CREMONA - Although attendance was down from last year, the second annual Aggie Days agricultural awareness and educational extravaganza was still well attended by guests and well received by exhibitors, says Mountain View County councillor Greg Harris.
The year’s event was held June 9 and 10 in Cremona, including in the curling rink, community hall and on surrounding outdoor grounds.
As in 2022, Aggie Day 2023 included demonstrations and information displays from local and provincial agriculture and agribusiness organizations, area farmers, veterinary organizations, and educational institutions such as Olds College.
Also present were various Mountain View County and area council members, Cremona, Carstairs, Didsbury, Sundre and area agricultural societies, Alberta Beef Producers, Mountain View BearSmart Society, Alberta Chicken, Alberta Milk, Egg Farmers of Alberta, energy producers, forestry and agroforestry groups, grazing associations, financial institutions, and other organizations and groups.
There were also farm machinery and livestock displays.
Day 1 saw hundreds of school students from across the region visit the various event facilities and demonstrations, while Day 2 was open to the general public and included a pancake breakfast.
Although an exact count of visitors attending on Saturday was not recorded, about 400 people did attend the breakfast and people dropped in throughout the day.
“We had a good day,” said Harris. “It was not as well attended as last year. I think moving into June this year (it was held on the third weekend in May in 2022) might have conflicted with everything from kids’ sports to camping.”
Harris noted that, “We got very good feedback from the exhibitors” in 2023.
“They felt that being not as busy this year and having a bigger venue this year allowed us to space out the exhibitors a little more and one of the exhibitors said to me that it felt good that we were able to have meaningful conversations with the public," he said.
Harris said sponsor support was larger than in 2022, which was encouraging.
Planning for next year’s Aggie Days will get underway soon, he said.
