by Connie Tabbert
Editor
COBDEN — It rained. And then rained some more. And then continued to rain.
But, the people came. And the people came. And they continued to come.
That’s exactly how it happened at the 8th annual Taste of the Valley held on the Cobden fair grounds Saturday.
The 120 vendors arrived and set up in the dark. It was windy and cool. And while they were setting up, that’s when the rain started. And it didn’t really stop until the seven hour event was almost over.
It was unfortunate those vendors on the ball field found it very trying, as the ground turned to ankle-deep mud. Those on the paved parking lot found the wind and rain difficult to deal with, and there were a few sitting in a few inches of water.
But, the umbrellas came out as did the rain coats and boots and the people attended the event, as many of them have done over the past few years.
The Cobden Farmers Market, Civitan Club, Cobden Agricultural Society and staff from the Township of Whitewater Region worked together to organize this event. Scotiabank is a sponsor of the event.
“It was excellent,” said Joy Curry, who is the farmers’ market representative on the four person organizing committee. “It went really well despite the weather.
“The vendors set up and stayed. The weather didn’t really change anything,” she added. “We still had close to the 4,000 to 5,000 people we usually get.”
Ms. Curry said of the 120 vendors, about 90 per cent of them are from within the confines of Renfrew County. This year she believes there were more food vendors than in past years. There were also a few new vendors.
“There was a different mix of vendors this year,” Ms. Curry said. “There were the old favourites and new ones who are branching out.
“It blows my mind how much talent there is in Renfrew County,” she added.
The muddy area was a bit of a disappointment, she said.
“We didn’t allow for Mother Nature’s wrath,” she said.
However, there is some discussion about what could be done for next year, in case Mother Nature doesn’t co-operate again, Ms. Curry said.
There was a brief discussion of changing when the event is held, but not only are people familiar with it being the Saturday following Thanksgiving, there’s really no other weekend that it wouldn’t conflict with an already annual, scheduled event, she said.
“We were lucky for the past seven years,” Ms. Curry said. “This is the first year it rained, so we were due. It’s always windy, breezy and cool.”
The next major event is the Christmas Farmers Market, which is Dec. 5 and 6 and will be held in three locations – the farmers market hall, the Cobden Agricultural Hall and the community hall in the basement of the township hall. Ms. Curry did note there might even be a few hardy vendors outside the ag hall.
