The Rural Voice, 2004-09, Page 43showcase their work.
To enable the artists to display
their work for reasonable rates, small
articles have been donated for raffles
to be held each day of the match. It
will be done in the style of a penny
sale with tickets going into a
container beside each item and the
winning ticket drawn late in the
afternoon. A price of the tickets has
yet to be set.
A grand prize draw will be held
on Sunday for a special, hooked wall
hanging created by one of the
committee members.
As anyone knows who attends
huge events with hundreds of
exhibits and demonstrations to view,
food is a vital component to making
the day enjoyable.
Due to . the work of Lois
McKnight and her committee,
visitors will be able to learn about
some of the best ways to cook and
serve Grey County products, sample
a few tasty morsels and take home
recipes to recreate the experience.
Aveteran of the 1987 IPM in
Meaford, McKnight says her
committee has worked hard
to pull together the final details for
all the demonstrations, including ,
ensuring all the ingredients required
will be on hand.
"There will be 12 food
demonstrations over the five days",
says McKnight, all aimed at
showcasing the best of the county.
In keeping with the region's
ranking as the number one producer
of lamb, representatives from
Georgian college will demonstrate
cooking with Iamb.
For those familiar with the region,
a stop by the IGA Foodland Tent on
the day when Tom Howell of
Wiarton demonstrates, is a must.
Well-known for his famous fish frys,
Howell will take the audience from
"catch -to -table" with Grey County
fish.
Two home economists with
published cookbooks will present a
sampling of their creations. Pat
Crocker currently lives in Grey and
Rose Murray has her roots in the
county.
Also on the menu will be
offerings from the Pork Board, beef
producers, apple growers and dairy
operations.
For those looking for more than
just a glimpse of great food, the IPM
cookbook has already made the
bestseller list, says Marjorie Davison,
chair of the special events committee.
Ten thousand have been ordered and
7,000 sold, according to Krauter.
As was noted by many of the
committee chairs, the experience of
working on IPM and Rural Expo
2004 has been an enriching one,
allowing them to work with
dedicated Grey County residents and
make new friends.
"I have been an advocate for this,"
says Sackett. "It is a wonderful way
for the community to highlight it
talent, businesses, music and crafts. I
believe in the IPM."
This is just a glimpse of what the
International Plowing Match and
Rural Expo 2004 has to offer so plan
on a trip to Meaford in Grey County
in September.°
Quilt show organizers
overwhelmed with 190 entries
Some quilts use Red Hat Society
themes.
From the intricate stitches to
the bursts of colours, the
award winning quilts on
display at IPM and Rural Expo
2004 is bound to be a showstopper.
Representatives from the five
quilters' guilds in Grey County have
been working on the competition for
three years, says committee chair Jo
Thatcher of Thornbury.
"We believed in doing this," she
says. "The guilds worked together
to promote the guilds."
The promotion by the committee
succeeded exceedingly well.
Originally expecting 75 to 85
quilts to enter the various
categories, Thatcher ended up with
more than 190 to be judged. "We
received entries from as far away as
British Columbia and North
Carolina," she says.
And those dozens of entries
included miniatures, "Tomorrow's
Stars Today" themes, scrap quilts,
applique, machine -stitched,
industrial machine creations, youth
handiwork, wall hangings and
garments.
One of the most fun categories
was a guild challenge, following the
well-known ideology of the Red Hat
Society, and based on a poem.
Guild members were to interpret the
phrase "When I am old, I will wear
purple." The creations are filled
with humour and colour.
The competition has also drawn
families together, bringing several
multi -generational quilts to the
contest.
There is one quilt that was
created by four generations of the
same family. Another was fashioned
by three generations, of which two
members live in British Columbia.
There are also two entries quilted by
two generations of a family, says
Thatcher.
Leading up to the opening of the
entries August 9, Thatcher was very
excited about the quality of the
quilts she had seen.
"It has been quite interesting to
see the diversity and the strength of
colour. They are very vivid," she
says.
Winners of the judging will be
displayed in the Rural Living Tent
along with all the garment and
guild -challenge entries.
The guilds involved in pulling
together the massive undertaking
are the host Georgian Quitters along
with the groups from Bluewater,
Walkerton, Queen's Bush and
Mount Forest.°
SEPTEMBER 2004 39