I first heard about the Historica Fairs in Heather's blog post telling about a group of homeschoolers in Ontario had their own fair and had judges attend it to judge the entries.  Her daughter was one of 4 homeschoolers chosen to advance to the Ottawa Fair.   She posted another post about their experience at the Ottawa fair and it sounded like such a great experience I went looking to learn more about the Heritage Fair Program.

You can learn all about the Heritage Fair program at their offical website.  On the What is a Fair page it says "The Historica Fairs Program encourages students to explore Canadian heritage in a dynamic, hands-on learning environment. Students use the medium of their choice to tell stories about Canadian heroes, legends, milestones, and achievements - and present the results of their research at a public exhibition."  According to the Rules and Criteria page the program is open to students in grades 4-9.

On the Fairs Sites page for Newfoundland and Labrador I discovered that there are 8 regional fairs in Newfoundland & Labrador.  The Newfoundland and Labrador Historica Fairs has their own Web site and there I learned that the regional fairs take place in May.  I contacted the provincial co-ordinator to find information about the fairs and how homeschoolers could go about becoming involved.  She was very helpful and told me that it was too late for this year but she would be happy to help us work something out for next year. 

Even though it is too late for us to participate this year, it is still possible to check out the regional fairs and get an idea of what the program is all about.  The Regional Fairs are open to the public at least part of the time for public viewing.  I contacted the regional co-ordinators listed on the website and heard back from most of them with information about the time and place of the Regional Fairs.

The regional Fairs are happening this weekend.  Here is a list of where and when:

Avalon Region -  May 3rd 1-3 at McDonald Drive Junior High School
Vista (Clarenville) Region - May 3rd 11-12 and 2 at the Rising Tide Theatre in Trinity
Burin Region - May 1st at Scared Heart Academy Marystown -
Central Region - May 2 in Grand Falls-Windsor at the Regional Education Office on Price's Avenue
Western Region  - May 3rd 1-3 at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College gym in Corner Brook
Labrador West Region - May 1st at Mennihek High School

Unfortunately I didn't hear back from the contact people listed for the Northern Peninsula/Labrador South Region  or the Labrador Region.

I hope some of you will take advantage of the chance to check out the regionnal fairs and hopefully next year we will actually have some homeschoolers participating in them.