Ingersoll Cheese and Agricultural Museum to begin Big Cheese Days with We Lend a Hand screening

(Stephanie Conron, by Albireo Films image)

Emily Stewart, Echo Correspondent

Month-long celebrations highlighting the region’s dairy products and history will begin at the Ingersoll Cheese and Agricultural Museum with a film highlighting the hard work of Ontario’s farmerettes during World War II.

The museum will kick off its Big Cheese Day Celebrations with a screening of We Lend a Hand followed by a meet and greet on May 2 starting at 1 p.m. at the museum’s Sherbrooke Barn. The film highlights the stories of the Ontario ‘farmerettes’, the teenaged girls who filled in during and after WWII to ensure agricultural operations still ran and kept the Canadian food supply going.

Big Cheese Days, run by Tourism Oxford, celebrates the county’s dairy industry by featuring special programming from participating businesses and organizations every weekend in May.

“We wanted to open Big Cheese Days with a story that speaks to the heart of our community’s resilience,” said Stephanie Conron, museum manager. “While Oxford County is known for its agricultural and dairy output, we often focus on the what and the where. Bringing this film to the Ingersoll Cheese Museum allows us to focus on the who.”

We Lend a Hand has held sold-out screenings across Ontario including in London, Stratford, Dorchester, Oakville, and Kingston and won awards from the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Stratford Film Festival, and Niagara Canada International Film Festival in 2025.

Conron said the film represents the core values of dairy farming and agriculture.

“The dairy and agricultural industries are built on service and hard work, and no one embodies that better than these 40,000 young women. During the war years, the labor shortage threatened every aspect of farming, including the production needed to support the front lines.”

She added the film highlights how these girls, many with no prior experience, stepped into Southwestern Ontario’s fields to ensure the survival of our food supply.

“It’s a perfect bridge between our local dairy heritage and the broader national effort to feed the world.”

In addition to the screening and meet and greet, there will be a musical performance by the BackSeat Girls and food provided by PB’s French Fries.

The Ingersoll Cheese and Agricultural Museum will also host the May Market on May 30 to close off Big Cheese Days festivities between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

“It’s the perfect way to wrap up a month of cheesy fun and bring together local vendors and a vibrant atmosphere right here in the ‘Home of the Mammoth Cheese,’” Conron said.

Tickets for the We Lend a Hand screening are $19.90 and can be purchased online by visiting https://www.eventbrite.com/e/big-cheese-days-we-lend-a-hand-show-and-meet-greet-tickets.