Despite the cancellation of some events on Friday night due to severe weather in the area, the Drayton Fair Board has hosted another successful fair last weekend.
On Aug. 11 to 13 the Drayton Mapleton Agricultural Society opened the 161st Drayton Fair to fair goers. This year’s fair theme was Canada Growing Forward 150 Years, in celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday.
“Unfortunately the local tractor and truck pulls had to be cancelled on Friday night. The weather cooperated the rest of the weekend and all other scheduled events went ahead,” Drayton Mapleton Agricultural Society President, Jim Zantinge said.
The Friday night events that were not cancelled included the displays of culinary crafts, horticulture and leisure arts and crafts exhibits and the annual Legion Euchre. Numerous articles from the indoor exhibit will be shown at the OAAS convention in Toronto in 2018.
Participants of the King of the Pull and the Queen of the Pull competitions, which were cancelled on Friday night are asked to contact Derek Bruder at 519-501-1387 for more information regarding the competition.
“We are extremely grateful to the pullers, spectators, donors and volunteers who supported the Friday night pulls. The board would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding,” Zantinge said. “We have no control over the weather.”
Saturday morning under cloudy conditions, the scheduled events began at 10am. New to the Drayton Fair was a Modern and Muscle Car Show. On display were many different types of vehicles.
With volunteers busily grooming the track, the Heavy Horse Show was delayed until 12:30pm. Children were able to enjoy various activities at the Fair on Saturday afternoon including bouncy castles, inflatables, a corn box, face painting and a bubble zone.
Dogs of all shapes and sizes competed in the pet show.
Babies aged zero to 12 months received certificates and prizes at the baby show.
The pull track at the fairgrounds, known on the circuit as the “power track” because of its clay base was prepped and groomed one last time before the OTTPA sanctioned truck and tractors took place on Saturday evening. A full house was on hand to watch classes in the show ranging from Super Modified 4×4 Pickup Truck through to Modified Farm Tractors. A number of pulls exceeded the full pull of 300 feet. Participants from all over Ontario travelled to Drayton for the event.
Sunday morning began with a Legion breakfast at the hall and Excavator Games on the track. Contestants in the games showcased their excavator skills and were challenged to move a water filled pail and cup from left to right and front to back without any spillage.
Like the tractor and trucks pulls, exhibitors from across Ontario participated in the beef, sheep, dairy and goat shows.
An old fashioned pie eating contest, another new event at the fair, drew pie lovers to the agricultural hall for a fun competition. Prizes were awarded to the top two competitors who could eat a pie filling with their hands held behind their backs, in the shortest amount of time. The winning times were 55 and 57 seconds.
The final event of the 2017 fair was the Smash Bros. Demo Derbies. Spectators filled the stands to capacity to watch cars and trucks compete in the derby for trophies and cash prizes.
“On behalf of the Drayton Fair Board, I would like to thank the volunteers, donors, supporters, participants and anyone who contributed to the fair. The fair would not be a success without everyone’s involvement,” said Zantinge.
