Table talk: Agribition holds on to its past

Agribition has been around for many years and is a staple of life for many people on the prairies.

In an effort to hold on to that history, the Canadian Western Agribition has reused materials from old Exhibition Stadium to build tables that can be used at newer facilities.

The repurposed tables that now occupy the international business centre in the International Trade Centre were built using parts of the bleachers from the old stadium. That building was built in 1919.

Kim Hextall. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

Kim Hextall, the president of the Canadian Western Agribition, said the tables were built to preserve the history of the old stadium and its impact on Agribition.

“Agribition spent many years using that building from 1971 on,” she said. “Agribition started in 1971, but also the Winter Fair and bull sale were part of the Exhibition Grounds and ag events.”

Hextall said she has a lot of fond memories surrounding the old stadium.

“I guess my memories were coming to Agribition as a youngster,” she said. “My parents took me out of school along with my siblings, and we always came to Agribition for that.

“I also had family that showed here in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, and this will be the 26th year we have shown here. Agriculture is in my blood. I grew up on a farm. We farmed and ranched, and my husband and I do the same thing today, so it’s a part of what we do.”

The tables aren’t the only things brought back from the past; many of the seats from the old Exhibition Auditorium now serve a purpose in the current facility.

Seats from the old Exhibition Auditorium are being used at the Canadian Western Agribition. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

Hextall said the auditorium was another place that housed a lot of memories.

“The auditorium was located south of where the stadium sat,” she said. “There was another building in between them called the Winter Fair Building, and then we had the auditorium, and the auditorium was where all the sales took place.

“There was lots of excitement in that building when there was a sale. The acoustics were great. It was just a wonderful place.”

The auditorium was built in 1952, and both it and the stadium were torn down following the Canadian Western Agribition’s 2016 show.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Gillian Massie