Vermilion, Alta. (Rural Roots Canada) – Charlotte Wasylik was up at 3:30 a.m. to present to a panel of international judges in India. A few hours later, she was back in the barn, checking on lambs.
A week and a half later, an email arrived. Chatsworth Farm had won.
The Vermilion-area farm, which Wasylik operates with her family, has been named the winner in the Best Agritourism Community-Led Initiative category at the World Agritourism Awards, presented by the Global Agritourism Network. The farm is also a finalist for a Canadian Event Award, competing not against other agricultural operations, but against major festivals and events.
“Having a small farm event being recognized nationally and globally is really powerful,” said Wasylik. “It really goes to show that agritourism can compete on a higher level.”
Chatsworth Farm was started in 1994 by Wasylik’s parents as a commercial cow-calf operation. Over the years, it grew to include sheep, pigs, and a range of poultry alongside the beef cattle that remain central to the operation. Agritourism at the farm began with Alberta Open Farm Days, an annual late-summer event that drew 650 visitors last year from as far away as Germany and Wales.
On that day, guests arrived to find horse-drawn wagons, four chefs cooking beef, lamb, and pork, live butchery demonstrations, sheep shearing, equine clinics, an artisan market, and guided farm tours led by Wasylik herself.
Every element is deliberately tied back to the farm. The chefs use cuts from animals raised on the property, paired with recipe cards so visitors can recreate the meal at home. The sheep shearer who demonstrates at the event is the same person the farm calls for its regular shearing.
“Really thinking about how you can take the everyday thing that you do on a farm and make it special,” Wasylik said.
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Applying for the Canadian Event Award presented a particular challenge. The judging panel is made up of event professionals with backgrounds in weddings, galas and conferences. Wasylik, who has worked in events, had to explain the added complexity of planning on a farm, from selecting sheep based on pregnancy status to coordinating daily operations around visitors.
“It’s really going above and beyond and getting them to appreciate the level of intention and thought that goes into this,” she said.
If Chatsworth wins, it would be the only event recognized outside of Edmonton, Calgary, and Banff in that competition. In its category, it is up against major urban festivals.
The recognition has a deeper meaning for Wasylik. Agritourism is still emerging in Western Canada, and she sees both awards as evidence that farm-based experiences deserve a place in the wider conversation about tourism and rural economic development.
“When people think about tourism, they think about really big music festivals, or going to the mountains, or the Calgary Stampede,” she said. “When you think about visiting a farm, people don’t necessarily think of that as tourism. But it really is.”
Wasylik heads to the Global Agritourism Conference in Scotland this June, where she will receive the World Agritourism Award in person.
Chatsworth is pausing Open Farm Days this year while Wasylik completes a mentorship through the Canadian Cattle Young Leaders Program. The plan is to come back to Open Farm Days with more to offer than before.
Photo Credit: Rob McClymont
