Parham Fair Keeps Charting Its Own Path After 131 Years

Jeff Green | Aug 23, 2023

There are two weather stories related to the Parham Fair this year.

For many people who have attended the fair over they years, the summer is capped off by sights and sounds of the horse pull at the Parham Fair as the sun sets on a warm August late afternoon/evening.

Friday Night at the Fair this year was not like that at all. It was cold, wet, miserable, more of a mid-October evening than a late August one.

Attendance at the Fair took a hit, of course, but about 400 people came out anyway, some were there to watch the pull, and some with their kids for the bets dressed cowboy and cowgirl contest and the frog jumping contest.

“I was with the kids on Friday night,” said Fair Boar President Haley Rose, “it was freezing but the kids didn't care, as long as they were moving they weren't cold at all, not like the rest of us.”

By mid-Saturday morning, as the Fair was just getting going and the cattle contest was under way, the sun began warm up the cool fairgrounds. Because of the weather system that had just passed, there was little or no humidity in the air. Perfect weather for a say on the exposed fairground where shade can be as hard to find as a midway is at a country fair these days.

The quilt show was on in the barn, along with the baking vegetable and other contest entries; the vendors were finished setting up, and the mechanical bull (the only fair event not covered by the $10 entry fee) was starting to draw a crowd.

At noon, the music started up and the beer tent opened, and at 1 the country games got underway in earnest, and the fair was in full swing on a glorious afternoon.

As always, the Demolition Derby was a big draw in the late afternoon, and by the time the evening came the bands became the focus on the fair stage.

“The crowd was not as big as last year,” said Rose, “I think we had a bit of a post-pandemic bump last year and better weather. But the parking lot filled up and cars and we had to start parking people on on the road again this year. It was a solid, successful Fair.”

Like all similar events, the Parham Fair's life-blood is the volunteers who make it happen, before, during and after the fair, and all year round as a fair board.

“One of the things that we decided to focus on, as a fair board, is to make sure that it is enjoyable to volunteer at the fair, whether at our meetings, when working on the grounds, or at the fair itself. It should not be a burden to be involved with the Parham Fair.”

For Fair volunteers, the next event on the schedule is the volunteer dinner in September, followed by the Board's Annual General Meeting in late January.

With good attendance at both post-pandemic editions of the fair, finances that are getting more healthy as time goes on, figuring out how to celebrate country living in communities where agriculture is still important but less of an economic force, is something the fair continues to work on.

“Our community has changed, and the fair needs to continue to be true to its roots while embracing the future, so we always need people to come out to the AGM with their ideas about the fair and how it can continue to adapt and grow.”

The 2024 Parham Fair, the 133rd edition, will take place on the August 16/17 weekend, at the Fairgrounds in Parham.