Aggie Days has returned to the Lethbridge Trade and Convention Centre after a seven-year hiatus. The educational event is designed to connect students in Grades 4 to 6 with agricultural and world of farming. “We’re trying to engage urban kids on agricultural activities,” said Cody McIntosh, Lethbridge and District Agricultural Society (LDAS) director. “What’s happening around them - so when they’re driving down the road and they see a crop out there, they know what it is, what it’s used for and that it’s actually processed here in Lethbridge and southern Alberta.” This is the first year Aggie Days has been held since 2019. The event is being put on by the LDAS in partnership with Agriculture for Life. “It’s an interactive event where we can have the students come together and learn together and experience it as a large group, which is always a different dynamic,” said Luree Williamson, Agriculture for Life CEO. “They’re out of the classroom so they get to leave and experience agriculture on the way to the venue, but also, they get the opportunity to be exposed to a lot of different topics at one event.” Live chicks Over the two days, organizers will welcome more than 1,000 students from Lethbridge and the surrounding area to Aggie Days. “We’ve got some live chicks here from the egg producers of Alberta,” said McIntosh. “We’ve got Alberta Canola here and Potato Growers of Alberta. We’re trying to bring as many interactive and fun, exciting displays as we can for the kids to get them excited.” Which, McIntosh and Williamson say, is the purpose of the show. He says the event fits with the Ag in the Classroom programs and curriculum students in elementary schools are learning. For Williamson, the gap between learning where your food comes from and understanding agriculture is continuing to grow apart. “Most students and teachers are two to three generations removed from the farm so really having that opportunity to connect them back to where their food comes from, whether you live in rural environments or urban environments, we’re all connected to agriculture,” she said. “Today’s modern agriculture is so tech-driven, innovative and science-based so students have the opportunity to engage in agriculture learning, but also, what do I want to be when I grow up?” asked Williamson. “There’s so many careers that are available to them within the industry so this could give them an ‘aha’ moment where they can explore where their place can be in the future of agriculture.” This is the first operational year for the LDAS since launching in September 2025. McIntosh says education is one of the mandates of the society. “This is an opportunity to bring in agricultural producers, commodity groups and get those kids in classrooms excited about agriculture and learning something about agriculture,” said McIntosh. Aggie Days runs until Thursday.
