Mighty Fine Fair Weather

Sep 02, 2010

Photo: Enjoying the midway at Parham Fair.

One way or another, all outdoor events are captive to the weather, and summer fairs are no exception.

Torrential downpours did their best to dampen spirits on the Saturday of the Parham Fair last year, which also happened to be the only day of the Maberly Fair. This year not only was the weather spectacular on Maberly Fair Day, it was ideal for the entire three days of the Parham Fair.

Both fairs were heavily attended this year, and with no rain delays all of the events went off without a hitch, although Bessie the cow was a bit slow in doing her business at the Maberly Fair, but more about that later.

In Parham the festivities began on Friday evening with the Town Crier, Paddy O'Connor, Mayor Janet Gutowski and Fair President John Waddingham participating in the opening ceremonies. A good crowd came out for one event with a long history at the fair, the horse draws in the main ring. A newer tradition, but one that has proven to be extremely popular, a performance by the band Ambush, attracted a huge crowd on Friday night.

Saturday was agricultural day once again, and one of the new events this year at the Palace was a silent auction. Participants bid on a number of items including various gift certificates, and garden ornaments, all of which were donated by local area businesses.

The horse and cattle shows also took place on Saturday morning. Congratulations are due to Gary Allen, Megan Farrow, Ashley McCaffery, and Haley Larmon-Code, who along with their horses won the various high point horse show categories at the fair.

The greased pig competition once again attracted a large crowd and participants ages 7-13 all received ribbons. The western games were well attended and the final race of the day, the Dolly Pardon, was the comical highlight as usual.

This year’s new Reptile Show intrigued youngsters and was a successful new addition to the fair. The lawn mower races once again thrilled visitors and though this year a number of rollovers made the competition more exciting, thankfully there were no injuries to report.

On Sunday the demolition derby drew record crowds.

All told, the weekend was another great success, with new events like the reptile show and all-day volleyball ensuring that there was indeed something for everyone.

128th Maberly Fair

Photo: Winner  and still champion of the heavyweight Zuchinni race competition, Max Bumstead.

Visitors at the 128th edition of the Maberly Fair especially enjoyed the horse show, kids’ games and musical entertainment by the Tebworth family, as well as the 2nd Annual Zucchini Races. Nine-year-old Max Bumstead of Maberly successfully defended his title again this year with his car he named Racer.

The sunny, warm weather brought a relaxed feeling to the busy fair day, and the old and new styles of agriculture mixed together in an atmosphere that is unique to this corner of eastern Ontario at the far west of Lanark County.

The day ended with the Maberly Fair’s first ever Cow Pie Madness event, a type of 50/50 draw that saw 100 participants each purchase a $10 square on the Cow Pie Bingo board. Dave Campbell donated Bessie for the event. Bessie was fed straw and grain all afternoon to prepare her for her $1000 pot plop, half of which (the money that is) was to be taken home by a winner and the other half to be donated to the Maberly Agricultural Society. The large crowd had thinned out considerably after waiting for two hours for Bessie to do her business.

At the end of the day two lucky winners were declared, as Bessie's first plop landed on a line between two squares. Congratulations to Anne Thomlison and Barb Wheeler, both of Maberly, who split the $500 prize.

Also congratulations to Whitney Lewis of Perth, who won the Big Ben Memorial Award of $100 that was given by Team Millar Brooke. This award is presented to the person who has the most overall points in the horse show.

With the sunny weather and an effort to offer new events in their lineups, both fairs were events to remember.