For 12 years, friends of the UBC Farm have gathered mid-September to celebrate the farm that has been a part of UBC history since the university’s founding. This year, FarmAde will take place Friday, September 18 from 3 to 8 p.m. Last year's event drew a crowd of over 1,500 people.
“FarmAde was born from an idea at an AMS Impacts Committee meeting in August 2003 and the first one was held six weeks later on Friday, September 26,” said Nancy Toogood, former AMS Food and Beverage Coordinator who is heavily involved with the event. “The first event cost a total of $435 and we saw approximately 150 people come through the gate. The entire event was volunteer-driven.”
FarmAde features a variety of activities such as square dancing, face painting, a barbecue, bubble wands and live performances from several different bands. This year, FarmAde goers can expect appearances by Washboard Union, Shout!WhiteDragon and The Luke Wallace Band.
“Everyone comes and there's a beverage garden and an opportunity to go on tours around the farm which is really popular,” said Jenna Earnshaw, AMS Firstweek Coordinator. “On those tours people get to learn a lot about the history of the farm and also about some of the different projects [the farm is] working on at the moment.”
Some examples of projects the farm has worked on in the past have included the building of a yurt, four indigenous initiatives and various research projects. A host of volunteers are needed to help run the non-profit event and FarmAde is still currently accepting anyone interested in helping out on the day of the event.
“We have some incredible volunteers that come and put the hours in to really make this all happen,” Earnshaw said. “It’s one of those events that is such a community event... it's so great to have different people be able to help from all different areas of Vancouver and UBC.”
FarmAde encourages everybody to come out to the UBC Farm to experience the event which will be showcasing a variety of UBC clubs including BrUBC, the UBC Brewing Club, whose booth is new to the event this year.
“It would be amazing to see 2,000 people come,” Earnshaw said. “We definitely have the room for that. There’s square dancing for everyone.”