But two things are clear. The definition of fun is as vast as the Alberta landscape, and the tradition of getting together with community for pure enjoyment is older than the province itself.

Here are just a few of your options: quad wars, horse races, running with bulls, tractor pulls, farmers’ markets, and combine demolition derbies.

Who makes all this possible? It’s the 284 primary agricultural societies – made up of 66,000 creative and committed volunteers who are proud of their place, and dedicate an estimated 640,000 hours annually to enrich their way of life and welcome visitors.

While the festivities were created to encourage locals to gather and celebrate, folks from bigger centres are now being drawn to these homestyle activities.

And organizers are beginning to recognize that trend, said Tim Carson, CEO of the Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies.

“In many cases, they consider them more local events than they do tourism events,” he said. “But many people are actually looking to have a more ‘local’ experience when they are out touring. So attending some of the events going on in the smaller communities is a great way to immerse yourself in rural Alberta.

“It’s a way to not only get your community and what it’s all about out there, but it’s also a great revenue source for these organizations. They put in a lot of time and effort putting on these events, and accessing the larger community around them is always a bonus.”

In fact, ag societies in Alberta generated more than $44 million in revenue, according to a study done in 2009, and that figure did not include events put on by ag groups in the major centres of the province.

“It’s a much bigger impact than most people recognize,” said Carson. “It’s important to not only rural Alberta, but Alberta in general.”

While smaller ag societies aren’t generally tracking where all their visitors are coming from, Carson points out initiatives such as the Growing Rural Tourism conference and Open Farm Days have shown that people are willing to travel to the countryside.

“Ag societies are continuing to look for ways to entertain and stay relevant for their own communities. Because they are being as innovative as they can be with the resources they have, they’re attracting a new group of people to come and take in the events that are going on.”

There are plenty of reasons to make a rural trek this summer, that can satisfy nearly every interest. If it’s nostalgia and old-time machinery that tickles your fancy, there’s lots to choose from, like the Didsbury Antique Tractor Olympics (July 8), the High River Tractor Pull and Model T Ford Race (June 17) or the Model T Races in Bruderheim (July 29). La Crete has an antique parade and equipment demonstration (Sept. 2), Round Hill has a harvest threshing demonstration (Sept. 3), and Airdrie has the Art of the Harvest (Sept. 23).

If playing in the mud (or watching others do so while you stay clean and dry!) is more your thing, you can do that at Bruderheim too. As well, Bonanza has a Mud Bog with its July 14 fair, or head to the Glendon Derby and Mudbogs (Aug. 12), the Quad Wars in Darwell (Aug. 19), or the La Crete Mud Bog (Aug. 19).

Rodeos and horse events abound, along with cattle shows, petting zoos, parades and bench shows.

There are some interesting blends of new and old. For instance, the community of Millarville, just outside Calgary, is well known for its summer farmers’ market, but it’s added to that a half-marathon run on June 17. Plus the Running of the Races at the historic track goes for the 112th time in Millarville on July 1.

With this year being the 150th birthday of Canada, many of the July 1 celebrations are ramping up at places like Rosemary, La Crete, Ponoka, and Irricana. The community of Tomahawk is one that mushrooms well beyond its size, as folks from all over head there to celebrate Canada Day.

More than 20 of the organizations are over a century old, and this year the Benalto Fair and Rodeo marks its 100th Fair and Pro Rodeo on July 6.

Food — oh, the food — you can find in rural Alberta, with steak, beans, corn, and barbecues galore. In the fall, there’s the not-to-be-missed annual Garlic Festival in Andrew (Oct. 14). Pumpkins are featured in Carstairs (Sept. 30) and Eaglesham (Oct. 29).

The Association of Ag Societies has some handy planning tools for you to map out your calendar. You can download a mobile app through the website (www.albertaagsocieties.ca). There’s also an extensive calendar there, which is also shared with both Travel Alberta and Alberta Agriculture’s website calendar.

So whether you’re looking for something to do with visiting relatives, want to glean some new ideas for your own community, or just have a desire to explore a different region, it’s time to hit the road and have some fun in rural Alberta this year.

