Three years ago, the Fair Board reached out to Darlene Clement to see if Rotarians might take over the admissions gates. Darlene approached the club, and in our usual way, we said that we were ready for the challenge. The task before us was a daunting one – we needed to fill 100 shifts of 4 or 5 hours at the three entry points to the fair grounds. Over 25,000 people pass through these gates each year. Knowing that we could not fill those slots with our club members alone and in the spirit of collaboration which has come to characterize Seaway West, we reached out to the other clubs for help, and they were ready to participate. To make it interesting, we offered them a share of the proceeds. For each shift covered by another club member, that club would earn $125. Not surprisingly, we filled all 100 shifts, and the Fair board greatly appreciated our efforts. This year, six of the eight Seaway West clubs contributed to our team. To add a little more to the challenge this year, we added new technology so that fair goers could pay by debit or credit. The system did not work perfectly, and some Rotarians took to it more than others, but we got the job done.

 

 

Two years ago, the Fair board approached us about helping to resurrect Education Day at the fair. It involves inviting hundreds of elementary school students to the fair to learn about agriculture and healthy foods and habits. We constructed a small team of former educators, the expertise of Darlene with her 4H leadership, and two members of the fair board. We met with Rotarian Krishna Burra, who happens to be the Director of Education, to see how this partnership might be forged. In June of each year, the call went out to grades 2 – 5, on a first come, first served basis, and we quickly filled spots for 16 classes in the morning and another 16 classes in the afternoon. At our end, we developed 18 teaching stations so that the students could learn about agriculture, from eggs to sheep shearing to Alpacas and more. Each class rotates through five stations over two hours. The teachers take home other learning materials, and the kids get cucumbers and carrots. Approximately 800 students, teachers and chaperons attend Education Day and almost 40 volunteers make it happen. A special thanks to Cora Beking and her husband John who travelled from Kemptville to teach the children all about eggs!

 

It was another successful weekend. Rotarians enjoyed the opportunity to get to know each other and helped the Kingston community in a big way. We look forward to many more years and are already discussing how we can make the experience even better.