The BC Association of Farmers’ Markets (BCAFM) wants to know why you appreciate farmers, and they want you to tell them in the form of a poem - a haiku, a ballad, an ode or a limerick, the style is up to you. Novice and experienced writers alike are invited to submit their best agriculture-inspired poems to the first Ode To A Farmer Poetry Contest, in honour of Farmers Appreciation Week this September 8-15, 2013.
This is the 4th annual Farmers Appreciation Week, an annual event highlighting the important contribution that local food and farmers make to our lives by drawing attention to agricultural and food system issues.
“We want British Columbians to tell us why they appreciate their local farmers and the fresh food they grow,” says Elizabeth Quinn, BCAFM Executive Director. “We know there is a lot of support out there, and this is a great way to express our admiration and gratitude for farmers, who don’t always have the opportunity to hear our praise for them.”
The contest is open to all British Columbia residents. Submissions will be accepted until Sunday, September 8, at midnight - the first day of Farmers Appreciation Week.
To celebrate the diversity of BC’s agriculture, contest judges will select one winning poem in each region of BC: Cariboo Chilcotin Coast, Kootenay Rockies, Northern British Columbia, Thompson Okanagan, Vancouver, Coast and Mountains and Vancouver Island.
Six winning authors will receive a $50 gift certificate to the BCAFM farmers’ market of their choice.
The contest will be judged by two accomplished BC writers: Tamara Leigh, a freelance agriculture journalist, communications consultant, President of the BC and Canada Farm Writers Associations, and FarmHugger blogger based in the Cowichan Valley of Vancouver Island; and Renée Sarojini Saklikar author of the thecanadaproject. Renée’s work appears in various literary journals, newspapers and anthologies, including Geist and Contemporary Verse 2: The Canadian Journal of Poetry and Critical Writing (CV2).
Farmers Appreciation Week will be celebrated at farmers’ markets across BC from September 8 – 15, 2013. For more information on how to participate, see the Farmers Appreciation Week website: http://www.bcfarmersmarket.org/fresh-market/farmers-appreciation-week-2013#Poetry
The BCAFM is a not-for-profit association that represents 115 farmers’ markets across the province and works to support, develop and promote farmers’ markets in all regions of BC.
For more information on the BCAFM or to find a farmers’ market near you, visit www.bcfarmersmarket.org.