Hay River (Aug 28/06) - It won't be a fall fair, but a new event being planned for Hay River may be the next best thing.

The Fall Fiesta, hosted at NWT Centennial Library, is being planned for Sept. 9 as a replacement for the Hay River Fall Fair, which won't be held for the second year in a row.

Gardener Helen Green is pleased the Fall Fiesta - a replacement for the now defunct fall fair - is planned for Hay River. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

"We decided, rather than not having anything, we would try the idea of a Fall Fiesta," said Marilyn Barnes, a library volunteer.

She described it as a celebration of fall. She added however, it is not a fall fair - the main difference being the Fiesta will not be as extensive and will not be a competition.

"That took quite a bit of work and we don't have the facility or the staff to do it," she said. "We're just going to try a different twist to it."

She said this will be more of an exhibition.

The details are still being worked out, but it will feature produce, crafts and flowers, along with displays of model ships and quilts, an exhibition of scarecrows, and a community potluck.

Other events may be held throughout the community, such as garden tours and music at Fisherman's Wharf. Barnes hopes other organizations will host other events.

"We want to have community involvement," she said.

"What I'm hoping is that the fall fair will come back eventually. This is just an alternative."

The Hay River Fall Fair had been organized by the Territorial Farmers' Association.

However, a change in federal programs cut off funding for the fair, which attracted hundreds of participants in the past. The new program - Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Foods - came into effect in late 2004 and doesn't fund fall fairs.

Evellyn Coleman, the association's executive director, said the idea of the Fall Fiesta is "very exciting."

Coleman believes it is possible the fair may be revived in the future, although she added that would require a change of funding sources for her group.

She added there would also have to be a change of focus, since not as many people are doing home canning and baking.

Helen Green may exhibit some flowers and carrots in the Fiesta.

"I think it's a good way to show what you can produce here," said Green, who grows flowers and many types of vegetables in her Paradise Valley garden.

The former fall fair began in 1977 under the Hay River Horticultural Society, which ran it until the late 1990s. After that it was not held for several years, but it was revived by the farmers' association.