Editor:
The South Burnaby Garden Club has existed since 1901, and this Sept. 10-11 we will continue the tradition of exhibiting to the public the bounty from our members' gardens, kitchens, and creative activities.
The Bonsor 2nd floor Banquet Hall will be filled end to end with exhibits of vegetables, fruits, baking, canning, flowers, flower arrangements, crafts, photographs. The potato in a pot judging on Sunday is always a hit. We'll see if the same family wins AGAIN this year.
Anyone can enter on Friday evening. It is all completely free.
The mayor has agreed to come award our trophies to the winners in each category and the Best In Show on Sunday afternoon.
Did you know that in the Burnaby South Slope our micro-climate means almost everything we grow is two weeks ahead of our North Burnaby gardens?
The South Burnaby Garden Club was started by a group of Central Park residents who incorporated to form a Farmer's Institute. They leased 17 acres of Central Park, and constructed a two-story building that was second to none outside Victoria and New Westminster. They held their first Fall Fair in 1901.
The Institute amalgamated with the South Vancouver and Burnaby Agricultural Society, and continued to hold Fall Fairs until the First World War. The building was demolished in 1924, but the new society continued to hold small exhibitions as the South Burnaby Horticultural Association.
In 1960 the association became the South Burnaby Garden Club, which has flourished ever since. And COVID did not hold us back. We continued to meet monthly on Zoom, produce our monthly ( award-worthy) newsletter and even continued our monthly exhibits in our Show Bench by taking photos of our entries. It was not possible to judge the entries but everyone who entered got full points. At the end of 2020 and 2021 we awarded our trophies as usual.
We are so thankful to be meeting in person again and are really looking forward to our first Fall Harvest Fair in two years.
We invite anyone with an interest in gardening, food, preserves, flowers, crafts, or photographs to come on by and marvel at what we can grow here in Burnaby.
BONSOR 2nd floor 6550 Bonsor Ave.
Saturday, Sept. 10, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 11, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
More information: www.southburnabygardenclub.ca
Lucette Wesley
South Burnaby Garden Club Fall Harvest Fair co-ordinator
