Each spring, thousands of children and their families come to Stampede Park to learn about where our food comes from at Aggie Days. The caliber of the program led Growing Alberta, in partnership with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, to honour the Calgary Stampede’s Agriculture Education committee with an award at the 2008 Harvest Gala.

“Aggie Days links urban and rural audiences through exhibits focusing on a range of agriculture presentations including food production, the environment, industry innovation and career opportunities in the industry,” says Bonnie Carruthers, Agriculture Event co-ordinator. “Students and families are provided an opportunity to see, experience, and learn about the value and impact of agriculture. Our goal is to build agriculture advocates of the future.”

Aggie Days addresses a range of agriculture issues including the environment. Live demonstrations, such as cow milking, sheep shearing, stock dog herding, blacksmithing, and other farm animal presentations add to this full-sensory agriculture experience.

The Growing Alberta award is given to groups or organizations that demonstrate a passion and commitment to building youth involvement in, and understanding of, agriculture and food. Their work helps generate leaders of tomorrow and builds a greater understanding and awareness of the importance of agriculture and food in Alberta.

Aggie Days 2009, presented by Encana, will run from April 1 to 5. Registration for the school program portion of the event is now open.

Aggie Days is one of 12 youth and education programs that the Calgary Stampede invests $2 million in annually.