Members of the Erin Agricultural Society are heading to Toronto on February 16-18 to attend the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies' Annual Convention at the Royal York. Approximately 1000 directors from Ag Societies from all across Ontario will be gathering to attend seminars, take in the tradeshows and entertainment, and share ideas with other societies, all for the purpose of planning the 2012 fair season.
Letter to the Editor re: Farmers' Market
Tuesday, 25 October 2011 12:28
The following letter to the editor will be appearing in an upcoming edition of the Erin Advocate.
Dear Editor,
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Phil Gravelle for the mention of our Farmers’ Market survey in his column last week. Yes, it’s true – the Erin Agricultural Society is considering holding a farmers’ market at the fairgrounds next summer!
It came to light early in the year that Debi Clare, Dwayne Gregson and I had all been thinking (individually) that it would be a good idea for the Ag Society to host a farmers’ market during the summer months and/or at the fair. A presentation on hosting a farmers’ market at your fair at the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies’ annual convention was the catalyst that got the three of us talking about the potential.
We have been accessing consultation services through the Rural Social Enterprise Project (a project that I coordinate through my work with the Foundation for Rural Living) to help us determine whether hosting a farmers’ market will be a feasible venture for us. This process has included the 2 surveys that consumers and farmers/farm shop operators can complete online (the links to these surveys can be found on our website at www.erinfair.ca). Additionally, our consultant has been gathering information from surrounding farmers’ markets to help us make decisions about how best to manage a market in Erin.
Some people may be wondering why we are considering a Friday evening market, instead of one held on a Saturday morning. We have a couple of reasons for this consideration: many farmers/vendors are already committed to Saturday markets and a lot of traffic passes by the fairgrounds on Friday evenings in the summer (heading north).
And what about a farmers’ market at the fair? This is also up for consideration, and we will be thinking about the logistics of this as we continue with our work on the Friday evening market idea.
While we can’t make any firm commitments yet (our farmers’ market committee will have to present a recommendation to the Ag Society’s board of directors) we can tell you that the survey results are largely in favour of a Friday evening farmers’ market at the fairgrounds in the summer of 2012!
Jennifer Girvin 1st Vice President Erin Agricultural Society
2011 Erin Fall Fair in pictures
Friday, 14 October 2011 08:37
Tristan Clark has become a familiar face around town since he started taking photos for the Erin Advocate. He was hard at work, once again, at the fair and has put together a slideshow of some of the images he captured. He has very generously agreed to let us share the link here:
If you're interested in learning more about Tristan and his work, please visit his website: Tristan Clark Photography
2011 Erin Fall Fair a Huge Success
Tuesday, 11 October 2011 13:42
Thank you to everyone who came out to the 161st Erin Fall Fair! Final numbers are still being tallied, but it is safe to say that the weekend was a huge success.
The Erin Agricultural Society would like to thank all of the volunteers for the countless hours contributed before, during and after the fair. Without your help year after year it would be impossible for board members alone to make the fair happen.
Thank you to all the exhibitors! Whether you were exhibiting in the homecraft or agricultural sections, without you there would be no fair.
Planning is already underway for the 2012 fair. Fair Board members make mental notes all weekend about how to make things better in future years. The Board will officially start planning for next year's fair in a week's time at our "Pros and Cons" meeting.
Thanks again to everyone and we'll see you next year at the 162nd Erin Fall Fair!
Farmers' Market in Erin - 2012??
Sunday, 04 September 2011 21:42
The Erin Agricultural Society is considering holding a Farmers' Market at the Fair Grounds during the summer of 2012 on Fridays from 3pm - 8pm. We are currently doing some market research to determine whether this is a feasible venture for us. To have your say, please take our consumer survey by clicking on the link below:
