Hello and a very Happy New 2011Year to all our fellow North Thompson Valley residents. It has now been 4 1/2 months since that exciting night we were officially crowned as the North Thompson Fall Fair and Rodeo (NTFFR) royalty and we would love to share our experiences thus far.
Our first “official” duty was to open our historic Fall Fair and Rodeo, on Labour Day weekend. How exciting this was for the three of us. And although we have to admit we were all a bit nervous we were thrilled to be given the task. The Fall Fair weekend was a busy one, selling 50/50 tickets, participating in several different events, and meeting all sorts of new and interesting people. What an exciting and educational family event this is and we are so proud to represent it.
The three of us got to travel to Peachland in September to attend our very first out of town Ambassador Program. We had so much fun and made some great new friends. During our visit we had the opportunity to visit the Parrot Island Sanctuary. What an incredible place. We learned so much. Did you know that some species of parrots can live up to 140 years? We even had the opportunity to have one of the parrots sit on our shoulder for a photo op! We had a fun-filled weekend attending many different events and had our very first chance to get up on stage to promote the Fall Fair and our valley. We were very nervous for this moment but we think we handled ourselves pretty good, considering we were “the new kids on the block”.
In October two of us traveled to Logan Lake to represent our valley at another Ambassador Program. We had so much fun and were very happy to see all our newly formed friends again and excited to make four new ones, three young ladies and one young man joined our ever expanding “weekend family” as the new Youth Ambassadors of Logan Lake. We are looking forward to getting to know them better and sharing many different experiences over our year.
November brought us the opportunity to attend the NTFFR Association’s Annual General Meeting and potluck dinner. We were pleased to see such a good turn out and the dinner itself was amazing. It was very nice to be able to meet some of the many volunteers who work so hard to make the Fall Fair what it is and we thank all of you for your contributions.
We were also privileged to be a part of the Remembrance Day parade, that month, in Barriere. All three of us proudly walked along with the many other people who came out to pay their respects. Once at the Cenotaph, on behalf of the NTFFR Association, we laid a wreath for our fallen soldiers and in thanks to those who are still so bravely serving our Country.
Later on in November we helped with Barriere’s No Host Bazaar by organizing tables and running the concession stand. It was a long day and a lot of fun. There was a good turn out and we would like to thank all those who both participated in the Bazaar and all the people who braved the weather that day.
In December the three of us took part in yet another parade - the Barriere Santa Parade. We were honored to be judges for the entrants . There were many different kinds of floats and we congratulate all of the winners and thank every single participant for attending. We enjoyed the parade itself and loved seeing all the smiling faces lining the streets, despite the cold.
Just before Christmas we all were excited to attend the Clearwater Santa Skate. This was a first ever for NTFFR royalty! We had a blast taking pictures with Santa himself and skating with everyone who attended, even if we did get “shown up” by a five-year-old girl who could definitely skate better than us. It was so much fun and we hope that the NTFFR royalty continues to attend this wonderful family event.
The New Year was brought in with a splash for two of us crazy, um, we mean “brave” royalty by participating in the annual Polar Bear Dip in Little Fort. That’s right, along with 25 other “dippers” we donned our swimming suits and ran head straight in to the freezing water. Now that was cold, but the tasty hot chocolate and big bonfire, we all huddled around afterwards, helped us thaw out. What a way to start the New Year!
Our time as the NTFFR royalty has already been filled with exciting adventures and memories and the great thing is, we are told, “The best is yet to come!” Our calendars will be very full over the next nine months with assisting our new candidates, educational and self-development classes, lots of traveling and tons of new adventures.
Queen and Miss Congeniality Alexandra Brown
Princess Seanna Lyons
Princess Jessica Graves