Conveners at the Home, Hobby and Horticultural Show last weekend were pleased with the large number of entries that came in for the annual event.
Co-convener Donna Rudd said the show, held Friday Aug. 21 and 22 at the Ponoka Legion, had a new metal works category and old trophies and prizes for display. She and co-convener Kathleen McKelvie found the “Old as Dirt” display was a source of great history with older Ponoka fairs.
One entry had dresses from three generations. “It shows the family history going down to the roots,” said Rudd.
The oldest entry was a reward wheat sample, which won first place in 1930 by a 14-year-old entrant. The wheat was in its original bottle and had the original first place card and description.
“We’re really pleased with the community members bringing their old things from the past,” said Rudd. “So that our younger people . . . can see some of our history.”
The metal works category was a new addition to the show and Rudd’s hope is to bring even more categories to the fair to allow for people’s crafting and hobbies to be showcased.
“We realized in our community that there were artisans that do that work,” explained Rudd of the new addition.
“We’re hoping now that every year we can bring on these new categories to get the artisans in our community involved in our show,” she added.
As for plants and vegetables, Rudd said conveners were quite pleased with the large number of entries. She said they were uncertain how this category would look considering the rough weather and hail storms.
Conveners, some of whom are also organizers of the show, select and collect items for exhibition in particular sections of the show.
“It’s bigger even than last year. We just kept on adding tables,” Rudd stated.
A special needs division has also seen some growth. Rudd said that organizers want to celebrate their special needs participants.
The day also brought lessons for kids who had a chance to build a hobbyhorse and learn how to make lefse, Norwegian flat bread, and learning finger knitting.
Rudd said organizers are looking for conveners to be part of the show and she said it can be a rewarding experience. Many times a convener already has knowledge of the area they are judging. “They’re experts in their fields.”
Conveners meet approximately once a month and receive training in their scoring system. “You learn a lot about scribing with a judge,” added Rudd.
She said that conveners also learn more about their craft by seeing what other participants work on.