Selling our fair to newcomers

Selling our fair to newcomers

Columns

By: Jim Thomas

Hi-ho come to the fair.

Markham Fair.

The big show, largest of its kind in Canada, swung wide its turnstiles this morning, welcoming a hoped-for 60,000 people during a four-day period.

While those on the outside have little knowledge of  what’s required to create a production  this size, and those within fulfill volunteer responsibilities with little fanfare, I, as a barely visible bystander, am totally amazed at the enormity of the task.

Markham Fair doesn’t just happen. Committed people make it happen, a selfless example of cohesive continuity unequalled anywhere.

While togetherness is obviously a key to the fair’s success, it  takes more than holding hands and united hurrahs to produce this all-encompassing achievement.

First and foremost, aside from a competent manager and a dedicated board of directors, the society annually enjoys contributions from excellent juniors, some of whom will climb the leadership ladder.

Second, organizers have worked energetically to retain the roots of agriculture and, at the same time, provide original attractions to keep pace with an ever-changing community.

And herein lies the crunch.

Markham is no longer a bustling little village surrounded by extensive farm properties plus pockets of sleepy Anglo-Saxon neighbourhoods.

Whitchurch-Stouffville, although spared the rampage of urbanization seen all-too-close to its southerly border, has changed considerably also. With more changes to come.

But, true to tradition, the fair continues to host such agriculturally-tuned events as calf,  sheep and goat competitions, rabbit, pigeon and poultry shows, horse and tractor pulls, old-tyme fiddler contests, hotdogs, hamburgers and bacon-on-a bun.

All top-flight entertainment and taste-bud treats. Country benevolence at its best. Let’s not lose the flavor.

However, Markham, like it or not, has long since lost its country character. The town’s now growing houses and shopping centres rather than corn and cabbage. Once productive farmlands have succumbed to slabs of cement and ribbons of asphalt. Few currently come to the fair to see old friends. Most don’t even know their nearby neighbours.

Such is the agony of growing pains.

While the face of the Markham area has changed, so have faces within. To a lesser extent, the same can be said of Whitchurch-Stouffville. The face of this community is rapidly changing. And so are faces within.

Prominent among newcomers are Asians. They now comprise a large percentage of the Markham-Unionville populace. So what’s the fair board doing to accommodate their interests?

First, the directors must discover what interests our Asian friends.

Such was the purpose of a letter sent to Stouffvile’s Yang and Diana Poon, retired educators originally from Hong Kong.

What, I asked, could be featured at Markham Fair that might prompt Asians by the thousands to descend on the site?

Their responses were direct.

Yang and Diana admitted Asians have little basic knowledge of farming.

“This doesn’t mean they’re not interested in it, only that they don’t understand it,” Diana said. This includes aforementioned events such as tractor pulls, horse shows, cows, pigs and sheep.

These attractions aren’t to their liking. So what is?

Producing back yard vegetable gardens, said Diana.

“Remember,” she said, “many Asian people have never seen a seedling grow let alone know how to care for it.”

“The fair should arrange a basic garden demonstration for beginners,” she said.

Imagine the result – a magnificent floral masterpiece with the Markham Fair insignia as a superlative central theme.

Husband Yang suggested it would be in Markham Fair’s best interests to add Asian singers and dancers to its entertainment format.

“Asians love to see and hear their own people,” he said. “These artists would attract large crowds.”

Last, but not least, first-generation Asian immigrants enjoy reading newspapers printed in their native language.

Sound reasonable? Maybe worth a try. At least two people will respond. Maybe ten thousand.                 
Jim Thomas is a Stouffville resident who has written for area newspapers for more than 50 years.

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