Country Critters Fall Fair Entertaining For Young And Old

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Duane and Margaret Rose are accustomed to having strangers stop by their farm near Zehner, but they’re expecting about 900 of them at once on September 16.

The Roses, who operate Rose Farm and Shepherds’ Cottage Wool, are hosting the third annual Country Critters Fall Fair. Duane Rose said the fair grew out of a need they felt wasn’t being served.

“It started as a result of three couples, friends, just sitting around saying how we need something to showcase our fibres,” he stated.

The Roses keep sheep and llamas, and their friends have Romney sheep, angora rabbits and alpacas.

The one-day event welcomes farm and city folks alike. Those planning to attend should be sure to bring their appetites. Rose noted there will be up to 16 different vendors offering all kinds of dishes.

“We built a clay oven,” he said. “We had built another one last year, on a trailer. I was going to put it away and it fell off the trailer. So we played in the mud for a while and got the new one ready.”

Rose said the new oven will have a permanent home on their farm in order to stay better preserved. It will be put into use the whole day, baking up bread, cinnamon buns and individual pizzas around lunch time.

Because the fair is designed to be a showcase for the various wool fibres the farms produce, there are also displays of sheep shearing, sheep fitting for showing, fleece washing, carding, spinning, weaving, knitting and quilting. Other displays will include cow milking, butter churning, cream separating, and the sure-fire hit – home-made ice cream in production.

Horse and wagon rides will be running throughout the day, and children can expend some energy on the hay bale play structure or riding the ponies. The Roses will also have livestock on display, including sheep, chickens, donkeys, rabbits, alpacas, llamas, goats and cattle. Miniature donkeys will be brought in from near Kronau, and angora goats from around Saskatoon will round out the animal displays.

Admission for the day is $3 per person, which includes a horse and wagon ride, or a pony ride for children.

To get to Rose farm, travellers should head to Zehner and follow the road for seven kilometres straight east. If approaching from the Pilot Butte area, the Rose farm can be found six kilometres east of the correction line where Pilot Butte Road meets Highway 46 (roughly 14 kilometres north of the #1 Highway). Signs will be posted along both routes.

For more information, contact:
Margaret and Duane Rose, Rose Farm
Zehner, Saskatchewan
Phone: (306) 789-3763
e-mail: rosefarm@sasktel.net
Website: www.rosefarm.info