Rosedale residents will get a chance to toot their own tractor horns this Saturday.
The first Rosedale Harvest Brigade will include a parade, hay rides, interactive farming equipment displays, and plenty of community spirit.
The plans have come together quickly, says organizer Chris Kloot. He was urged on after taking in a Jim Diers workshop recently in Chilliwack. He attended the motivational event in his role as a city councillor, but left compelled to do something positive for his own neighbourhood of Rosedale.
"Panic was starting to set in," last week, he said, but things are coming together in the final days of planning.
The day will kick off with a pancake breakfast at the Rosedale Firehall. That runs from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., and is by donation to the BC Professonal Fire Fighters Association Burn Fund.
Numerous other groups have come together to pitch in and make the day a success. Many of them will be joining in a parade, which leaves the Rosedale Traditional Community school at 10:30 a.m. and moves down Yale Road toward McGrath, where they'll head for the old Rosedale elementary school site.
And then, a small section of Yale Road, right in the heart of downtown Rosedale, will be closed off to traffic until 1 p.m., for a truly rural collection of activities.
TyCrop is opening their doors for tours, Prairie Coast Equipment is bringing in a selection of tractors, and there will be antique cars and tractors on display.
Emil Anderson has also hopped on board and will have a snow plow on site for kids to sit on, while Trask's Supply has donated some wood for kids to paint. That wood will help create fencing between Hillbilly's Homespun store and the gas station.
"We are going to hang that on the fence beside the store, and that way the kids are able to showcase their art," Kloot said.
They've planned a vendor lane that will include products and artisans from Rosedale and the greater Chilliwack area, and no country celebration would be complete without hay rides.
There will even be an area set up for families to roast marshmallows, and sit on hay bales, or enjoy a hot chocolate or coffee courtesy of the local church.
There will be music, and even a square dancing demonstration.
The event is a throwback to the way it used to be in Rosedale, when there were the Country Living Days. Kloot is hoping to rekindle the warm community spirit Rosedale is known for, and knows that an event like this will be a hit with his neighbours.
"We are basically building community," he said, adding that he's challenging other communities like Promontory or Garrison's Crossing to create their own events to celebrate their area.
"To meet their neighbours and get out into their own little community," he said.
There are some logistics to keep in mind. Yale Road will be closed between Sache Road and McGrath from about 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Traffic, including public transit, will be detoured around the closure.
Parking is available at the TyCrop parking lot behind the Rosedale Grocery Store, at the United Church, and at TyCrop on McGrath.
But Kloot is hoping the nice weather will encourage those close enough to walk or bike.
Anyone who wants to get involved can contact Chris Kloot at 604-703-4335 or Jack at 604-997-5612.