• B.C Family Day activities for over 2,000 participants – AAA co-sponsored event
• Annual Coombs Farmer’s Institute Farm Auction, now in its 35th year
• 4H Programs: horse, rabbit, poultry, swine and odd stock
• Heritage Garden – AAA event
• Equestrian events – from shows, clinics, gymkhanas, and training – held by local riding clubs including the Silver Spur Riding Club and Rainbows Club.
• Drop in youth sports, including an indoor high jump program
• Community badminton, volleyball, floor hockey, basketball , floor curling and yoga
• Family Night – a free 2 hour drop-in program for sports, board games, etc.
• Music, dance and other cultural programs for youth and adults at the Soundgarden building, which offers vocal lessons, music jams, group singing, and monthly concerts.
• “Walk Right In” Jug Band – a nine month program that brought together professional instructors with community members for intensive training camps and free performances at various venues in Oceanside Area, including Stanford Care Facility where music and rhythm were taught to the elderly. – AAA co-sponsored event
• Musical instrument building at the Alternate School Program.
• December Craft Fair – AAA event
• Fall and Spring Fowl community suppers – AAA events
• The Arrowsmith Activity Building has been constructed to meet BC government Emergency Centre standards and is ready to serve the community in the event of an emergency.
• Halloween Candy Walk for community children
• Mother Goose and Friends preschool and parent free program including early childhood literacy offered once a week for 9-11 weeks, twice annually
• Fish & Game society and target sports events
• Dog obedience classes
• Coombs and French Creek School Summer Community Picnic
• 2013 Youth Week events sponsored by the Nanaimo Regional District
• Munchkin Land Fundraiser – AAA co-hosted a fundraiser for an early childhood interactive learning/play place centre at French Creek School
• SP-Arts (Sports and Arts) – 1 week summer camp for youth organized by the Arrowsmith Activity Team
• Private parties, fundraisers, weddings and corporate events – all of which provide an opportunity for “community” to happen where people gather.

Where:   Arrowsmith Hall at the Coombs Fairgrounds. Alternate venue is the Arrowsmith Activity Hall, also on the fairgrounds. This will depend on vendor interest.

Set-Up:   From 7 AM to 9:30 AM on Saturday morning.

Cost:  $30 / 8 foot table indoors or $15 / outdoor tent space. Fees are due when the vendor’s application is accepted. Tables will be assigned as fees are received. Refunds for cancellations will be provided at the discretion of the AAA Board.

Additionally, vendors must provide an item(s) worth at least $10 from their stock for our raffle (per table, so if you rent two tables, we’ll need 2 items.) Cash donations, but not gift certificates, will be accepted in lieu of an item from stock. These items will be collected the morning of the event prior to 9:30 AM.

Who: This is a craft fair, so preference will be given to local artisans and crafters that personally manufacture their own products or produce the raw materials that go into them. Some skill or artistry should be demonstrated to create added value to the finished product for sale. Vendors should submit photos of their work with their application (or by email, preferably). Vendors will be selected based on the quality of their goods, when their application is received, and to ensure that a balance of different products is represented at the fair. All products should be of professional quality and priced appropriately at a retail for-profit price (no dumping or selling goods at the cost of the raw materials).

Vendors of locally-grown seasonal plants, floral arrangements, cut holly or boughs for wreath making, or finished wreaths would be a welcome addition to the craft fair.

A limited number of food vendors selling baking, preserves or other home-made goods may also be admitted. Food vendors must adhere to the Guideline for the Sale of Foods at Temporary Food Markets, including documentation from VIHA for any high-risk food products (preserves, dairy, eggs, meat). All food must be properly packaged for sale and not for immediate consumption. Please include documentation with your application.

Parking:  We want our customers to have the best parking spots, and we want all vendors to be able to load and unload as close to the entrance as possible. Vendors are asked to unload their vehicle and then immediately remove it from the prime parking / unload area adjacent to the buildings before starting to set up or unpack so that other vendors (and later customers) can have the same convenience. All vehicles must be moved by 9:30 AM. The location of alternate parking on the grounds (likely the upper field or close to the Red Barn) will be communicated to the vendors in advance of Saturday morning.

