Alberni District Fall Fair

September in my sleepy town is probably the busiest month we have going for us in the community. The Labour Day weekend is the annual Salmon Fest where thousands of people crowd around the Cluetsi Marina and watch bands play, visit booths, and eat lots and lots of super salty and delicious bbq'd salmon. My cohort, mentor, and friend Theresa took a bunch of pictures of Salmon Fest and wrote about it on her blog, Reflections of the Everyday, read about it here (and drool over the pictures of the salmon). The big deal about Salmon Fest is that the winner of the biggest salmon brought in (legally?) wins an enormous prize of $10,000 !!! This year's biggest fish was over 35lbs... but I couldn't imagine how big the fish were back in the day.
Next weekend is the annual Port Alberni Toy Run. The Toy Run here is a two day event (with a whole day for clean up). The Toy Run is all about people on bikes collecting toys for children in need and raising money (as a community organization) for children and youth programming. This year the Alberni Valley Roller Girls are going to be the heavies (read: security) for their dance. We're going to gussy up in our best roller derby short shorts and tights and be there to represent our league and maybe get a few more sponsorships!
And this weekend is the Alberni District Fall Fair. I haven't been to a fall fair in ages (since I was a child) but thought, wait, I have a child now, so I should take him to the fall fair. Ha! The fall fair here started in the depression as a way for local agriculturalists to share the products of their bounty and the event is so massive (and the prize guide so thick) that it takes a non-profit to plan for it all year to make it happen. And there's a carnival. And THOUSANDS of people come out. It's incredible. With lots of little kid rides, which is fun. My kid loves the animals and had fun trying to feed the goats. We'll definitely be going back next year.