SHEGUIANDAH—The annual fall fair is a celebration of rural culture with displays of fruits, vegetables, flowers, baked goods, canning and a host of handcrafted items on display. It can also be lucrative for an enterprising youth.
The triumphant return of the Sheguiandah Fall Fair after a three-year hiatus saw Linda Bond take top honours with the most entries in this year, while youth entrant Zachery Pulsifer pulled in a whopping $56 in prize money for the exhibits he worked on over the summer break.
Volunteer judges (including a couple from The Expositor) pored over the exhibits after the close of the late Friday afternoon deadline, affixing first, second and third prize stickers on those which passed muster. Adult entrants were mostly rewarded with bragging rights, as their pickles, jams, quilts, photos and jams and other assorted entries (literally hundreds of possible categories provided something for everyone). But youth were rewarded with cool, hard cash—$3 for first, $2 for second and $1 for first, with prize money donated by local community sponsors. The adult exception was in the special categories for baking, with $10 providing compensation (the sponsors of the prizes getting to take the winning entry home).
Community members were invited into the Centennial Museum of Sheguiandah to view the results of the friendly competitions on Saturday, where over a dozen vendors were also set up to ply their wares as they munched on the annual museum barbecue. Local musicians entertained folks while they ate.
“It’s been a pretty good turnout,” admitted fall fair organizer Norma Hughson. “We weren’t sure how it was going to go over after being gone for three years. Things were a bit slow at the start, but the entries really started coming in Friday.”
The key to bumping up the numbers is in engaging students in the school, noted Ms. Hughson.
Zachery admitted that he did not even know that there were cash prizes. “I spent, probably, about half an hour here and there,” he said when asked how long it took him to create his many entries. His broad smile spoke volumes when he pinned on his first-place ribbon and opened his prize money envelope.
Next year the competition will undoubtedly heat up, but Zachery will be back in the thick of it.
The Sheguiandah Fall Fair was the brainchild of founder Bev Morphet, and a special bracelet emblazoned with the words “Autumn Harvest” created by Zachery was presented to her as a memento of thanks following the fair. The fair is co-sponsored by the Manitoulin Genealogy Club and the museum.
Museum curator (and Northeast Town events co-ordinator) Lisa Hallaert arranged the music, vendors and barbecue. “It’s been a very nice day and lots of people have come out,” she said. “I think it’s a pretty good re-start.”
