The Saanich Fair drew thousands to the Saanich Fairgrounds over the weekend, causing traffic on Sunday to back up more than a kilometre on Stelly’s Cross Road toward the Patricia Bay Highway.
Volunteers kept vehicles moving steadily into and out of the fairgrounds but couldn’t keep up with the sheer volume.
It seemed everyone wanted to head to the annual Labour Day weekend event for the food, the rides and of course, the animals.
Farm animals from alpacas to vaulting horses were on display at the fair, celebrating 100 years of 4-H clubs in B.C.
Youth who belong to various 4-H clubs — the name stands for head, heart, health and hands — were eager to chat about the critters, which ranged from goats to rabbits to ducks.
Tobi Lake, 15, was at the fair to show off his lionhead rabbit, which is two to three years old. (Rabbits, incidentally, can live eight to 12 years, he said.)
A member of the South Malahat 4-H Community Club, Lake also had a blue martin rabbit, which is distinctive because of its dark colour.
He pointed to a female in another cage that he bred with the lionhead. “And I got two very nice rabbits out of it, so I’m very proud,” said the Stelly’s Secondary School student.
“I like rabbits because they’re really snuggly, cuddly and they don’t take too much effort but you can get a lot of them,” said Lake, who raises his rabbits for pets and show.
“They’re a very good pet and easy to take care of.”
Lake said he sells the animals only as pets to good homes, not to places where they will end up on the dinner table.
“That’s just cruel — they don’t deserve that,” Lake said, adding rabbits are ears above cats and dogs as pets because they don’t make much noise, don’t cost a lot to feed and don’t need a lot of exercise.
Matteo Hilton, 11, a member of the South Island 4-H Goat Club, said he likes goats “because they’re friendly and they’re always in a good mood.”
His goat Cleo is really energetic and he likes playing with her at home, Matteo said.
Matteo likes showing his goats even though it can be a little nerve-racking to be under the scrutiny of a judge, he said.
“If you’re in showmanship, the judge looks for eye contact and that you know lots about your goat. If the judging is about the goat, it’s about its top line and strong legs.”
Matteo’s sister Anna-Maria Hilton, 14, milks her goats twice a day for the family’s consumption.
“We do that morning and night, and then I’ve been doing a little agility training with them,” said Anna-Maria.
“Goats are smart — they’re kind of like border collies.”
Jakob Svorkdal, 12, was watching over his Indian Runner ducks, which stand tall as though they’re trying to see over the heads of everybody else.
Svorkdal, a student at Glenlyon-Norfolk School, has been looking after ducks since his family moved to a farm a few years ago.
“They all have their own personalities,” he said. The flock of ducks have their own “coop chemistry,” he said.
Two of his male ducks are such good buddies, they don’t like to be far from one another.
smcculloch@timescolonist.com
