Salt Spring’s biggest annual event is just around the corner, but fall fair organizers need a few more boots on the ground at the Farmers’ Institute to make it come off without a hitch.
Volunteers are still needed at the admission gates and to act as monitors in the exhibition hall and annex for the Sept. 9 and 10 event organized by the Salt Spring Island Farmers’ Institute (SSIFI).
SSIFI president Bradley Damsgaard said it’s been tough to get enough people to sign up for the required shifts.
“People are aging out and not able to do as much volunteering as in the past,” he said.
Gate volunteers take entrance fees, provide the information pamphlets and help with the proof-of-payment wristbands.
Monitors generally keep an eye on things in the hall and annex and answer any questions fair-goers may have.
The SSIFI has sweetened the volunteering pot by providing full weekend passes to anyone who takes on a two-hour gate or four-hour monitoring shift.
People can sign up to volunteer on the ssifi.org website.
The 2023 fair is shaping up to be the biggest fair in years, said Damsgaard, with a record number of vendors set to attend and no pandemic restrictions to consider.
Organizers hope to see lots of entries in the horticulture, flowers, baking, preserves, hobby arts and other classes to fill the exhibition hall. This year’s theme is Blue Jeans and Healthy Greens, which is specified in some of the categories.
The deadline to submit entry forms is Saturday, Sept. 2. People can download the form here, print it and take it to Foxglove Farm and Garden Supply, the Ganges Visitor Centre or Island Savings with the required fee. The form is also part of the Fall Fair Catalogue available at Foxglove, Island Savings, the Ganges Visitor Centre and the Driftwood office. The catalogue is accessible online at ssifi.org and contains a schedule of events, as will next week’s issue of the Driftwood.
Credit card payments will be available for the first time at the gates this year.
Shuttle buses will run to and from the Ganges Visitor Centre, and the Safe Grad committee is handling parking and traffic safety.
People are reminded to bring their own water bottle, which can be filled on the site, as plastic bottles of water are not available for sale.