The defending aggregate champions from last year’s Bench Fair in Donalda managed to hold on to their titles this year, as both Gerda Mueller and Lexi Dietrich came in first in the grand aggregate and junior aggregate scores respectively.
The annual event, now in its 33rd year, had roughly 325 different entries submitted by 28 different competitors in categories ranging from photography, crafts and hobbies, horticulture and home economics.
Baking, garden-grown flowers and vegetables, paintings, photographs, quilts and more were all on display throughout the weekend of Aug. 8-10 at the Community Centre in the village.
Terry Nordahl, chair of the Bench Fair committee, said the numbers of competitors over the past several years have remained steady for the most part, though the number of entries into categories have fluctuated.
“Some categories have less entries than they used to, and others have more,” she said.
Saturday began with a pancake breakfast for the community, and nearly 50 people came down for a hot and yummy start of the weekend.