The fifth annual Pender Harbour Fall Faire is almost upon us. It happens in Madeira Park on the first Saturday of every October, in this case, Oct. 1.
Preparations are underway for the harvest exhibit, which will be held at the Legion from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. under the wing of the Pender Harbour Garden Club. There will be competitions for best produce, floral arrangements, preserves, wines and cordials, largest pumpkin and sunflower, kids' best-decorated cookies, most bizarre vegetable and kids' best dressed gourd or squash. Contest entry forms are available from the Pender Harbour Com-munity School and the Paper Mill in Madeira Park, John Henry's in Garden Bay, Bathgate's in Egmont, Visitor Information Centres in Sechelt and Gibsons and selected bookstores. Awards and raffle draws will be at 3 p.m., followed by the famous Pender Harbour tasting (by donation to the Pender Harbour Food Bank). Vendors in the parking lot will tempt you with special treats for and from the garden.
A juried artisans' show and sale will take place at the Pender Harbour Community Hall, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring the best of local artists and artisans. Do some early Christmas shopping for jewellery, handmade clothing, soap, pottery, chocolates, wood products, decorative painting, sheepskin products, garden ornaments, fused glass, preserves and baked goods.
The inaugural Fall Faire Fashion Show and Fundraiser will be presented by Studio 2545, The Clothing Lounge, Simply the Best Consignment Store, Knitting Zen, UMA Barefoot Goddess Spa and Hair of the Dog Pet Spa at the Pender Harbour School of Music at 4 p.m. A lucky audience member will receive a free makeover at the end of the show. Tickets will be available at all locations and will include a complimentary beverage and snack. Minors will not be able to attend this event.
Across the parking lot from the School of Music the Area A Art Show will take place at the Harbour Art Gallery from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. An extensive and diverse woodworking display will take over the Madeira Park Elementary School gym. Local carvers and builders will display their work and talk about how they do it.
There will also be line-dancing demos, an African dance and drum demonstration, hayrides between all the venues, stilt walkers, bouncy castle, a clown, puppet shows, face painting and boat building for the kids, good food and a wide selection of goodies for the garden, home and personal enjoyment for sale. Don't miss the mechanical cow-milking contest, meet Hilda, the Harbour Heifer, and pit your skills against the fastest milkers in Pender Harbour.
The Pender Harbour Fall Faire marks the kick-off for the Pender Harbour decorate the town in straw scarecrow contest. Each year various groups, businesses and individual families register and pick up their scarecrow frames from the community school, decorate them and have them on display until Halloween, when prizes are awarded.
For more information, contact Marlene Rees at 604-883-9033 or Cherryl Hoffman at 604-883-9718.