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But if you can pull yourself away from the farm, 65,000 of your friends have a great day planned for you and your family.

That’s the number of volunteers who donate their time to the province’s agricultural societies, including putting on several dozen fairs, rodeos, animal shows, music festivals, and more across the province this summer.

“The plethora of things that go on is quite staggering, everything from the traditional fairs and rodeos to things that are quite unique, like the pedal tractor pull in Vegreville,” said Tom Carson, CEO of the Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies.

The number of volunteers comes from a 2011 study on the impact of the province’s 293 ag societies.

And the size of that impact might surprise you.

“One of the roles of agricultural societies is to bring people together, and provide facilities and experiences that allow their community to have its unique feel,” said Carson.

“They own and operate over 700 facilities in the province — everything from hockey and curling rinks to ball diamonds, community halls, ski hills, golf courses, walking trails, and campgrounds. The list goes on and on and on. They provide these facilities not only for themselves but for other community groups. Whether it’s 4-H, scouts, adult groups, or whoever, they all need facilities so they can do what they’re passionate about.”

Those facilities have a replacement value of $1.4 billion — but many of their users don’t even know they are owned and operated by ag societies.

“Ag societies are one of the best-kept secrets out there,” said Carson. “Volunteers are seldom in it for the recognition, and they don’t blow their own horn very well. So a lot of people who are enjoying events such as hockey tournaments, bonspiels, and those types of events have no idea who is facilitating them. They don’t know it’s the agricultural society that’s providing that facility, they think it’s the municipality — that’s a very common misconception.”

But there’s no secret to finding an ag society event in your area.

The association has an Events link at albertaagsocieties.ca. That link takes you to Alberta Agriculture and Forestry’s ag societies events page. You can search by the type of event (there are 13 categories), by month (there are events listed as far out as Buffalo & District Agricultural Society’s Valentine Extravaganza), or by region (there are six in the province).

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“It’s just grown tremendously,” said Carri Hrehorets, president of the Andrew Agricultural Society in the village of 400 located an hour’s drive northeast of Edmonton.

“We get about 1,000 to 1,200 people out for the day.”

The Andrew Garlic Festival, held on the second Saturday in October, doesn’t just showcase garlic, it also celebrates the village’s Ukrainian heritage.

“Garlic has been known to be linked to Ukrainians and cooking, growing and gardens,” she said.

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The agricultural society and its seven members have run the festival for the past five years. There are local garlic growers and a huge farmers’ market with 80 vendors, as well as items such as garlic popcorn, cooked cloves, dips and garlic beans. The evening banquet has a Ukrainian theme, centred around the garlic dishes.

Other events include a garlic-peeling contest, a bench show, local entertainment featuring fiddlers and Ukrainian dancers, a dance party and scavenger hunt, and numerous kids’ activities.

The local chamber of commerce started the event after hearing about the success of the Smoky Lake Pumpkin Festival.

“Originally our festival was just a basic little farmers’ market and bench show display. I think it started with 20 people showing up that first year,” said Hrehorets.

But word spread far and wide, and it now attracts visitors from across Alberta and even neighbouring provinces.

The agricultural society operates the volunteer-run arena in Andrew, and some of the funds collected during the garlic festival go to its maintenance.

“The garlic festival is just one of the events we do to put funds back into the building,” said Hrehorets.

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Parks Canada approached his organization and the Canadian Bison Association to have a bison event at Elk Island National Park, and the scope of the festival quickly expanded, said Thomas Ackermann.

“It was pretty clear very soon that we needed to have native groups involved, artists, conservationists, and manufacturers to have a complete picture of what bison is all about,” he said.

“We wanted to showcase that bison is on the comeback and there’s a thriving bison industry out there.”

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The event, to be held at the park on Aug. 9 from noon to 8 p.m., will feature live music; bison burgers and smokies; tours and displays; presentations by bison producers, conservationists and First Nations peoples; and “a bison-themed theatrical performance.”

The only fee is the cost of admission to the park.

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