Refocus. Rebuild. Strengthen partnerships.
That was the mantra of the Vermilion Agricultural Society as it navigated the pandemic.
The first year, the society hosted a fireworks display, there were a few equine clinics and a whole bunch of quiet times. Faced with the same prospect in 2021, the society decided it was a good time to upgrade the fairgrounds.
“With the lack of activity on there that we are used to, it’s given us an opportunity to do some infrastructure improvements and get ready for 2022, with our fair for the summer,” said society president Heine Westergaard.
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Members of the society rallied to the cause, putting heart and soul into different projects.
“Currently we’ve been working on expanding bathroom facilities, and we’ve done some refurbishment of the grandstand,” he said.
The grounds contain sites for camping, which are getting power upgrades, and the shower facilities are also being upgraded — part of a concerted effort to improve things for the many users of the fairgrounds and its facilities.
“There’s been a tremendous amount of 4-H activity, as well as other groups,” said Westergaard. “Lakeland College is also a very big user of our grounds. They had events happening, and had to keep (social) distancing between groups, and keep their numbers down. So they were able to utilize our facilities for that.”
In the end, last year was busier. There was a return of livestock sales (as outdoor events allowed more attendees), several horse shows and a driving competition.
“The biggest event for us, was that we had all the heavy horses come up from Calgary after the Stampede,” said Westergaard.
The group included 100 horses, including six world-class hitches that came from Calgary.
“It was pretty impressive to have that group. We’ve always had a really strong heavy horse following, so that was very positive for last year.”
Actually for the whole town.
“In conjunction with the heavy horse show, we did a parade. It was quite a well-attended event. The community really rallied together. On a normal year, the Vermilion parade draws about 116 entries. We ended up having 96 entries into our parade for 2021. It was good.”
Because of social distancing, the parade route was lengthened but the good turnout ensured there were no gaps.
“We did have people spread out from start to finish,” said Westergaard, noting other ag societies in the area stepped up by entering a float or a truck in the parade.
This year, the showpiece event — which the society proudly proclaims to be “Western Canada’s largest and oldest traditional agricultural fair” — will be back on the last weekend in July.
Family reunions are back, too.
“The past two years, there’s been a lot of cancellations. We’re starting to fill up on reunions,” he said.
The pandemic pause has allowed the society’s executive and members to think about the future.
“With every organization, there’s a delicate balance to hang on to the past, but also to grow forward and stay relevant with the demographic,” said Westergaard. “That’s really key for the executive, to make sure the association is going in a direction where it is going to take us. You need long-term sustainability as an ag society.”
The group has put together a short list of things it plans to focus on — notably youth education (such as agricultural safety) and partnering with ag groups and farm-to-table organizations.
And like virtually every ag society, volunteers tend to be older and it’s a challenge to bring in younger people. But they will get involved, but need to see volunteering as exciting, and not daunting, said Westergaard.
And to be successful going forward, the organization can’t box itself in, he added.
“But we’re just not necessarily an ag society — we are a community,” said Westergaard. “One thing that’s got to be pushed forward to the people out there is that ag societies, yes, they are agriculturally based, but we’re part of a community.
“We’re part of the bigger picture.”
