The Binder Twine Festival, or usually Binder Twine, was an annual festival held the first Saturday after

Labour Day Labour Day ('' Labor Day'' in the United States) is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for ...

Kleinburg Kleinburg is an unincorporated village in the city of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, an art gallery with a focus on the Group of Seven, and the Kortright Centre for Conservation. In 2001, the villa ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. It was one of the most popular festivals in

southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...

, and marked the beginning of the harvest fair season in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...

. In April 2020, the committee that organized the festival announced that as a result of increased costs and decreasing number of volunteers, it would discontinue the festival. In the late 19th century, farmers would come to the community to acquire

binder twine The Binder Twine Festival, or usually Binder Twine, was an annual festival held the first Saturday after Labour Day in Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada. It was one of the most popular festivals in southern Ontario, and marked the beginning of the harve ...

with which they could bind sheaves of

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

. Charlie Shaw, a resident and owner of a hardware store, offered food and entertainment to those farmers, establishing the Binder Twine Night festival which was held annually until his death in the 1930s. In 1967, a

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

of residents revived the concept as part of the

Canadian Centennial The Canadian Centennial was a yearlong celebration held in 1967 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Celebrations in Canada occurred throughout the year but culminated on Dominion Day, July 1, 1967. Commemorative coins w ...

celebrations. The festival was organized and operated entirely by volunteers, which once included author

Pierre Berton Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, CC, O.Ont. (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a Canadian writer, journalist and broadcaster. Berton wrote 50 best-selling books, mainly about Canadiana, Canadian history and popular culture. He also wr ...

, a famous resident of the village. Berton's wife Janet was an executive of the organizing committee from 1967 until 1996, during which time she published 16 booklets about the history of Kleinburg. Binder Twine became a successful community event, and resulted in new town signage and the creation of Binder Twine Park. There was a fee for admission except for those wearing pioneer period costumes, who were admitted for free.

Activities

The festival featured the Binder Twine Parade, the Binder Twine Queen contest and a Quilt Raffle, along with craft sales and musical entertainment. The

McMichael Canadian Art Collection The McMichael Canadian Art Collection (MCAC) is an art museum in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located on a property in Kleinburg, an unincorporated village in Vaughan. The property includes the museum's main building, a sculpture garde ...

sponsored art activities at the festival. It included an arts and craft show, pioneer skills demonstration, and "old-fashioned" entertainment. In 1979, a few months after the federal election which resulted in

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...

becoming

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

, festival organizers announced a Joe Clark

look-alike A look-alike, double, or doppelgänger is a person who bears a strong physical resemblance to another person, excluding cases like twins and other instances of family resemblance. Some look-alikes have been notable individuals in their own right, ...

contest, requesting entries from individuals with "an oversized head, large ears and hardly much of a chin".

Binder Twine Queen

The Binder Twine Queen contest required contestants to demonstrate their abilities in a set of activities such as cow milking, hog calling, and log sawing. Each year, one activity was kept secret until the day of the festival so contestants could practice for it. Contestants wore costumes and often had props, including live animals, and "shamelessly spoof the traditional beauty contest". It had sometimes been judged by well-known personalities, including

Knowlton Nash Cyril Knowlton Nash (November 18, 1927 – May 24, 2014) was a Canadian journalist, author and news anchor. He was senior anchor of CBC Television's flagship news program, '' The National'' from 1978 until his retirement in 1988. He began his care ...

and

Ben Wicks Ben Wicks, (born Alfred Wicks; October 1, 1926 – September 10, 2000) was a British-born Canadian cartoonist, illustrator, journalist and author. Biography Wicks was a Cockney born into a poor, working class, working-class family in London ...

. Berton wrote an article in the

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

in 1992 comparing the Binder Twine Queen contest with

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

s, stating that "while other queen contests are fading away under the disapproving frowns of feminists, the Binder Twine Queen contest has never been healthier or more popular".

Notes

References

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External links

* {{Vaughan Festivals in Ontario Vaughan Festivals established in 1967 1967 establishments in Ontario 2020 disestablishments in Ontario