I woke up to find a message from my friend Elna Edgar of Edgar Farms in Innisfail today. She asked if I would share the news that they’ve had to cancel their annual Asparagus Festival which was to be held on May 31, June 7 and 14.
I’m sad for my friends. They’re passionate farmers and they love to share that passion for all they do with visitors to their farm.
I hope you will support them more than ever this year. Read about one of my visits to Innisfail Growers, visit their stall at the Calgary Farmers’ Market, participate in their annual Country Drive or Open Farm Days and let them know we’ll all be waiting to celebrate a bumper crop of asparagus next year.
Sometimes having to wait a bit for something we love helps us all the more to savour it all.
Read on for the full press release.
Edgar Farms Asparagus Festival Press Release
May 25, 2015
For Immediate Release
Asparagus Festival 2015 Cancelled
Due to a perfect storm of weather conditions beyond our control last year & this spring we sincerely regret to announce that we have cancelled the Asparagus Festival scheduled for May 31, June 7 & 14 2015.
In an effort to save our plants for many future years, we have decided to quit picking portions of our asparagus fields which were hit the hardest by devastating hail storms July 19th & August 7th 2014 which damaged the mature plants.
In addition to the hail, two years of very wet conditions followed by a very dry spring this year have reduced the nutrient & carbohydrate reserves of our plants.
For now, we will continue to pick the healthiest areas of our fields. We will continue to have a limited supply of our same delicious asparagus at the Farmers Markets and at our Country Store for the time being. We are monitoring the status of our asparagus patch continually.
This is a decision that we have not taken lightly. We are sincerely sorry for any inconvenience, but we have to work with what Mother Nature is giving us. Our customers are extremely important to us but we have to look after the vigour of our plants for many years to come.
We look forward to this decision being an investment into the future of our asparagus venture so that we can be back on track offering you fresh sweet asparagus next growing season!
For more information, please contact Elna at 403-350-0659 or 403-227-2443