Register your entries by August 17

Set up days August 21-23

Now that you have made, baked, or grown your entries for the fair, you need to register them. Enter online by August 17 at midnight, or bring your entry forms to the hall during set up week, or drop them off in the Fall Fair folder at Dockside Realty, and we will put them in the system for you. After August 17, your entries can only be put in by our registration volunteers.

1. Go online and create your account with AssistExpo, then enter the Pender Island Fall Fair - select your sections and classes to enter. Exhibitors can even purchase a fall fair barbecue ticket, or a concert ticket for the evening concert. BBQ and Concert tickets are also available at Talisman Books and at the Farmers’ Market Wednesdays and Saturdays.

2. Prepare your entry, and bring it to the Hall on Friday, August 23rd. There will be areas marked for you to drop off - kids entries will be in the bright circus tents, arts and crafts go up the outside ramp to the upper hall, and vegetables, flowers, fruit, baking, preserves, and wine and beer go to the back of the hall at the big doors. Poultry go to the Poultry area in Karl Hamson’s field next to the beer garden.

Wednesday, August 21 - set up begins at the Pender Island Community Hall at 9:00 am and continues Thursday and Friday - Volunteers are more than welcome! Complimentary food and refreshments for volunteers. Come out and transform the Hall into the Fairgrounds!

Friday, August 23

Late in-person registration and all entry drop-off at the Community Hall 3-6 pm with the exception of livestock. Please consult catalogue - available at the Farmers’ Market, online, and at most retail outlets. Community groups can set up displays. More complimentary food and refreshments for conveners, judges and volunteers. BBQ and Concert tickets available on-site.

Please leave your dogs at home on Friday and Saturday. No dogs will be permitted in the fair grounds or hall area.

Fair Day! Saturday August 24

7-9 am - Drop off livestock at the livestock area - evening before preferred (Jodi Schamberger, convener). Poultry must be dropped off in the poultry tent by 3 pm Friday to be judged (Arthur Kikuchi, convener).

9:30 am - Farmers’ Market opens and will run until 1 pm (some vendors may stay longer) - Free for public to attend the Farmers’ Market, it will be just outside the Fairgrounds.

10:00 am - Gates open. Admission will be by donation, suggested donation $7 per person, free for age 5 and under. Door prizes!

Fall Fair BBQ Tickets and Evening Concert tickets for Marimba Muzuva on sale at the Information Booth . BBQ is Slow-roasted baron of beef, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, coleslaw, buns.

Raffle Tickets available for the Neptune Navy Grimmer - Ashton Ross-Smith Bursary fundraiser - Tickets only available at the Fair with tickets drawn for prizes after the Fall Fair trophies are awarded in the afternoon. Thank you to the Nu-To-You for all of your help this year. Gaming Event Licence #154084.

Games for Young and Old! Face Painting courtesy of Three in the Tree.

Food area with hamburgers, hot dogs, vegetarian options, ice cream. The Pender Island Royal Canadian Legion Branch 239, Pender Island Pirates baseball team, Clubhouse Restaurant, Salish Sea Creamery, and Tom and Jerry’s food truck will be there to serve you. Free water on site, bring your own reusable water containers. The Recycling Society will be helping you sort your discards as we strive for a Zero-Waste fair.

10:30 am - Parade to the Grounds! The Parade is free to enter, anyone can enter! (Jaime MacLean, Parade Marshall). Trophies for best decorated children’s bicycle, best float, and best individual parade entry (details in catalogue, in Assist Expo as Section Q, class 7)

11:00 am - Opening Ceremony. Stage. MC Bruce McConchie.

Guests of Honour - Pender Island Museum Society and South Pender Historical Society. Stage. Guest Speakers Simone Marler and Rob Dill.

Beer garden opens - Sara Miles, Organizer. Proceeds from the beer garden go to the Community Hall.

Exhibit Hall opens after Judging is completed. Enjoy our island entertainment and outside exhibits, displays and games while you wait for the Hall to open.

11:10 am - Pender Highlanders, in front of the Stage.

11:30 am - Denny Goertz and Pender Young Violins, on Stage.

12:15 pm - Livestock Showcase - Show Ring in the “Farm Yard”.

1:00 pm - Sheep Shearing and Wool Spinning Demonstration - Pieter DeMooy and local spinners - Show Ring in the “Farm Yard”. Pieter will show the “Then and Now” of sheep shearing as he displays hand shearing all the way up to the state of the art shearing equipment used today.

Matthew Vasilev, Location TBA. From Twin Island Cider, Matthew will speak on the Gulf Island Apple orchards “Then and Now”, as his cidery business has transformed and preserved heritage orchards in the Gulf Islands. He will have aerial photos of the orchards from 1932, the same year as our first fall fair on Pender.

1:30 pm - Matty Mingles, Magician. Fun for all ages!

2:15 pm - Corn Shucking, field behind the BBQ “The Farm Yard” - children are welcome to join in!

2:30pm - Marimba Muzuva, live music - learn to play with the band on stage! The first Canadian marimba band, the group has engaged audiences near and far. https://www.muzuva.com/

3:30 pm - Berry Pie Contest - Main stage area, next to the Hall

3:45 pm - Nep Grimmer and Ashton Ross-Smith Bursary award Presentations. Trophy Presentations and Raffle draw, on Stage.

4:00 pm - The 2024 Fair Exhibits may be removed from the Hall and Tents.

4:15 pm - Peach and Quiet, live music from our own, highly acclaimed Pender Island pair of Americana folk musicians https://peachandquietmusic.com/tour

5:00 pm - Fall Fair Barbecue is served and music continues. Barbecue organizer, Linda Deen assisted by barbecue masters Aaron Grimmer and Fred Wiercyski and volunteers.

7:00 pm - Marimba Muzuva - family show 7-8, followed by dance 8 - 10

https://www.muzuva.com/Marimba Muzuva’s happy and hypnotic music has been a crowd-pleaser since the early 1990's. Since that time the band has carved a prominent name for itself in the West Coast Folk and World music scene by playing a wide variety of performances and consistently getting audiences up on their feet to dance. The music has a power all it's own: it is vibrant, interactive, and percussive. It brings people together and puts a smile on every face.

Marimba Muzuva is an 8 piece band from Vancouver Island (and Pender Island), playing African marimba, mbira, and percussive music. Fresh back from playing at the Cowichan 39 Days in July Festival, and the NhemaNorth Zimbabwean Music Festival. South Pender Islander Robert Dill, who is also one of the Fair’s guest speakers this year, is a member of Marimba Muzuva and was instrumental in making this musical treat possible.

So come and listen to Marimba Muzuva as they return to Pender Island once again to offer another exciting evening of African music. Marimba Muzuva has played a number of times on Pender over the years to rave reviews both at the school and community hall and outdoors in the community, including a number of Pender fundraisers for the Community Hall, Health Care Centre, Penducky Derby and the acquisition of Brooks Point Regional Park. It has also performed through Art Starts at over 1000 schools throughout BC over the years.

9:00 am - Take-down of Fair - Volunteers are more than welcome!

10:00 am - Complimentary French toast breakfast for volunteers by Chef Pierre!

And start planning for 2025!

Thank you, Pender Island!