DRAYTON – The annual Drayton Farm Show, now in its 38th year, is the biggest fundraiser for the local Kinsmen Club.
A portion of the $5 admission fee to the event, held this year on March 27 and 28 at the PMD arena, is donated to cystic fibrosis research.
“Then all of the proceeds from the door, half of that goes directly to cystic fibrosis, along with another portion of the entire project,” said 2019 farm show chairman Chad MacKay.
Cystic fibrosis is a cause supported and fundraised by Kinsmen Clubs across Canada.
“We are into at least the tens of millions (of dollars) donated (through the Kinsmen) to cystic fibrosis over the years,” said MacKay.
The remainder of the proceeds from the show are put toward various Kinsmen projects in the community.
This year, the Kinsmen are looking to raise funds for a shaded shelter at ABC Park in Drayton near the splash pad and the Kinsmen park playground.
“This year we are looking to potentially put up some shade shelters at the parks in town and this would be a big contributing factor for those gazebo-type shade shelters,” explained MacKay.
He said the shelters were priced out at $30,000 each.
“We sort of noticed that there is often a lot of people across the road where there is no children’s park and they use that shade shelter quite often for picnics,” said MacKay.
“And we noticed that a lot of the families are down at the Kinsmen park and now up at the splash pad without any shade or cover for parents to sit around or to have a picnic.”
In 2017, over 3,000 people attended the farm show, which allowed the Kinsmen to make a sizable donation to cystic fibrosis research and the other local causes.
Last year 1,800 people visited the farm show.
This year organizers say they are hoping to match, if not surpass, last year’s numbers.
“I think generally we are expecting between 1,800 and 2,000 visitors through the door over the couple days,” MacKay told the Advertiser.
Hundreds of projects
Another local organization that receives funds raised at the annual farm show is the Drayton Minor Hockey Association, which receives donations from the food booth run by members from the association.
Over the years, the local Kinsmen have completed hundreds of projects, including an addition to the agricultural society building, purchase of a rescue van and Jaws-of-Life for the local fire department, development of ball parks and soccer fields, and a large contribution to the PMD Arena.
The local fire department, an area pregnancy crisis centre, the United Way, local food bank and multiple sclerosis research have also benefited from the Drayton Kinsmen.
