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Fresh fruit, beef, and wine - producers showcase homegrown products during Alberta Open Farm Days

LAKELAND –  With agriculture and farming as a major driving industry, multiple farms with varying types of productions opened their doors across the Lakeland on Open Farm Days to allow the community experience and learn about their local producers and their products.

The annual event took place across the province on Aug. 13 and 14. Alberta Open Farm Days aims to blend “tourism and agriculture to provide the consumer with an experience like no other,” according to the event website. 

U-Pick 

One of the participating farms was the u-pick farm Rocky Meadows Country Get-Away, located about 13 kilometres north of Bonnyville, and operated by Lori and Vince Toker. According to Lori, visitors at the getaway were able to harvest from the orchard and enjoy other activities such as playing a game of mini golf made on a course made from old farm machinery, shop at a craft market, and even camp. 

Many people assume that a lot of fruit and berries are shipped to the area from British Columbia, but there are a variety of fruits that grow in the province, and “As you go through my orchard, you can see that, and I even tried some goji berries,” she explained. 

The farm produces plenty of Saskatoon berries and has had many visitors picking the berries and taking them home, this season. 

George Lambert, from Bonnyville, was out picking berries and told Lakeland This Week the Open Farm Days event was a good way to support local producers in the community. He said, “We can support them and that helps everybody around.” 

The Barker Family also visited and enjoyed a family moment picking berries. Ryan Barker said he is thankful for all the farms allowing the community to visit and learn. He finds it important to educate his children about where their food originates. 

“It’s great for them to learn where their actual food comes from and kids sometimes are picky,” he said. “So, it's nice for them to learn where their food comes from and when they learn that… they have more of a chance to actually want to eat it and partake from it.” 

Local distillery

The Birds and Bees Winery Distillery opened its doors to the public for the first time in about 10 years. 

Shane Chrapko, owner of the farm, told Lakeland This Week on Aug. 13 that the farm has been with his family for just under 100 years and received its cottage winery license in 2005 to became Alberta’s first and still only organic winery. Four years ago, the farm acquired its distilling license, expanding the number and types of products it is able to produce. 

He said Alberta Open Farm Days offers an opportunity for people to tour the orchard and production facility. Other activities included Saskatoon stomping, where visitors can experience how products were made before technology was widely available. 

“It’s a great way to show people what we're doing and to show the community what's happening here… It's where we live, where we grow up, where we're doing our efforts,” he said. “So, the money stays in the community if the community is supporting it, and we don't have to go very far to start making sales.” 
 
Chrapko said while exporting is good, it’s good to have a local, active market because it allows money to circulate and to stay local. As a producer, Chrapko also said he enjoys the overall process of bringing a product to life. 

“I do enjoy seeing the product come from the soil, the land, whether it’s apples, raspberry, rhubarb, honey… getting that all together, bringing it into here… making a final finished product that somebody can put on their table or take to the lake and enjoy,” he said. “It's very satisfying.” 

Tannis Baerg, a resident from the Ashmont area, stopped by the distillery with family, touring the farm and finding the experience “great.” She said it was neat to witness and learn about the orchards and what the farm has to offer. 

“I think it's important for people to learn to have respect for and to learn how these operations work in order for (producers) to grow their businesses,” she said. “I like that, in my own backyard, we have a producer who makes all the stuff that they put into their product, and I think that's really cool.” 

The farm produces alcohol products including wine and vodka.

Farm to table beef 

Among the many farms that participated was also Charlotte Lake Farms located near Bonnyville by the Bonneau family. They opened their farm to the public on Aug. 13 and among the products grown at the farm is the Angus beef that is often delivered to communities in the Lakeland area. 

Leona Bonneau, co-owner of the farm alongside her husband Guy Bonneau, told Lakeland This Week that this year Open Farm Days included a history tour for visitors. The tour was also done in celebration of the farm's 111th year anniversary. 

According to Leona, the lifting of the pandemic restrictions “warms my heart because more people can come and enjoy the day.” She said bridging the gap between farm life and people who live in a city is a major cause of Open Farm Days. 

“We want that understandability of what agriculture is about and where their food comes from,” she said.  

Guy said it’s also important to build personal connection with the community, stating, “It’s really important that we want people to know where your food come from and to know your farmer, and they're getting to know us at the same time.” 

Jen Konechny travelled from Cold Lake to visit the farm with family, saying, “We decided to take the cousins on a little adventure today and it's great.” 
 
“They do a really good job setting up, accommodating families, and they have lots of stuff to do,” she added. “I think this is the third year we've come.” 

Christina Scudder, from Bonnyville, along her family and children, found Open Farm Days to be a good opportunity for a family outing, allowing them to connect with farmers. 

“It's just really nice to be able to build a relationship with the farmers and we've gotten to know them,” she said. “We've ordered beef from them and getting to see where they raise all their animals and know that they're well taken care of… It's a really nice way to support the community.” 

Museum 

In addition to farms, the St. Paul Museum also participated in the weekend event on Saturday. The entrance fee to visit the museum was free to the public with the help of Community Futures St. Paul. 

The museum put on demonstrations such as old-fashioned ice cream making and wagon rides. Visitors were also able to interact with different animals from cats to reptiles at a petting zoo. 

Thomasina Hatch, the museum curator, believes it's important for people to understand the uniqueness of how animals are raised. She added the activities put on by the museum aimed to teach people how rural Alberta was many years ago. 

“We also highlight log cutting to give [people] an idea of what it would have been like to build their log homes and to build their sheds and their fences,” she said.  

Alberta Open Farm Days takes place every year in August and the provincial initiative is already in its 10th year. 


Mario Cabradilla

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