The Airdrie & District Agricultural Society’s 47th Annual Fall Fair, held Aug. 21-22 at the Plainsmen Arena, was a successful event.
With 93 participants and 411 entries varying from baking and preserving to Lego creations, knitting and garden produce, Airdrie and area residents put on quite a show.
“I am always impressed at the quality of entries, whether it be in the quilting section, or the baking sections,” said Brenda Moon, president of the Airdrie and District Agricultural Society. “This was a good year to showcase the horticulture.”
Phyllis McCallum-Hunter, this year’s Adult Grand Aggregate winner, first started entering fall fairs as a child in Manitoba.
This year, she entered 20 items, the maximum allowed, focusing on baking, garden produce and preserving.
“I have known how to sew and cook since I was a kid,” said McCallum-Hunter. “I was always in the kitchen.”
Every year, the Airdrie resident makes a variety of preserves such as jam, jelly, pickles and applesauce using her own, and friends and neighbours’, locally grown produce.
“I have space at my brother’s farm where I grow all of my stuff,” said McCallum-Hunter. “I just like having my own produce…it just tastes better, and I know what is in it.”
McCallum-Hunter grows potatoes, onions, beets, beans, carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers. She tries to avoid using chemicals on her garden, relying instead on compost and hard work.
In addition to her gardening skills, McCallum-Hunter has been baking buns for more than 30 years. This year, she entered both cinnamon and white buns into the Fall Fair.
McCallum-Hunter is no stranger to winning the aggregate trophy. She claimed it two years in a row in 2007 and 2008, but lost it last year.
“I was really excited to compete and get my trophy back,” said McCallum-Hunter.
Erin McKinnon, a 10-year-old Grade 5 student at Airdrie’s Good Shepherd School, also enjoyed the competition.
This year, she won in the seven to 10-year-old category for her multiple entries of vegetables, artwork, baking and photography.
Motivated by prize money and encouraged by her grandmother, who has long been involved in the Airdrie Agriculture Society, McKinnon, a farm girl from east of Airdrie, has entered her work in the fair for about five years.
“I am excited,” said McKinnon. “I was surprised that I won because there was a lot of nice entries.”
This year, for the first time, McKinnon entered baking in the fair with a chocolate cake and cookies. For her efforts, she took home $52 in prize money. Next year the Plainsmen Arena will be undergoing renovations so the Airdrie Fall Fair will be held at Genesis Place, and organizers are excited about the new venue.
“We are absolutely thrilled with our new location for next year,” said Moon. “We can keep it right in the heart of Airdrie; we can keep it close to the people who have supported us in the past.”
For more information on the Airdrie and District Agricultural District or the Fall Fair, visit www.airdrieagsociety.com
Winners:
• Children six and under: Zoe Ehrenreich
• Children seven to 10: Erin McKinnon
• Youth 11 to 17: Trust in the Lord Price
• Adult: Phyllis McCallum Hunter
• Senior: Elaine Claussen
• Grand Aggregate: Phyllis McCallum-Hunter
• Youth Grand Aggregate: Trust in the Lord Price
