Fair flaunts good greens and fine arts
Workshops and learning experiences abound at recreation centre
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, August 20, 2015
LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
A steak dinner takes 7,000 litres of water to produce; 200 grams of chocolate takes 17,000.
Krista Okrainec, right, begins work on a canvas bag at her sewing booth while Megan Okrainec embroiders a flower. - April Hudson/NNSL photo
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Those amounts are common knowledge to some residents in the Deh Cho. For others, the numbers are surprising.
Jade Cambron, from Ecology North, spent Aug. 14 and 15 presenting similar facts to youth and interested adults during the community trade fair in Fort Simpson.
Her booth, which focused on composting, was one of dozens set up throughout the recreation centre.
Workshops ran throughout both days and the building bustled with people buying fresh produce, learning about gardening and taking part in traditional arts and crafts.
The fair kicked off the afternoon of Aug. 14, with a petting zoo outside for children. On Aug. 15, the day started with a pancake breakfast that doubled as a fundraiser for the village's historical society.
Cambron's composting workshop included a guessing game for children, who had to look at a variety of seeds, close their eyes and then guess which ones she took away.
Other workshops included a two-day food preparation and preservation demonstration from Renalyn Pascua-Matte and lessons in medicinal plants and foraging from Wrigley-Hay River massage therapist Tamarah Pellissey.
Pellissey prefers foraging to gardening and displayed a wealth of nature she had harvested from one spot in Fort Simpson.
"There's an art to gardening," Pellissey explained. "Nature, on the other hand, figures it out for you."
Pellissey grows her own chamomile, calendula and harvests weeds from her garden to use in creams, salves and teas.
"I enjoy experimenting with different plants," she said.
Martina Norwegian, one of the event's organizers, has been taking care of two garden plots this summer. Although Norwegian did not put on a workshop herself, she said the displays were helpful to would-be gardeners and new gardeners especially.
"I planted one plot of potatoes and one of vegetables this year," she said.
Traditional artists showcased their needlework, beadwork, leatherwork and art during the trade fair as well.
Sambaa K'e artist Carielyn Jumbo ran a workshop on garden maintenance as well as a print shop where would-be artists could try their hand at making relief prints.
Those involved taking an image hand-engraved on rubber linoleum or Japanese plywood and transferring it onto an archivable print by rolling ink across it and pressing the image onto paper.
"The trick is to get an even tone," said Jumbo, who demonstrated the technique with an engraved tree.
"We use organic-based ink because it is safer when it is washed down the sink and released back onto the land."
Sambaa K'e also has a display of prints currently hanging in the Open Sky gallery.
The trade fair ended at 4 p.m. on Aug. 15.
