Crowds flourish at local fairs

Aug 28, 2014

Locals and tourists took advantage of the sunny weekend weather to take in the sights and sounds of two traditional fairs that are both long past their 100th birthdays.

On August 23 the 132^nd annual Maberly Fair saw hundreds of visitors pass through the gates at the Maberly fairgrounds for their one-day fair, whose theme this year was Poultry. Sparking off the day's events was the parade in which participants competed for multiple prizes, all donated by area businesses. The zucchini races as usual attracted a boisterous mob of onlookers who watched close to 40 zucchini car creators send their vehicles careening down the track created especially for the popular event. Spread out on site were a plethora of exhibits and live animals including the light horse events, the heavy and light horse draws, 4H Club live animal displays and demonstrations, a petting zoo, plus hundreds of traditional class competitions in the fair's main hall, as well as a vendors' alley complete with a psychic giving readings. The children's games drew a motley crew of all ages and the outdoor stage area offered up a plethora of top-notch local entertainment for music lovers. For those who worked up an appetite, delicious fair food could be had at a reasonable price.

Early in the day local musician Tony Leduc was presented with a brand new accessible van that was purchased through generous community donations. Fred Barrett, president of the Maberly Agricultural Society for his second consecutive year, was pleased with the turnout and said the aim of the fair is to bring the farming folk and city dwellers together to share in the agricultural history and traditions of the local community. “The original purpose of the fair was to spread farming knowledge and that still happens to some degree today. But other non-farmers also love to attend as well, especially people who have gardens and who make things like honey and maple syrup and who like to see how their products stand up. Today the fair is more about bringing the community together to celebrate, visit and have some fun since for many, the meetings that happen here often only happen once a year.”

Barrett also mentioned that this year the society acquired a new lawn mower so that volunteers are now able to cut the over 100 acres of property themselves, which is a big money saver for the society.

The 122nd Parham Fair took place on Friday and Saturday at the Parham fairgrounds and though one day shorter this year it offered up the majority of popular events that continue to attract visitors. The midway is as always a huge draw for youngsters, as are the more traditional horse draws that took place in the main ring on a well attended Friday night opening.

Photo: winning big at “Wacky Water” at the 122^nd annual Parham Fair l-r Michelle Miatello, Julian Miatello, and Clayton Wade of Kingston

It wasn't possible this year to hold the Sunday demolition derby, so the fair organizers opted to overhaul the main ring, replacing all of old sand with new sand and offering up new events like the demonstrations by the Tiny Hooves Miniature Horse Club who “celebrate the versatility of miniature horses”. Their demonstrations included jumping, cart driving, halter classes and an obstacle course with 11 participants taking part.

The main hall was filled with every kind of competitive class and one could spend hours there taking it all in. Numerous other activities were set up on site including a petting zoo, and contests for kids plus wagon rides and much more. This year organizers chose to highlight local entertainers. Up and coming local rockers HD Supply entertained on the main stage on Saturday afternoon and Shawn McCullough and bother Dave attracted a very sizable and appreciative crowd for the Saturday night closing show.

I spoke with Wendy Parliament, co-president of Parham Agricultural Society this year, who said that due to high insurance costs the society decided to bring the fair back to its more traditional roots. While the decision was a tough one Parliament said she and her team decided to make the fair more interactive for families and visitors of all ages and events in the back corral this year included interactive and educational demonstrations by local farrier Jeff Atkinson, sheep shearing demos by Ross Creighton, old plough demonstrations by Fred Lloyd and an antique farm tool display, log sawing demos and contests headed up by Boyd Tryon.

Parliament said that the focus of the fair this year was to celebrate rural life. “We tired to look at what kinds of hobbies and interests local people here have and wanted to highlight that.” With that in mind vendors were not charged to set up a booth and show off their locally made wares.

While local fairs these days are having a challenge to make ends meet, it is encouraging to see these two local agricultural societies making what they feel are necessary changes in order to keep the fairs alive. Hats off to them and to all of the volunteers who continue to put a traditional and agricultural focus on these special annual events, which attract so many visitors.

Photos-

2133- 

2135 Fiddlers and friends entertained at the 132nd annual Maberly Fair

2172 members of the Tiny Hooves miniature Horse Club Wilma Vanwyngaarden, Tina England and Sheila Cook

2228- riding high at the 122 annual Parham Fair l-r,

Kayla Tyo, Hailey McNutt, and Rachel Duggan

2229  with game wrangler Neil