STRAWBERRY FAIR HISTORY
The year was 1988.
Calgary hosted the Winter Olympics. The Hubble Space Telescope was put into operation. And Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was one of the top movies of the year.
In Regina, St. Paul’s Cathedral held its inaugural Strawberry Fair and kicked off a tradition – and major fundraiser – that has lasted 35 years (-2 yrs. due to COVID). The idea for a strawberry fair was created by Joyce Blake, who was one of the cathedral wardens at that time, explained retired Bishop Duncan Wallace, who was the rector of the cathedral at that time. The first fair was a great success, said the retired bishop, except for the tiny fact the cathedral had not made provision for moving the remaining strawberries to other sales places. “They were beginning to soften and smell by Sunday noon,” Wallace added. “We did learn.”
For a number of years before, St. Paul’s major fundraiser and congregational building project had been the Medieval Banquet, done in conjunction with the parishes of St. Luke and St. Michael in Regina and a parish in Lumsden. While the banquets were a great success and great fun, they proved to be extremely personnel-dependant and not as financially profitable, since the profit was divided among four parishes. However, it was still a great project and did much for building the local community.
Before the construction of the current facility, the cathedral possessed a hall that was twice the size and which contained many smaller rooms on the floor below. These rooms housed the ever-popular White Elephant station – which featured a number of second-hand trinkets – and the Clothing Boutique, where a person could load up on outfits for the next year. However, due to the demolition of the cathedral hall and the construction of a smaller hall, those parts of the Fair had to be eliminated since there was no more room for them. But, with some creativity, the cathedral itself is now being used to host many of the usual features of the Strawberry Fair, such as the books, collectables, crafts and baking.
Strawberry Fair is the biggest fundraiser for St. Paul’s. It is a community effort and as they say, “Many hands make light work.” You may be asking, “What can I do to help?” - Do you bake? - Do you make crafts? - Do you have books you want to get rid of (in good condition)? - Have you gone through your house for collectables? - Are you able to help any of the convenors with an hour or two of your time? There are STRAWBERRY tickets to pre-sell. The price for this year’s berries are $38 – Full flat; $20-Half flat. Strawberry Fair will be held Saturday, June 3rd. Tickets/posters are available.
We welcome your involvement in our project! Thank you in advance for your participation. Please watch for more notices/information as the time for the ‘Fair’ gets closer.
Co-convenors: Elvira Beday -Call: 306-522-6439 ext. 2 or Cell: 306-570-4662 Email: [email protected] or [email protected];
Angie Friedrich – [email protected] – 306-570-2236
