Five local fair ambassadors will take part in the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) Ambassador of the Fairs competition next weekend.
Celebrating its 45th anniversary, this year’s event will take place at the CNE from Aug. 19 to 21.
The Wellington County representatives will compete with close to 80 Ontario youths who won local fair competitions in hopes of becoming the 2016 CNE Ambassador of the Fairs.
The ambassador’s year-long mandate takes the winner across the province representing the CNE and all agricultural fairs in order to promote, educate and inform the public on Canadian agriculture “while bridging the gaps between rural and urban communities,” CNE officials state.
Local competitors include ambassadors from:
– Arthur Fall Fair, Mikayla Clark;
– Fergus Fall Fair, Rebecca Kooiman;
– Harriston-Minto Fall Fair, Jordan Scholten;
– Mount Forest Fall Fair, Amanda Donald; and
– Palmerston Fair, Amber Johnson.
Competing in a different aspect of the CNE will be another Wellington County youth, Fergus songstress Madison Galloway.
She is participating in the CNE’s Rising Star Talent Competition, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, running from Aug. 19 to Sept. 5 on the CNE grounds.
Galloway is in the running to take home $1,000 to $2,500 in prize cash as she goes head-to-head against more than 100 acts in hopes of becoming Ontario’s next “Rising Star.”
More information on the competitions can be found at theex.com.
