up the theme to include in their 2017 Artists Challenge: ‘The Box Project’, resulting in a diversity of artistic expressions in all mediums and concepts many related to food culture. The Art Council and Focus on Youth hosted ‘Farms, Fields and Food’ Art Show. The Creston Valley Quilters Guild responded with their show theme: ‘Basket Full of Quilts’ and the art council hosted a Poetry Jam. Richard Reeves and Brenna Murray worked with us in creating audio and video recordings, and Frank Goodsir was our historian and photographer.
As the year progressed, the reality of the depth and breadth of our local identity integral to agriculture became more evident. Historically, from process to product, from food to value added, from tradition to innovation, our project would barely scratch the surface of possible topics to include in our timeframe and capacity to follow through with so many stories to tell!
We met with local food producers and documented video interviews, photographers submitted photos, we wrote articles and attended and promoted meetings and events utilizing local newspapers, magazines and social media including our own FB page and website.
Participating in two Creston Valley Fall Fairs was a satisfying experience as we witnessed the interest and enthusiasm of people to share their stories and ideas and to participate in knowing more. Thanks to local artists and arts groups of all stripes, our display at 2017 CV Fall Fair was a window into how the arts involve people in expressing the diversity of our agri-culture. Interactive mapping plus videos and slideshows curated by Richard Reeves were a hit. A fibre arts wool display thanks to Carmen Ditzler, a historical mural tryptic by Stephanie Sweet and CV Mudders Group, projects by seniors from TAPS and CrestView and folks from Cresteramics Society for the Handicapped added to the diverse view of agriculture amongst the Fall Fair displays.
We can’t end before we mention our January final event in 2018, a ‘Chautauqua’. With help from many volunteers, CCAC, Fields Forward, CV-Library and Harvest Share and youth from the CVYN, The Creston Community Band, contra and line dancers, all added to a community gathering of all ages for educational, recreational and participatory activities, local food, musicians, writers, slide and video interviews, visual arts and more.
Thanks to everyone that helped, contributed or participated during 2016 to now. Our hope is that as a community we recognize the efforts of and find ways to contribute to the vision of our local governments and organizations including the individuals, families, businesses and food producers that work so hard to creatively and efficiently provide us with the means for a thriving food system. What will it take to continue to support and champion opportunities for a sustainable and good practices food culture and address the challenges? How can we recognize the opportunities inherent in the role of Fall Fairs, the Ktunaxa vision, Fields Forward, the Food Coalition, Harvest Share, Farmers Markets, Kootenay Lake and Eastshore collaborations? What initiatives are happening in our schools, the College of the Rockies?
We all a part of this circle of life… inspiring poems, paintings, photos, songs, sculptures and jewellery, fabric and stories, dance and more…budding entrepreneurs, scientists, industry, and commerce. This land we call home feeds our families, calling forth visions of possibilities while we wrestle with and meet challenges, call on our values, intuition, and hearts as we inhabit and be good stewards of this place we call home.
Some of us are inspired to find ways to keep up the work we started as A Full Plate in visual, auditory and literary ways …who knows what that will lead to?
More information is available at info@fullplate.ca, Facebook and at www.fullplate.ca
Thanks to the Community Arts Council of Creston.
Submitted by Coordinating Committee for A Full Plate Canada 150
