It wouldn’t be Busby Farmers Day without a little bit of rain. For three years in a row the rains turned out for the festivities, but at least this June 10 the downpour came a day early.
“We’ve kind of come to expect Farmers Day as a wet event, but everyone comes out and has a great time anyways,” said Busby Community League president Jennifer Stoby.
Each year the Busby Community League hosts the event to celebrate Farmers Day with community organizations like the Busby and District Lions Club, Busby Volunteer Fire Department, Busby District Fish and Game Association and Busby Minor Ball each pitching in.
“It takes a lot of people to put on an event like this,” Stoby said. “The community really binds together and puts in a lot of effort into making Busby a fun place to come for Farmers Day.”
The weekend started off with a slo-pitch tournament on the Friday night and pancake breakfast Saturday morning. That same morning 15 floats, kids on bikes, horses, and a few people on their fancy cars and tractors paraded down main street tossing out candies to eager children.
The winners of the parade were future farmers, brother and sister Wyatt, 2, and Katelyn, 3, Schnirer adorned in red and white and maple-leaves galore.
Little Wyatt wore his red serge atop his bike. Mom Maureen said she and her husband had just finished seeding so they could be in the parade.
Darcy Vervynck rode his 1946 Allis Chambers bright orange tractor in the parade. The tractor has passed down through four generations of his family.
“It was actually owned by my great grandfather, then my grandfather, my dad and then my brother,” he said. “It still runs and still has the original tires and original engine…my great grandfather bought it new.”
Vervynck lives in Edmonton and came back for the event and for the slo-pitch tournament. Luckily this time he didn’t have to play in the rain.
But the overcast sun in the morning and early afternoon wasn’t enough to dry out the grounds so gymkhana was cancelled, but the minor ball and slo-pitch games went ahead in the mud and dirt.
Things also got a bit dirty with the chicken poop bingo, where guests placed their bets on which square the chicken would poop on. The pot was $125.
This was the first time Busby Farmers Day ran the event and it caused such a splash, chicken owner and volunteer Susan Littlechilds was thinking of bringing in miniature horses next year for more poop bingo, as well as a few more chickens for the kids to feed.
Though there was plenty for the kids to do this year, and some were tatted up with glitter tattoos or had their face painted.
“We have lots of fun kids activities,” Stoby added. “Some inflatables and cotton candy and popcorn, and a wonderful farmer’s market.”
The fun carried over into the afternoon with tractor rodeo and lawnmower races on the Sports Grounds.
Once all the dirt was washed off, the party continued at the Busby Community Hall for the Red and White Pub Night to celebrate Canada’s 150th. It was the first time in many years that Busby Farmers Day had a dance.
“We always have Farmers Day the second weekend in June and just because it was Canada’s 150th we made the theme Canada red and white, even though it isn’t Canada Day,” Stoby noted.
