AUTUMN FEST Community Care Concepts Presents
SEPT. 20TH 2013
Featuring Tribute Artists:
Miranda Lambert, Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill
Doors @ 7:30 p.m. | Bands @ 8:30 p.m. Licensed Event - I.D Required Draws and Prizes • Light Meal Served
$20 LION’S HALL, 40 SOUTH ST W, ELMIRA CONTACT FOR TICKETS: 519-664-1900
09 | 14 | 2013 VOLUME 18 | ISSUE 37
OTHERS CARRY ON FAMILY'S RAFTING ADVENTURE LIVING HERE PAGE 28
COMMENT PAGE 6
QUEBEC AT THE LEAD OF MULTICULTURALISM DEBATE
www.OBSERVERXTRA.com
Funds launched to help vendors displaced by fire Owners of the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market are working to find temporary workarounds to get operational again WILL SLOAN
The midway was hopping as the Wellesley-North Easthope Fall Fair celebrated its 160th anniversary on Tuesday and Wednesday. This year’s theme, “160 Years of History – Make It Yours,” celebrated the role the fair has played in the township for generations. [WILL SLOAN / THE OBSERVER]
More than a fair turnout WILL SLOAN Addressing attendees of the Wellesley-North Easthope Fall Fair on Tuesday night, Waterloo Region Chair Ken Seiling noted that the fair’s 160th anniversary made it nearly as old as the region itself. “It was a very active farming community that saw the need to get to-
gether agriculturally,” said Seiling. History was present at the venerable end-ofsummer gathering, as the Wellesley Community Centre was decorated with vintage photographs, quilts, clothing, and paintings that documented the rich past of both fair and township. This year’s official theme was “160 Years
of History – Make It Yours,” and Wellesley and District Horticultural Society president Murray Schlueter noted, “It looks, by the crowd we have here tonight, that there are quite a number of people who plan to make the Wellesley Agricultural Society fair a tradition.” “One hundred and sixty years is amazing, considering the fact that Canada is
only 150 years old in 2017,” said Robert Hargrave, president of the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies. Generations of Wellesley residents have made the fair a perennial date on their calendars, and several of the local dignitaries who spoke at the opening 160 YEARS | 4
Nearly two weeks after the Labour Day fire that destroyed the main building at the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market, the businesses are still the top priority. With 67 vendors displaced, some of whom have made their livelihood at the market for generations, charitable initiatives are forming to provide relief, while Mercedes Corp., the company that owns the market, looks for ways to provide accommodation. “We’re trying to get as many of the food vendors into new facilities as possible, even if it’s on a smaller scale,” said Mercedes Corp. president Marcus Shantz in an interview this week. “We would like to get some kind of temporary structure up as soon as possible, because a permanent building is a longer-term proposition and we need to keep the market running now.” Since reopening on September 5, five of the mar-
ket’s upstairs businesses and 11 of the food vendors have been temporarily relocated to the outdoor market or Peddler’s Village. Mercedes Corp. is also working with the Woolwich Fire Department and Region of Waterloo Public Health to accommodate businesses that plan to open food trucks. Shantz said an announcement for a temporary structure should come within weeks. “The details of that haven’t been formalized, but it’s the number-one priority right now.” Damage from the fire is estimated as high as $4 million. While Mercedes will not be seeking direct government aid for reconstruction, Shantz added, “If there’s a way to adjust levels of government into projects that may be of more general benefit, that may improve things for vendors or improve things MARKET | 17