Such a fine Fall Fayre – Summerland does it again

Another in our “Life in my Little Town series”

I was lost, and no one was able to help me.

I asked several bystanders where the TAFA booth was located, but no one knew—I received only puzzled looks and pity—people had other priorities. We were surrounded by perhaps 100 beautifully restored cars. While a few appeared a bit past their prime; others looked as they did when they first came off the assembly line as far back as the 1930s. Coupes, pickup trucks, jeeps, and sports cars, sedans, station wagons—and the inimitable “car of the people,” the Volkswagen—all lined up as far as the eye could see, in Summerland’s downtown Memorial Park this past early September weekend.

Part of the 2023 Summerland Fall Fair, the car show itself was a memorial to a bygone Petrocene era, the golden age of the automobile. Amongst all the chrome, the angled hoods, the swish interiors, headers, headliners, and hemis, the TAFA booth was nowhere to be seen. Of course, it would help if I could remember what TAFA (Textile and Fine Arts) stood for. Not last Saturday for sure. So what to do?

My wife had left her phone on silent (groan) as had most of her friends who I also attempted to call. I wondered and I wandered, first towards Main Street which was conspicuously empty. I noticed however a steady flow of people moving  towards the old library building where something clearly was happening. And there, I found what I sought, not only the TAFA tent, but music, games, displays, vegetables, baking, and so much fun.

As a family we had enjoyed the fair when we lived here previously. I knew that COVID had forced its closure, at least temporarily. But here it was, returned, de rigeur, in a new and excellent new location. The space in front of the museum, beside the old library—now repurposed as an arts centre—was packed with all sorts of people. There were long lineups for face painting; eager eyes studied the baking tables, one splayed with cinnamon buns visible from space. There were lines to climb the museum stairs to see the model railway. There were drum circles, zucchini and potato sack races, and farm animals—one goat was later seen on the lam(b). There was music; there was laughter; there was colour; and there was strong black coffee. The mood was busy, boisterous, and beautiful.

I was so delighted to see the Pioneer Workshop continue. Its creator, the late John Slaghouse created an ingenious collection of manual woodworking tools for kids to enjoy and demonstrate for a curious audience. I am so glad a local shop teacher has taken up the tradition that remains a popular destination for aspiring creators.

Best of all, I met up with people of all sorts and conditions: Jim, Linnea, Joan,  Christine, Jul, Art, Shirley, Jen, David, Kathy—and those I have forgotten—folks from church, from the dog park, singers and players from musical groups, folks from our old baby-sitting co-op, fellow authors and composers, and one dump-truck driver. I visited, enjoying the music, finding great images to photography, all under dazzling sunshine accompanied by a light breeze.

Returning to collect my bike, I strolled one last time back to the field of cars, a field of dreams and memories for so many. The era of fossil fuels is fast disappearing. Cars and trucks, these beautiful technical and aesthetic creations, powered by explosive fire inside pistons, regulated by cams and carburetors, all powered by a highly efficient and adaptable fossil fuel technology, are no longer the transportation of the future. The memory however of those Chevrolets, Douce Coupes and Dodge Chargers remains forceful.

Likewise back at the farm fair, memories of simpler and less complicated times stir equally powerful emotions. It’s fun to see train sets, and racing Zucchinis. It’s fun to pretend, and remember, even for an afternoon. For a moment, the fires of anxiety fade away, and everything seems possible, and fun.

All photographs are available here.