This past Saturday, Manitou was bustling with the Honey, Garlic, and Maple Syrup (HGMS) Festival and all the special events and opportunities that it brings to the community each year.
“We had a great day,” says Juanita Cobb, the chairperson of the festival. “We had a full house everywhere on the fairgrounds, in the arena, at the car show. It's been a wonderful day.”
For Cobb, volunteers contributed significantly to the success of the annual celebration.
“I was doing the math, and I figure it takes at least 150 to prep for it, and it takes 150 [on the day] to make it all happen,” she says.
It’s no wonder that the HGMS Festival required such a great number of volunteers for its event — the day’s schedule was full.
Saturday began with a pancake breakfast.
“They served 167 for breakfast, so I will say that's probably close to a record amount,” says Cobb. “We had vendors inside and outside for the lunch, and we had a tribute for Stew Clayton, so we had some local musicians do tribute sets [and we had] two of his daughters and their family here to do The Yodeling Farmer's Daughters.”
The late Stew Clayton, a musician who was a fixture at the HGMS Festival, laid the roots of its music scene.
“Stew was one of the founding entertainers of the festival,” says Cobb. “He would give his time every year at two of our events to support us. He passed away last October, and we felt it was due diligence to honour him as well.”
In addition to its tribute musical performances, the festivities also included a performance by the Janzen Boys, a banquet dinner, guided tours of Nellie McClung’s houses, a car show (with over 100 entries), a honey, garlic, and maple syrup cooking demonstration, and a children’s tent.
“We have a really good kids' tent,” says Cobb. “Our local church does the kids' games.”
Shoppers also had their pick of artisanal goods and fresh items at a craft sale and farmers' market.
Ultimately, there was something enjoyable for every type of fairgoer.
“I would say one of my personal highlights is we had little stickers that said, ‘clove is in the air,’” says Cobb. “I have to say I had a lot of fun with those — giving them to the kids.”
Cobb has been involved with the festival for 14 years now and shows no signs of stopping.
“I'll for sure be in it for the community,” she says. “This is one of those events that it doesn't matter what organization you're part of, everybody helps. Everybody has a part.”
For Cobb, the talents and the enthusiasm of the community manifest in the success of the Honey, Garlic, and Maple Syrup Festival.
“This community is a great town,” she says. “There's so many people. You just have to tap into what they're good at, and because I'm a fairly public figure, if you have a talent, I'm going to find it.”
View the smiling faces of HGMS Festival attendees below.
~With files from Robyn Wiebe~
