Looking for that little extra when it comes to quaint country events that will close a major highway for 20 minutes or so?
The Hixon Fall Fair and Parade takes place Friday, Aug. 9 and Saturday, Aug. 10 in the community south of Prince George, with the parade starting at 10 a.m. Saturday. It will go from the Whistle Stop Pub to the Hixon Community Hall – the same as it has been done for the last 65 years or so.
Highway 97 will be closed along the route from 10 a.m. to 10:20 a.m.
This year’s event is a little earlier in the month than usual and will see the Hixon Hall opening at 3 p.m. Friday for exhibit entries to be showcased to guests and then the hall closes at 7:30 p.m. so the judges can rate all the entries.
The real fun starts with the parade on Saturday where Hixon community members, and a few special guests from Prince George and Quesnel take part, too.
The parade travels along Highway 97 from the Whistle Stop Pub to the Hixon Community Hall.
“And we still throw candy out to spectators,” said Pat Suter, a director of the Hixon Community Association that organizes the event.
The UHNBC Drummers Group will lead the parade, and will drum at the hall as part of the opening ceremonies.
“Then the hall will open to the community,” Suter said.
At the Hixon Community Hall there will be a bouncy castle and a gaming trailer, and people can ride the minirail from Central Interior Railway Museum in Prince George that is sponsored by MLAs Shirley Bond and Coralee Oakes. There will be face painting, Hot Wheels races and even a duck race at the creek.
Inside the hall it’s all about home arts and horticulture that sees people showcasing flowers and plants, fruits and vegetables, grains and forage, while in the home arts department there is a wide variety that will be displayed including hooked rugs and cushions, leatherwork, candles, feather craft, string art, jewelry, and even painted rocks. There’s space for ceramics and pottery, textiles including a ruffled – or not – doily, baby items, slippers, doll clothes and tatting, centre pieces and bedspreads, knitted socks and gloves, hand sewn men’s and ladies’ clothing, pillowcases, needle point, tablecloths, and quilting.
There’s a foods division that has traditional items including baking powder biscuits, bran muffins, lemon loaf, chocolate cake, chiffon cake, white cake, squares and butter tarts, bread, cookies, cupcakes and croissants, and there’s a candy division featuring fudge, chocolates and peanut brittle.
And canning, so much canning, including fruits and vegetables of every sort imaginable. Then they throw in sauerkraut and ketchup, fish and pickled everything. Then there’s honey, eggs, and bottled beverages including but not limited to beer and wine because there’s even room for coolers and kombucha.
People can show off their artistic side with adult painting and sketching, as well as photography. There’s a Lego contest for all ages and a colouring contest for the kids. The colouring sheet can be picked up at Hixon Shoppers Food Mart.
“There are so many volunteers involved to make something like this happen,” said Kristine Brownscombe, a director of the Hixon Community Association. “And we appreciate them all.”
The hall closes at 3 p.m. to get ready for the party that starts on Saturday at 5 p.m., offering dinner catered by the Whistle Stop Pub, with a dance to follow featuring music by the Chris Goodwin Band from Prince George.
Dinner includes roast beef and ham, mashed potatoes, baked macaroni, a broccoli cauliflower medley, Caesar salad and bean salad. Dessert is a variety of sheet cakes and it’s all-you-can-eat-once the first round goes through.
Last year there were 150 people in attendance at both the dinner and dance and the organizing committee is expecting about the same number this year.
This is the Hixon Community Association’s major annual fundraiser to help offset operating costs. There is also a Raise the Roof raffle taking place to help pay to replace the roof at the hall, which will cost $53,000. The raffle offers a grand prize of up to $10,000 for the lucky winner.
In an effort to maximize fundraising efforts, there are bag raffles at the hall where people can buy tickets and load the bag sitting at their favourite item to better their chances of winning it.
“There is also a silent auction for some of the major items,” Suter said. “We have hotel rooms and dinners from Quesnel and Prince George to be raffled off and there’s also a lot of (gift cards) from different restaurants as well.”
Everyone is welcome to attend the event.
“We want everyone to come out and enjoy all the activities,” Suter said.
Tickets are $25 for dinner and $20 for the dance and are available at the Hixon Shoppers Food Mart or by calling Suter to arrange an etransfer at 250-961-2707.
