Volunteers are needed for the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Country Fest at the end of July.
Between 100 and 150 volunteers are required to make the show successful.
And fair manager Graham Vanstone noted, they are in need of about another 50 volunteers.
“Volunteers are the backbone of any community event,” said Vanstone.
“Events like ours would not have lasted 125 years without support from not only individual volunteers but community groups and community partners,” he said.
There are opportunities available in most of the departments, added Vanstone, including the beer garden, shuttles, and set up and tear down.
Former fair manager Lorraine Bates, who managed the fair from 1991 to 2022, said finding volunteers were one of the stresses that emptied her tank, especially after the COVID 19 pandemic.
A program involving a local correctional facility was stopped during the pandemic, which meant inmates the fair used to depend on for heavy lifting were no longer available.
Since then, she said, there has been huge shortage of volunteers.
A volunteer open call and safety information session is being held at 7:30 p.m. on July 17, at the office at 23448 Jim Robson Way, Maple Ridge.
Volunteer application forms can be found at: https://www.mrpmcountryfest.com/volunteer-forms.
For more information call 604-4636922 or email: admin@mrpmcountryfest.com.
Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Country Fest runs July 24-26 at the Albion Fairgrounds.
The historical fair is celebrating 125 years this year and will feature 4H Clubs from across the province, plus live entertainment, a Home Arts and Gardening contest, sheep shearing, a free public skate, Gymkhana, a food truck festival, a West Coast Lumberjack Show, Shooting Star Amusements, and a free senior’s sneak peek from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, July 24.