One hundred and fifty years ago, if you wanted to enter your quilt, heavy horse or watermelon into the competition at the Saanich Fair, the entry fee would have been 50 cents.

A century and a half later, anyone wanting to compete in any of the 28 different departments, ranging from donkeys and mules to best orange loaf, still has to pay an entry fee B次元官网网址� and it is still fifty cents.

B次元官网网址淭hat entry fee has never changed and we keep it there as a bit of a nod to our past. WeB次元官网网址檙e very proud of our history,B次元官网网址� said Clara Knight, the president of the Saanich Fair.

B次元官网网址淭his is our 150th year for the fair and, as part of that pride, weB次元官网网址檙e planning a wonderful exhibition of our past, but to do it we really need the help of the community.B次元官网网址�

Knight has put out a call for any memorabilia from past fairs, including catalogues, ribbons, clothing, photographs, newspaper clippings and more B次元官网网址揳ll of which will be incorporated into a 150 anniversary display for the enjoyment and education of this yearB次元官网网址檚 fair goers.

B次元官网网址淲e already have a lot of the catalogues and some photos and posters from as far back as the 1800s but we would love to get more. The material is just fascinating and really helps to bring the past alive as they consider the great history that our fair has,B次元官网网址� she said.

The Saanich Fair, she explained, has a remarkable and colourful history.

It all started when 10 men, all farmers in the area, decided that it was time for their region to host an agricultural fair that would allow them to get together and compare their stock, crops and crafts in a mutually beneficial exhibition that would share information and give the regions farmers some bragging rights about their accomplishments.

B次元官网网址淭hey started out hosting the fair on one of the fields owned by those 10 men. They used to move it around from year to year, from one field to the next, and its popularity just kept growing,B次元官网网址� said Knight.

The fair is now the largest of its kind on Vancouver Island and on par with the Interior Provincial Exhibition on the Mainland and encompasses 43 acres of land on a permanent fair site that is the envy of other municipalities.

The fair employs five full-time staff and the 11-member board of directors now oversees the activities of more than 2,000 volunteers.

And, although the 10 men who started the fair are long gone, in many cases the farming families who were there at the beginning are still actively farming the area.

B次元官网网址淭his year we have Vern Michell and his grandsons opening the fair in recognition that Thomas Michell was one of those original 10 men, without whom the fair might never have gotten started,B次元官网网址� said Knight.

B次元官网网址淚n fact, we invite any of the family members of those original 10 to contact us. Some already have and weB次元官网网址檒l have seventh-generation farmers here to celebrate what their early family members got started.B次元官网网址�

Knight invites anyone with memorabilia or even memories of the early days of the fair to contact the Saanich Fair by phone or email.

B次元官网网址淲e would love to talk to people to tap into their memories and memorabilia so we can share that history with the visitors to the fair this Fall,B次元官网网址� said Knight.

In fact, KnightB次元官网网址檚 own memories of the exhibition are significant.

B次元官网网址淢y son pointed out to me that, since IB次元官网网址檝e been coming to the fair my whole life, my involvement spans about half of the years the fair has been around. I felt like giving him a smack,B次元官网网址� she said with a chuckle.

B次元官网网址淏ut age is mind over matter and if you donB次元官网网址檛 mind, it doesnB次元官网网址檛 matter. IB次元官网网址檝e had a great life and this fair has been a big part of that. IB次元官网网址檓 proud of the work we manage to do.B次元官网网址�

Anyone with materials or stories regarding the history of the fair can contact the organizers at saanichfair.ca.