Avery Flynn is the new Wellesley Fair ambassador, taking over from Caitlin Livingston.
While there was no Wellesley Fall Fair to host her crowning, the 17-year-old Wellesley village resident did go through a selection process improvised due to the pandemic. An in-person interview before a panel of judges was held September 7, with an announcement streamed online September 14 to coincide with what would have been the launch of the fair.
She claimed the title in a competition against Mason McCormick, 19, who was the fourth male contestant in the ambassadorship’s history.
That there were just two contestants was likely due to the pandemic and uncertainty around the fair and other activities, suggested organizer and fair committee member Wendy Richardson. Part of the process was online, but there were in-person presentations to the judges on September 7 at the Wellesley Community Centre.
Normally, the fair ambassador would be jumping in to the job right off the hop, taking part in the fair and the Apple Butter and Cheese Festival in short order. With those events on hold again this year due to the pandemic, Flynn will have a bit more time to ease into the position.
“It’s a little quiet right now, because normally we’d be running around with the fair and the ABC Festival and everything, but we’re not quite sure if we’re doing anything for the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto). We don’t really know much right now, but we will soon. We’re just taking it one day at a time seeing what can happen,” Flynn explained of her first few weeks as the representative of the township.
A Grade 11 student at Waterloo Oxford District Secondary School, she’s busy just now adjusting to a return to in-person classes. Extracurricular activities such as sports remain something of an unknown.
“If it was a normal school year and everything was open, I would be on the basketball team right now, or be trying out for it. I was also thinking of joining the band or some music.”
She said music is one of her passions, playing piano and guitar. She also enjoys going camping and hiking with her family.
Of her new duties, Flynn said she’s happy to get involved with the fair committee and to be the voice of young people in the community, a role she’s already adopted as a member of the township’s youth advisory group.
“I’m looking forward to going to the meetings that they host every month, and I get to put in my input from my point of view on different things that we can change in the community – really taking that leadership role to be able to change or improve Wellesley,” she said.
“With a smaller town there’s not always as many options, so you’re always trying to suggest more options, perhaps,” she added. “I feel like with a smaller town, it’s also easier to connect with everyone because everyone’s sort of closer with their neighbours – a lot easier to get everyone involved.”
