HARRISTON – The 165th Harriston-Minto Fall Fair is just around the corner.
The three-day event, hosted by the Harriston Minto Agricultural Society, will run from Sept. 13 to 15 at the fairgrounds, located at 111 George St. S. in Harriston.
“Hopefully it’s a good turn out; we’ve changed things around this year,” said Gary Burgess, a member of the fall fair’s board of directors.
“Most of us have been on it (the board of directors) for a long time so were hoping for a good fair.”
Maple Trees and Honey Bees is this year’s theme, prioritizing local vendors, stated officials.
To stay with the theme, new events will kick off the fair on Friday night.
Events
The first new event is an outdoor family movie night set for Sept. 13 at 8pm.
The movie night will have free admission and will feature The Bee Movie.
Another bee-themed event, entitled “Meet the Keepers” Animal Show, is set for Sept. 14 at 1:30pm on the floor of the Harriston Arena.
Most events will occur at the Harriston Arena, fairgrounds, pavilion, auditorium and curling club – but some are located on Main Street.
Live musical entertainment by the Steel Horse Gypsies is scheduled to begin at 8pm in the auditorium on Aug. 14.
The demolition derby will not be taking place this year.
That’s due to “the cost of insurance … and we just aren’t getting enough cars out so we though we’d try something different,” said Burgess.
In its place will be a series of lawnmower races, which typically occur on the Friday night, but have now been moved to the Sunday afternoon.
“The biggest event we hope will be the lawnmower races,” Burgess told the Community News.
The first night of the fair will still be packed with events, including a new trivia night at the auditorium, with registration at 6:30pm and the game following at 7pm.
The baby show and dog show will be returning to the fair as traditional events and are set to take place at separate locations.
Officials noted all babies participating in the show at 10:30am on Sept. 14 in the Auditorium must pre-register by emailing lenselink@porchlight.ca.
“We’ll have the ball diamond all set up with a kid zone, bouncy castles and a rock climb wall so the kids can go in and play,” noted Burgess.
The kid zone will be set up both Saturday and Sunday.
Fair information
The admission tickets are priced as followed:
– Friday $5;
– Saturday $5;
– Sunday $10; and
– weekend pass $20.
Kids under 13 are free.
Tickets can be purchased by cash or card with debit/credit machines available at the main gate entrance on George Street.
Fall fair hours are:
– Friday 6 to 10pm;
– Saturday 10am to 6pm; and
– Sunday 10am to 7pm.
All exhibits are set to close on Sunday at 3pm for pick up, stated officials.
“Come out and explore all the activities the fair is offering,” stated Harriston-Minto Fall Fair president Jackie Scholten in her fair book message.
“We have a great group of dedicated volunteers that have been working really hard to bring you the best fair.”
Food and drinks will be available throughout the fair at various locations.
The Optimist food booth will be located at the ball diamond, the agricultural society food booth will be in the arena and the beer garden will be beside the grand stands. Times vary for each fair day.
“There are some new and exciting events as well as traditional favourites,” noted Scholten.
The fair will be filled with competitions such as:
– light horse show, Sept. 14 at 9am;
– all-breed beef show, Sept. 14 at 12:30pm;
– sewing and needlework, Sept. 13 at 1pm;
– invitational horse pull, Sept. 14 at 2pm; and
– North Wellington 4-H interclub show, Sept. 15 at 12:30pm.
Volunteers
“It’s hard getting younger people to volunteer,” stated Burgess.
He outlined the struggles and changes he’s seen over his 44 years of involvement, notably those associated with having enough people to fulfill all fair needs.
Those interested in volunteering can visit harristonmintofair.ca and click the volunteer tab to learn more.
Burgess stated last year’s fair was a success and he hopes to see the same attendance or more for the 2024 fair.
“A lot of people are interested to see how it goes off … and the local people always come out and support the fair,” he said.
All locations, times and events can be found on the fair’s website in the online fair booklet. For more information visit harristonmintofair.ca.
Fair ambassadors
Newly crowned ambassadors Kate Howlett and Abbygale Golley will be in attendance at the fair, helping with competitions and handing out prizes, stated officials.
Last year’s winners, senior ambassador Julia Gray and junior ambassador Lexi Drummond, released statements of gratitude as their reign comes to an end.
“Being the 2023-24 senior ambassador of the Harriston-Minto Fair has been an honour and I am very grateful for all of the experiences,” stated Gray.
Drummond offered the following advice for Howlett and Golley: “I hope you can have all the same experiences I’ve had and enjoy them because it was probably one of the best experiences of my young life.”
