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Berry Festival returns to downtown Abbotsford this year, needs support

Event celebrates berry bounty with vendor sales, entertainment and pie

The Berry Festival is back, and it’s the perfect opportunity to lift up local farmers.

The summer event is a favourite for its small-town charm and delicious offerings, and its perfect setting in downtown Abbotsford.

Ashleigh Watters, event and marketing manager of the Abbotsford Downtown Business Association, says excitement is building about the event coming back after taking two years off due to the pandemic.

It’s the first big free event they’ve had downtown since 2019, and Watters is looking forward to seeing it all come together. It’s one of her favourite events of the year.

“I would really say I like the energy that it holds,” she says. “This is not a huge city but it’s not a small one either, but the Berry Festival has all those characteristics of a small community fair. It has the same energy and buzz.”

They are currently connecting with all their sponsors, farmers, vendors and entertainers from past events, and looking for more. The more the merrier, she says, as more sponsorships mean they can fill the day with more activities and entertainment. And sponsorship is down this year, as companies feel the effects of the pandemic and increased costs across the board.

And it’s been a tough spring for farmers, following the most difficult winter with the flooding. Watters is hoping that the Berry Festival is a chance to support local producers both in spirit and financially, by introducing people to the bounty that is grown locally.

“We invite the local farmers to come and sell the products on site the day of the festival,” Watters explains, and the farmers can then encourage their customers to go back to the farm throughout the season for events and gate sales.

For those who aren’t familiar with Berry Festival, it’s a celebration in the streets with berry vendors, activities like bungie trampolines and even a zipline. There is a mainstage with live entertainment, as well as entertainers that roam the festival and interact with the crowd. There are superheroes on deck, magicians and more lined up already.

And there’s even a pie eating contest.

This year’s Berry Festival is the 39th annual, and is being held on July 16 from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

For more information on how to get involved, email events@downtownabbotsford.com.

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Jessica Peters

About the Author: Jessica Peters

I began my career in 1999, covering communities across the Fraser Valley ever since.
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