Terri Bowen is no stranger to judges at the Lighthouse Country Fall Fair. She has won the Grand Aggregate award for overall arts and crafts two years in a row and this year she will be entering about 20 items in that category.
“There are a huge variety of arts you can enter so I enter a lot of them,” she explained.
These include watercolor paintings, pastel, photography, hand-made jewelry, needlework and her focus this year, acrylic paintings.
Bowen moved to Bowser about four years ago from Calgary where she was the principal of a fine arts school. She said she has always been crafty and has enjoyed teaching art to children for a number of years. She is currently working on a children’s book that she is also illustrating. Besides entering items into the fair for the past few years, Bowen also volunteers at the event.
The fair is a place where both adults and children can enjoy a number of activities, she said, it brings the community together and gives people a chance to show what they can do.
“I think it really showcases the bounty and talents of the families and all the individuals in Lighthouse country,” she said.
Children can enjoy a good time at the fair, she said, with the pet and bike parade, wildlife education — like Bardo the owl from the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre — pony rides, dog sports and an entertainment stage, among the activities.
Adults can enjoy the artisan hall filled with local artists and their crafts, as well as the car show, she said, and an open air market will also be set up.
Bowen knows first hand about the great food that will be on-site, since she volunteers to make it. People will be pleased with the pie sale and giant meat draw, she said, among lots of tasty food choices. There will also be $7,000 worth of silent auction items, 50-50 tickets and other draws at the fair.
The Lighthouse Country Fall Fair happens Saturday, Sept.1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lighthouse Community Centre in Qualicum Bay. It is free for children and $5 for adults. Those who want to enter items into the fair, from jams and jellies, arts and crafts to vegetables and baking, bring them to the Lighthouse Community Centre on Friday (today) Aug. 31 between 1 and 5:30 p.m., and you don’t have to be a resident to enter.
Look online for an exhibit guide and more at www.communityclub.ca, or call 250-757-9991.