Vancouver, BC - The BC Association of Farmers’ Markets (BCAFM) wants to know why you appreciate farmers, and they want you to tell them in the form of a poem - a haiku, a ballad, an ode or a limerick, the style is up to you. Novice and experienced writers alike are invited to submit their best agriculture-inspired poems to the first Ode To A Farmer Poetry Contest, in honour of Farmers Appreciation Week this September 8-15, 2013.
This is the fourth annual Farmers Appreciation Week, an event highlighting the important contribution that local food and farmers make to our lives by drawing attention to agricultural and food system issues.
The Castlegar Farmers Market does not have current BCAFM membership, although an informed source has indicated that application has been made and the local market could soon join others under the provincial umbrella.
“We want British Columbians to tell us why they appreciate their local farmers and the fresh food they grow,” says Elizabeth Quinn, BCAFM Executive Director. “We know there is a lot of support out there, and this is a great way to express our admiration and gratitude for farmers, who don’t always have the opportunity to hear our praise for them.”
The contest is open to all British Columbia residents. Submissions will be accepted until Sunday, September 8 at midnight - the first day of Farmers Appreciation Week. To celebrate the diversity of B.C.’s agriculture, contest judges will select one winning poem in each region of B.C.: Cariboo Chilcotin Coast, Kootenay Rockies, Northern British Columbia, Thompson Okanagan, Vancouver, Coast & Mountains and Vancouver Island. Six winning authors will receive a $50 gift certificate to the BCAFM farmers’ market of their choice. For details see Farmers Appreciation Week - Poetry Contest.
The contest will be judged by two accomplished B.C. writers: Tamara Leigh, a freelance agriculture journalist, communications consultant, President of the BC and Canada Farm Writers Associations, and FarmHugger blogger based in the Cowichan Valley of Vancouver Island; and Renée Sarojini Saklikar author of the thecanadaproject. Renée’s work appears in various literary journals, newspapers and anthologies, including Geist and Contemporary Verse 2: The Canadian Journal of Poetry and Critical Writing (CV2).
Farmers Appreciation Week will be celebrated at farmers’ markets across B.C. from September 8 – 15, 2013. For more information on how to participate, see the Farmers Appreciation Week website.
The BCAFM is a not-for-profit association that represents 115 farmers’ markets across the province and works to support, develop and promote farmers’ markets in all regions of B.C. For more information on the BCAFM or to find a farmers’ market near you, visit www.bcfarmersmarket.org.