By Martin Martinson

Battlefords Ag. Society cancels Agrimex Spring Trade Show

Jan 29, 2021 | 3:55 PM

The Battlefords Agricultural Society announced Friday, they have cancelled the Agrimex Farm, Trade and Home Show for the second straight year, due to the ongoing pandemic.

General Manager of the Ag. Society, Jocelyn Ritchie said while the decision was not an easy one to make, it was necessary due to the circumstances.

“We’re definitely very sad this is the second year in a row we’ve had to cancel, but with COVID, we need to follow all the stipulations and make sure everybody stays safe and healthy,” she said. “At this time we just feel that, even if things do open up a little bit, we just wouldn’t be able to get everything together in time to make it happen.”

In addition, the society’s ‘Evening Out’ scheduled to take place March 21, has also been cancelled for the second straight year.

The recent cancelations are just the latest for the Ag. Society, a non-profit organization which felt the effects of the pandemic since it began in early 2020.

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“Unfortunately all rentals, and basically all events we have not been able to have, so it puts us in quite a [tough] situation,” Ritchie said. “We are a non-profit and we depend on all our events and rentals and of course, without running any events our sponsors don’t really have anything to sponsor [either], so it has been quite a struggle.”

Ritchie said they have been trying to take advantage of both federal and provincial government assistance as available for the time being, though what would really help is a return to being able to host events.

The Ag. Society members do remain hopeful to be able to hold their Northwest Territorial Days Exhibition this summer, should restrictions ease as the year progresses. The Exhibition was cancelled last year for just the second time in over 130 years, with the only prior cancelation being due to the Louis Riel Rebellion.

Ritchie said despite the challenges of the last year, the Ag. Society is grateful for the ongoing community support it has received.

“We’re just hoping the community is still out there for us, as they have been for many, many years,” she said. “We’re thankful for everyone who has come forward to sponsor and support us, all sponsors and all patrons in the community, and we just hope to see every one of [them] in the near future.”

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1