Also:  Tables must be covered and skirted by the vendor. Extra stock must be kept tidy and out of sight when possible. Products and/or display must not overflow into the aisles in a manner that will obstruct the flow of traffic or another vendor’s space. Tables and painted walls may not be tacked/pinned/stapled.

Refreshments and food will be available from a concession run by the AAA from the kitchen in Arrowsmith Hall.

Adults $20.00 Seniors $15.00 Kids (12 and under) $10.00 at the door. The event takes place in Arrowsmith Hall at the Coombs Fairgrounds on Ford Road. These are non-smoking, no alcohol, family-friendly events, and all proceeds go towards community programs sponsored by the Arrowsmith Agricultural Association.

The full commercial kitchen can be rented with the hall or by itself. During the Fair and at other events, the Arrowsmith Agricultural Association uses the kitchen is used as a concession stand, making use of the built-in pass-through windows to serve customers outside. The kitchen has been rented by cooks preparing chilli for Qualicum Beach’s Fire & Ice contest and by market vendors preparing preserves like jams or pickles.

Maximum Capacity: 200 (banquet or theatre)

Kitchen Equipment: place settings for 200, upright freezer, double door cooler, gas stove and grill with two ovens, convection oven, electric stove with oven, microwave oven, 2 sink stations, coffee & tea making equipment, and a dish sterilizer. Chaffers and servingware available for an additional rental fee.

Dates:

Time: Fair Gates are open Saturday from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Sunday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Indoor exhibits open at 9:30 AM.

Admission: Entry is by two-day pass, paid daily gate admission, 4-H member/leader wristband, or by Association membership card. All exhibitors and persons accompanying them must pay the daily gate admission or purchase a pass to enter the fair.

Adults: $5.00 / day or $8.00 for a two-day pass
Students 13-18: $3.00 / day or $5 for a two-day pass
Seniors 65+: $3 / day or $5 for a two day pass
Children 6-12: $1 / day
Children 5 and under: Free

Parking: $2.00 to park on the Fairgrounds. No trailer parking available. Free parking available at the Coombs Rodeo Grounds, with a shuttle service.

Also in this building is the Arrowsmith Agricultural Association’s boardroom and office. During the Fair, the boardroom is used as our Fair Office. The rest of the year, it serves as meeting room for various groups like the Coombs Farmers’ Institute, 4H, and others. It’s even being used as a rehearsal space for our local jug band! The room seats 15 comfortably in board-room set up, but depending on the configuration, it can accommodate more. There is a mini-kitchen in this room with a fridge, sink, microwave and coffee/tea making equipment.
Sample Contract & Fee Schedule

What will you grow, raise, bake or make to enter in the 99th Annual Coombs Fair? Earn some bragging rights and bring home a blue ribbon.

Our 2012 Entry Catologue was printed and distributed by the PQB News of Black Press. If you would like to advertise in next year’s edition (our Centennial!), please contact PQB News staff.

Included with the rental is our full-size driving ring with an announcers’ booth, plus a warm-up ring, two sets of stalls (8 stalls closest to the riding ring plus a second building with 10 stalls), and use of our multi-purpose Red Barn. The Red Barn can also be rented separately for barn dances or other functions.

Our announcers’ booth has electrical access, but does not come equipped with a public broadcast system. Loudspeakers and equipment may be rented from the Silver Spur Riding Club or our local 4H club.

Washroom facilities included with the rental are two portable toilets. Trailer parking is available seasonally (mid-May to late October).

Rental Fees: $125 / day or $50 / day for an educational clinic.

Red Barn (by itself): $10 / hour or $70 / day.

For rental enquiries, please contact Barbara Smith – (250) 248-6785.

If you are interested in using any of these facilities for your event, please contact Janet in our office for rates and more information.