Celebrating Small Town Life

by Lorna Lowe

Friday, August 31, 2012

One of the fabulous entries in the Millet Harvest Fair Parade was this Chinese Lion.

Millet's Harvest Fair has come and gone but it has left some sweet memories in it's wake. A classic example of a wonderful, old style community fair, beginning with a resident appreciation BBQ and movie at the splash park on Friday, and ending with a large interdenominational church service on Sunday morning.

Saturday was packed with action and started with the pancake breakfast at the Legion. Once everyone had a tummy full of goodness they began lining the streets in anticipation of the coming parade.

Just before the parade kicked into gear a huge "gang" of motorcycle enthusiasts thundered through town collecting toys for the Millet Toys For Tots charity. All of the money and toys collected in Millet goes to support Millet families.

The parade itself was great, with some fabulous floats, antique tractors and cars, and tons of candy being tossed to the kids lining the route. After the parade cruised through town, the crowds headed toward the Agriplex where most of the events for the rest of the day were centered.

As you walked toward the Agriplex building you couldn't help but notice the huge, eye catching painted semi truck and trailer parked along the side of the building. The unit belonged to the Teamsters Union and they also sponsored the stage beside the semi unit, where live entertainment continued most of the afternoon. Chairs were set up to enjoy the local talent on the stage, while taking a break outdoors in the beautiful weather that held the first hints of fall in the air.

When you ventured inside of the Agriplex one of the first things you encountered was the opportunity to make your own birdhouse to take home with you. The room was filled with kids big and small banging away with hammers and nails, constructing homes for their feathered friends.

Once you entered the main arena of the Agriplex you were greeted with tables stretching around half of the arena, displaying everything from flowers to jams, to needlework and quilts, to photographs and original works of art, and just about everything in between you can think of! The residents of Millet and the surrounding area are a talented bunch because the tables were laden with the finest examples of their hard work, all competing for the ribbons that were liberally spread around the hall.

At the opposite end of the arena was a trade show that showcased many local businesses, several that can only be found at events like this because the businesses are run out of private homes. This means that unique and original items could be found at the trade show that cannot be found anywhere else.

There were also face painting tables, kids games, a tractor obstacle race and the always super popular petting zoo. And amazingly, all of these events were free! The only thing that was requested was for people to bring whatever they could as a donation for the Millet Food Bank.

At lunch time, the Millet Fire Department hosted a BBQ burger and hot dog lunch, and while parents were munching away the little ones could sit in the driver's seat of a real fire truck and even honk the horn, much to the startlement of anyone walking by at that moment! At 2pm the Millet Fire Department unveiled their new mini pumper truck to the public. The brand new truck, purchased by Leduc County, is a very valuable addition to the department as its smaller size enables it to get into places that the larger and heavier tanker trucks cannot go.

That evening the sold out banquet held upstairs in the Agriplex was a huge hit. Between the fabulous catered dinner, silent auction and hilarious performance by comedian Rachel the Hutterite, the night was a big success.

As a matter of fact the entire weekend was a huge success and the Town of Millet and all the volunteers that made it happen deserve a big round of applause. It just goes to show that bigger does not always mean better, and good, old fashioned fun is still just that; a lot of fun!

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