Wellesley Fall Fair offering plenty of volunteer opportunities, flexibility

By Emily Stewart

The Wellesley Fall Fair will be offering lots of flexible options for volunteers with a new sign-up system.

Mary Litchy-Neeb, secretary-treasurer of the Wellesley-North Easthope Agricultural Society, said during the last conference for the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies (OAAS), the Wellesley Fall Fair board learned more people would rather see what’s available and pick and choose what they’d like to do.

The new system, being developed by volunteer coordinator Christine Hayter, will provide plenty of options so anyone interested in volunteering can look at what positions they’re interested in and apply online. Volunteers will also have a chance to sign up for whatever two-to-three-hour time slots work best for them.

"We know that some people can give more time and some people, maybe three hours is what will fit into their time schedule and they feel valued by saying, 'I can go for those two or three hours. I can't do a full weekend. I was able to help them for two hours,” Litchy-Neeb said.

There are plenty of ways to get involved with the Wellesley Fall Fair, including ticketing, recording information for the Horse Show and setting up equipment. The fair will also need volunteers to lead exhibitors to their designated spot within the complex.

"When walking and carrying some baking and carrying some veggies and carrying your artwork, it’s going to be little different spots, so we need volunteers to help them get to those spots,” said Litchy-Neeb.

The Wellesley Fall Fair will also need volunteers to help with recording the judging results and the Horse Show results, as well as providing refreshments such as water to those watching the Horse Show. Prior to the event, volunteers are needed to review prize lists.

Litchy-Neeb added volunteers are essential to the Wellesley Fall Fair operations.

"Without any volunteers, nothing's going to happen. If the community wants the things, we need the people to put a large or small amount of time in to make those things successful,” she said. “There's a core group of us that do a lot of the planning with the board of directors, but we need the other people to make a success and make it fun for everybody to come."

The 173rd annual fall fair will return to the Bill Gies Recreational Centre on Aug. 28 and 29. More information about the fair can be found online by visiting wellesleynehfallfair.ca. Anyone looking to get involved with the fair can send an email to wellesleyfallfair@gmail.com or call 519-504-6761.