POST-SHOW REVIEW
The Power of a
“band -aid” Against a Virus WORDS BY BRUCE DERKSEN
P
cows, plus a handful of Herefords and Charolais. When
his childhood. The passion for remarkable cattle that
they expected about 30 or 40 kids to show interest, but
blossomed from their relationship doggedly followed
by show day, 74 exhibitors with 134 head of cattle were
him into his adult life. So, when the Toronto Royal Fair
travelling to their farm.
ete Frijters of Milverton, Ontario grew up with 4-H playing a meaningful and profound role in
was cancelled in late June due to the Covid-19 virus, it focused his attention on the hole this absence would create in the hearts and minds of kids counting on showing their cattle.
Putting the Wheels in Motion On the day of the cancellation announcement, Pete was at his local abattoir picking up a side of beef. A few local 4-H kids were there, and their disappointment and discouragement were obvious. He knew something needed to be done. “They all had their calves and had spent a lot of time and effort working with them. When I got home, I said to my wife, ‘we've got to try to do something for these kids at the farm.’” From there, the wheels were put in
the couple’s plans for the event were being developed,
Making the Changes Pete used the ‘better to ask for forgiveness than permission’ philosophy in early planning, but when word of the event got out, the local Health Board came calling to see what he was up to. When he explained the situation of the Royal Fair being cancelled, and the junior 4-H members without a place to display their hard work, the Board supported the idea if some protocols were implemented. First, they needed to move the show from inside the barn to outdoors and install plenty of Covid signage. They removed the bleachers and self-serve food and painted arrows on the driveways to distribute the walking traffic. An acceptable number of attendees was agreed upon including the exhibitors, parents,
motion and the Premier/Fallsview Jackpot Show began
ring stewards, judges and volunteers, plus hard copy
to take shape.
documents were kept on hand in case of questions.
Pete and his wife Karen of Milverton, Ontario, own and
Pete said they initially found it tough to secure
operate Premier Livestock, home to primarily Angus
corporate sponsorship as the businesses who normally
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FALL 2020
