Week 49's prompt for the 52 Ancestors challenge is "Craft". A big part of Canadian culture, especially in rural areas, is the fall fairs or exhibitions. Along with livestock and agricultural displays, there were often craft competitions. People of all ages submitted their crafts for judging. There were competitions for woodworking, art, sewing, and knitting to name a few. So where to find resources?
Canadiana
When I used the search term "agricultural fair", I received thousands of hits. Here's a sampling of what I found
- Prize list of the Peninsular Exhibition to be held at the town of Chatham, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th October, 1888 - it doesn't list individual winners, but it does give a listing of the various divisions, and prize amounts. It also lists board members and sponsors.
- Prize list and report of proceedings of the Provincial Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition of Nova Scotia, 1868 - this one is report made after the Fair was over. It lists comoitee members, sponsors, and winners of the competitions.
- Canadian Agriculturalist 1849-1863 - this publication gives recaps of agricultural fairs, along with farming news.
Peel's Prairie Provinces
As usual, this site comes through for resources on Canada's West. Here's a sampling of what I found:
- Agriculture on parade: The story of the fairs and exhibitions of western Canada - If your ancestor was involved in agricultural fairs, then you'll want to take a look at this for context.
- The Stampede: Canada's 2nd annual world's greatest frontier days' celebration, Winnipeg, Canada, August 9th-16th inclusive, 1913: Official program and souvenir
- annual official prize list Author: Weyburn Exhibition.
Newspapers
These are the best way to find out how award winning your ancestor craft skills were. Rural newspapers, especially, posted the winners of competitions. You may even be lucky enough to find a photo. Here are some places to find newspapers:
- Local libraries
- University libraries
- Provincial and City Archives
- The Ancestor Hunt
Miscellaneous
Here are some "thinking outside the box" sources:
- Canadian Associations of Fairs and Exhibitions - their website lists Fair Associations across the country. Getting in touch with the Associations may give you new leads on historical records.
- CNE Heritage - a great virtual exhibit of the history of the Canadian National Exhibition from the 1870's to the 1980's.
- Canada’s Farming Roots: Agricultural Fairs and Education
- The History of Conklin Shows
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