Reading – The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair!
I thought you might find it interesting to learn about an important event in Toronto! The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair takes place every fall in Toronto (this year is was Nov. 4-13). This was the 89th year of the fair! There are many things going on during this event, so it’s hard to explain exactly what it is – it’s kind of like the Olympics of the agricultural world! The harvest in Ontario is over, so this is an important fair for farmers to show what they’ve been doing during the growing season. There is a competition for everything from animals to vegetables to maple syrup! Maybe some photos will help! 1. Livestock Livestock is the term used for farm animals like cows, pigs, horses, sheep, and chickens (these are the main animals kept on farms in Canada). Here are some examples of the competitions: National Junior Beef Heifer Show – All these kids are members of a 4-H club (a youth organization with a focus on agriculture). A heifer is a young cow. These kids raise and care for these cows by themselves. I have no idea how the judges chose which cow was the best, but this was a big deal for these kids:
Dairy Goat Youth Show – Goats traditionally have not been kept as farm animals in Canada. Beef is our main source of meat (followed by chicken, pork and turkey), and our milk and cheese come from cows, but goats are becoming more common (mainly for milk and cheese!). In fact, a new product introduced at this fair was ice cream made from goat milk (which tasted exactly like ice cream from cow milk)!
These were the only two shows on the day I attended, but during the fair there are competitions for pigs, chickens sheep, etc. There was even a prize for the best fleece (the hair from a sheep)!
Butter Sculpting – Yes, butter sculpting! There was a contest for the best butter sculpture! The pig one first place and the apple tree won third place. You can see better pictures here:
2. Giant vegetables! How big can a pumpkin grow? What about carrots or cabbage? There was a contest for that, too!
There was a lot more I didn’t get pictures of! It was a family event, with lots of food, and lots of shopping, too! Part of the fair also includes a horse show and rodeo, but that required a separate ticket. There was also a fun show with the SuperDogs! Here’s a video of them I found on YouTube:
