PAGEANT PLOWED UNDER
Annual Queen of the Furrows event at Provincial Plowing Match cancelled for 2018
The Queen of the Furrows pageant helped launch Heather Ross’s career as a comedian.
She grew up in Fortune, P.E.I., and would tell people off-Island about this contest in Dundas which was part of the Provincial Plowing Match.
“I started stand-up by telling people about winning Queen of the Furrows,” said Ross, excitement still ringing in her voice as she talks about her 2008 win.
However, 10 years later, the excitement has come to an end – at least for now – as the Queen of the Furrows has been cancelled because of a lack of participants, according to a Facebook post on the Dundas Plowing Match page.
“Unfortunately, the Queen of the Furrows Pageant will not be happening this year… but there are lots of other traditional and fun events happening that you won’t want to miss,” it read.
Ross used to share plenty of her fond memories of the pageant while mingling with peers at the University of Kings College in Halifax.
“I won a tractor pageant and I loved it,” she would tell other students.
People obviously had questions about what type of pageant required the contestant to plow a straight line.
“Yeah, I rode a tractor the very best and I won,” Ross said.
Telling this story led to her touring Canada and performing in Scotland as well as being featured on CBC Radio and BBC Radio 4.
Ross believes something should be said about pageants like Queen of the Furrows, which is not purely a beauty pageant.
“I mean you do wear a dress for one portion, but that’s not even judged.”
The pageant is about your speaking skills and performing, she said.
“It was such a worthwhile thing to do.”
Organizers believe it’s worthwhile, too.
Unlike the pig scramble that was cancelled last year after an online petition, the organizers of the Provincial Plowing Match are not looking to do away with the Queen of the Furrows and have posted on Facebook asking for volunteers for the 2019 event.
“We hope that the tradition has not ended, but this year we did not have any interested participants! We will be looking for volunteers for the 2019 pageant if anyone is interested in helping coordinate this event!”
Ross also hopes the tradition lives on. She thinks some rebranding could help.
“It’s really a talent competition, it’s not a pageant. If it was the Queen of the Furrows Talent Competition, there doesn’t have to be a dress involved. I love it challenges you (to do) things you are uncomfortable with.”
Though Ross was proud of her win, she faced some backlash, she said.
“It’s funny because in high school I had this thing called beauty vs industry in 2007. It was girls posting about how they like themselves the way they were.”
The post obtained about 7,000 hits and when she won the 2008 crown people started to call her a hypocrite.
“I was like, no. The Queen of the Furrows pageant is like you perform a talent and you ride a freaking tractor.”
Ross, who loved pageants, including the opportunity to compete and perform, thought the Queen of the Furrows was a great way to showcase her talent and participate in the community.
“You got to do something really fun, and it really felt like home to do (it). As a teenager, you are rejecting so many things about where you grew up.”
The weekend she won she took the Saturday off work and waved to excited children, Ross said.
“I’ll never forget it, I really won’t.”