Volunteer shortage could end 99-year Old Home Week tradition
CBC
The P.E.I. Women's Institute, part of the Old Home Week agricultural exhibition since 1924, may be absent from this year's fair in Charlottetown.
Strothard Rodd, president of the Prince Edward Island Association of Exhibitions, which runs the P.E.I. Provincial Exhibition and Old Home Week, said the Women's Institute told organizers they were having trouble getting enough volunteers.
"I was kind of shocked at first, but she explained that volunteers are hard to come by," said Rodd.
"It's going to make a big hole in the exhibition. We've going to have to come up with something to replace them for this year."
The Women's Institute's exhibit of arts and crafts has long been a staple of Old Home Week. The institute's role was limited last August for the same reason, a lack of volunteers, with members doing demonstrations through the day rather than presenting a fixed exhibit.
In an email to CBC News, the Women's Institute said Old Home Week is a cherished event, but the organization is changing. It said it would have more to say after its provincial convention in June.
"Things will work out," Rodd said of the development, noting that he has seen many changes since participating in his first Old Home Week back in 1953.
"The beef part is about the same as it was back then. The dairy cattle, there's more dairy cattle now than there was back in the '50s," he said.
"The atmosphere is different too. I suppose when you're a kid you're excited to get to Old Home Week."
While many Islanders think of Old Home Week as a carnival because of the midway rides and entertainment on offer, it is still an important venue for the sale of breedstock in the livestock industry, Rodd said.
This year's edition of Old Home Week, culminating in the Gold Cup Race at Red Shores in Charlottetown, kicks off August 11 at the Eastlink Centre.
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