It has weathered multiple changes in format, location and governance during its 83-year history, but Powell River’s long-standing Fall Fair may fall by the wayside without a new coordinator.
At least for 2015.
Powell River and District Agricultural Association president Kathy Rebane announced her resignation at the beginning of August due to increased commitments in her work life. “I couldn’t devote the kind of time needed to be the president that I wanted to be so I thought it would be best to step down,” she said.
The association’s treasurer, Juhli Jobi, then began creating the framework for a pared-down version of the Fall Fair which the board might be able to execute in its place. Committee members are currently considering their best option for the timeline that remains and an official announcement will be made in the coming weeks as to whether or not the event will go ahead on September 19 and 20. Jobi, who is also the manager of Powell River Open Air Market, said that regardless, the Saturday and Sunday markets will run until the last weekend in September.
If the Fall Fair does continue this year, and beyond, it will likely require the help of some new volunteers.
“It’s easy enough to find people who can commit to the day or two days that it’s happening but to find someone who does larger things, coordinating all the different pieces or doing a large component of it, it’s a bit too late,” said Jobi. “I’ve reached out to a couple of people who have done certain components of the Fall Fair in past years. Many of them are unable to do it, like a lot of us who have circumstances change in our lives, right, whether it’s taking on a new job or a business expanding and taking up more time, so it’s just a little challenging right now.”
The event has operated without an official coordinator in the past, most recently with Rebane and Jobi coming to the rescue last summer as a temporary fix, but its longevity will be greatly secured by someone new stepping up to take on this role.
“What’s needed is a bit of support from the next generation,” said Jobi. “A lot of the people who are farming in Powell River and who are involved in agriculture, some of them are starting to age and some of them have aged. This is not just a problem in Powell River, this is something that everyone in BC is experiencing. So there is a need for the next generation to step in. We’re seeing that happening at the farmers’ market already. There is a generation of new farmers coming in, younger farmers and younger vendors and younger musicians… so I think if there is someone who is interested in being on the board of a non-profit and learning what it’s like, the agricultural association is a good place to start.”
Powell River’s first Fall Fair took place in September of 1932 with Ed Bernier and the Cranberry Ratepayers’ Association at the helm. The following year, it was taken on by Powell River and District Horticultural Society, which later become the Agricultural Society, and ran until 1939. After a hiatus during World War II, the fair resumed in 1954 and functioned steadily until 1982.
Westview resident Stan Plisson fondly recalls his involvement during those years as a board member and entertainment coordinator.
“There’d be about 10,000 people going through the door over a three-day period,” he said. “Some of them were duplicates of course because the population wasn’t that big.” The fair took place at Willingdon Arena [the location of the Willingdon South gravel lot] for many years and became so large at one point that the space required renovations. “We were responsible for building an addition at the back which is where the animals were kept. And the mezzanine floor in the old arena, we also built that for our office space,” he explained.
One of the Fall Fair’s most popular attractions was the car raffle, which was “a big moneymaker” according to Plisson. Often, there would be two vehicles up for grabs, and sometimes a speedboat as well. The arena floor would be lined with exhibitors and commercial booths, in a similar format to what the Powell River Home Show embodies today, and musicians were brought in from far and wide to perform. “The entertainment used to cost us around $10,000,” he recalled. Adjusted for inflation, that figure would be north of $50,000 today.
When Willingdon Arena closed its doors in the late 70s, the fair moved to the Powell River Recreation Complex, taking over both rinks. After a five-year sabbatical that lasted from 1982 to 1987, it was eventually relaunched at the Paradise Valley Exhibition Grounds. Some of the revenue generated during Plisson’s tenure on the board was put toward two red quonset huts that now serve as the animal and exhibition barn at the grounds.
“We built and paid for those out of the funds that we had, and they were all built by volunteer labour,” he said.
In recent decades, the fair has adopted a more outdoor-based floor plan allowing for everything from train rides to herding demonstrations. Rain or shine, it still draws large numbers each year. “People love it. There are literally thousands of people who come up there,” said Jobi, referring to what she calls a “resurgence” in agriculture as the reason. “There’s a whole increase in the connection between the consumer and the farmer and I just see that growing as we go,” she explained.
But despite that resurgence, Powell River and District Agricultural Association still finds itself without a lead organizer for its biggest event. And while it might be too late to pull together 2015’s Fall Fair, the door is always open for the future. “If there’s something you want to see and you’re willing to step up, then this is an opportunity, especially if you’ve had a vision of something in this community,” said Jobi. “I do see it as a positive thing. Change is always imminent, no matter where we are or what we’re doing, and I’m kind of excited.”
The Peak will continue to keep the community updated on this story. On an interim basis, potential volunteers and organizers may contact Jobi at 604.414.5076 or [email protected].
