Donald Teuma-Castelletti
LUSKVILLE Oct. 7-9, 2017
The fourth annual Pontiac Country Fair took place last weekend, featuring vendors, local organizations and more artists than ever before.
Running Saturday through Monday, families were welcomed to Luskville Falls for all sorts of entertainment, including horse demonstrations, live music and animal shows.

“We have lots of artists, as it’s important for them to show their work, and more activities this year, too,” said Dominic Labrie, director of communications for the Municipality of Pontiac. “We’re told by vendors that it’s better business than farmer’s markets.”
In fact, there were so many applicants this year that some were turned away.
“Priority is given to local vendors, but this year we had to refuse a bunch, about ten,” said Labrie. “We want to keep the country aspect of the fair, rather than selling t-shirts.”
Over 35 vendors were featured, including 13 artists and craft stations and 14 restaurants. Labrie credited the collaboration with the National Capital Commission (NCC) for the success of being able to host as many merchants as they did.
“We’ve got a good opportunity with our partnership with the NCC, providing tents, the field, garbage cans and the like,” said Labrie.
The NCC had one such booth onsite, offering education on species native to the trails and area surrounding Luskville Falls. Speaking with Stephen Bergeron, coordinator of civil infrastructure and landscaping with the NCC, he admitted that the stuffed fox at their booth was the main draw for those who stopped at their spot, but that once there, questions would pop up about a lot more.
“Today we have the Monarch Butterfly, as it’s getting rare, so we show what the NCC is doing to protect their homes,” said Bergeron, of their focus for the weekend.
Bergeron explained how the NCC had to do extensive evaluations of the site they were located on leading up to the festival, in case the flower that the insect is attracted to were found there. They had to wait especially long to prepare the parking area, until after Sept. 15, to ensure the butterfly season is over.
The booth, also featuring a member of the Friends of Gatineau Park, garnered lots of other questions about the local trails and wildlife.
“People are curious about the kinds of birds they’ll see, but then will ask about bears and wolves,” laughed Bergeron.
Although questions drifted towards the more dangerous animals, guests didn’t have to look far for a glimpse at a different kind of animal, as the Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA) had a booth across from them.
Featured at their booth were three cows, ranging from young to fully grown, and two farmers, armed with all the knowledge to satisfy the curious.
“We’re here to hopefully educate people a little bit, and teach about farming diversity in the Pontiac and the whole MRC des Collines,” said Blake Draper, a local farmer and representative of the UPA.
Together with Ron Belisle, the two farmers answered many questions to passersby about the age and size of the cows they had, plus the tagging practices of farmers. Although the tags appear huge on a younger cow, they explained, those tags are with them for life, as they’re tracked from birth till death in a permanent database. This practice is still fairly new to farmers, as it was put in place during the mad cow epidemic just over a decade ago.
The duo also answered a lot of questions regarding the changing landscape of farms, as well as explaining the variety of farms, from beef and dairy to cash crop. Providing a face to local farms, they help to show people where their food actually comes from, and who’s growing everything for them.
From there, booths ranged from those selling their arts and crafts to restaurants and grocery stores. Though the other spots may not have had live cows or a taxidermy fox, there was still plenty to see and keep the whole family busy.