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Fergus gearing up for Breakfast on the Farm on June 17

Event is the largest fundraiser for the Fergus Agricultural Society
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With June 17 fast approaching, members of the Fergus Agricultural Society are busy bees, finalizing plans for the fourth Breakfast on the Farm fundraising event.

After a three-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the breakfast is back on the menu.

This year’s breakfast, which happens June 17 from 9 a.m. until noon, will again take place at Cnossen Holsteins Dairy Farm in Elora. The Cnossen family has graciously offered to host the breakfast again, said event organizer Denise Kankainen.

The Alma Optimists are also on board as event partners, and funds raised will be split between the two organizations.

Kankainen said the breakfast is truly a community effort. When she first started organizing the event in 2017, many commodity groups came together and helped by donating items for the breakfast.

“This year, we have everything covered, from our eggs, to our baked beans, to our sausage, to our maple syrup and pancake mix,” said Kankainen.

That means 100 per cent of the money raised will go back to the organizations.

“This event has raised $2,000 in the past, so (both the agricultural society and the Alma Optimists) walked away with $1,000 each,” Kankainen said.

The Fergus Agricultural Society puts that money back into the budget for the fall fair to help with costs and prizes, she said.

The breakfast itself was inspired by another agricultural society’s similar event, said Kankainen.

“We felt this was something we could certainly do here,” Kankainen said. “It is a huge undertaking. We wanted to use the breakfast as a way to further market our September Fall Fair, but now people have come to know us for this event, as well.”

The popularity of the breakfast has grown to the point where the society is anticipating filling the bellies of 1,700 hungry people.

“In 2018, we had the perfect day, and we served 1,400 people in four hours,” she said.

That has inspired the group to “go big or go home” this year, she said.

Not hungry? That’s OK, said Kankainen.

There are plenty of family oriented activities to take in.

The local 4-H Club will bring in a bouncy cow, and there will be a number of pull tractors on display. Furthermore, a children’s playground will be set up, where kids can see baby chicks, the three little pigs, pigmy goats and beef calf, and a heavy horse called Linda. Kids will also be able to plant a seed.

“We try to bring in as much community as we can,” said Kankainen. “It’s a great educational experience, too. It gives people the chance to see a live dairy farm in action, and to get up close with some farm animals.”

The Fergus Agricultural Society is also looking for volunteers to help out during the breakfast. Volunteers are very important to the success of any fundraising event, and to ensure their volunteers are happy, the society fills their bellies in exchange for their hard work, said Kankainen.

At 186 years strong, the Fergus Agricultural Society’s Fall Fair is one of the oldest of its kind in Ontario.

Tickets to the breakfast are available at the entrance. There are no advanced sales. Breakfast will cost $12 per adult, $8 for children aged five to 12, and children under the age of five are free.

Breakfast will include eggs, pancakes, sausage, baked beans, milk and coffee.  For more information about the breakfast, visit them online here.