By Jan Freedman

Well, talk about a washout!

The weather this May on Saturdays hasn't been kind to the Farmers' Market vendors and shoppers, but the constant downpour this past Saturday, for our Spring Festival, was particularly disappointing.

And wouldn't you know it, the rain stopped about 12:30 p.m., just in time for us to pack up.

Happily, Aurorans are an intrepid and loyal group and they still ventured out in their macs to visit their favourite vendors. It's that loyalty that keeps us powered on days like that.

Last Saturday, and again next Saturday, we saw Activate Aurora at the Market, preparing for the ‘Community Better Challenge' created by ParticipACTION.

Their Chair, Ron Weese, explained why they, as a sport and physical activity service organization, would come to the Farmers' Market. They want to meet the public and explain the value they see in joining local schools, sport organizations, the Community Services Department and businesses in Town.

They want everyone in Town to know about the Challenge and join in because the more that people participate, the better their chances of winning the title, not to mention having up to $150,000 to help prolong their work in Aurora.

He stated that they go where the people are so it made perfect sense to go to the Farmers' Market which attracts hundreds of people on Saturdays.

Activate Aurora is a program of Sport Aurora and has encouraged people of all ages, genders and skill levels to participate in activities all over Town for the last three years.

As the Ontario Trillium Grant ends in June, the Community Better Challenge comes at a great time.

Mr. Weese says that ”we have been working to build skills and programs in our community through local schools and our activity service providers, promoting greater physical activity for almost three years now. ParticipACTION announced this Challenge at the perfect time for us”.

What they need now is for people to show how active they are using the on-line technology in the ParticipACTION App that can be easily downloaded for free at www.participaction.com.

When the program began in July 2016, Activate Aurora started with the goal of becoming Canada's Most Active Community. They are now ready to take on all other communities in Canada to show that Aurora is one of the best places to live, work and play.

Having Activate Aurora and Sport Aurora take up the challenge on behalf of our Community to focus attention on Aurora on a national scale is a positive thing and one example of how the Aurora Farmers' Market supports our various community partners.

The ParticipACTION “Count Weeks” begin May 31 and end June 16, so the time to join the Community Better Challenge is now.

The Aurora Farmers' Market and Artisan Fair is proud to support a vibrant, inclusive community and we welcome everyone to visit each Saturday in Town Park between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. until the end of October.

Our Next Special Event will be our annual Strawberry Festival on June 22. After a brief absence, the wonderful Aurora Community Band will be back to play for us on that day. There will be more about plans in a future column.

See you at the Market!