FERGUS – The theme of the Fergus Fall Fair is ‘Saddle Up!’ and for the team of volunteers that organize it, it’s time to giddyup.
The fair runs Sept. 13, 14 and 15 at the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex and there are a vast variety of activities to keep the whole family interested and engaged.
“We work hard to make the fair a fun, family event,” said Rebecca Hannam, a director with the Fergus Agricultural Society, which puts on the fair, and chair of the agriculture committee.
“We try to combine traditional favourites with new entertainment.”
That means tried and true events like the tractor pulls and beer garden on the Friday night and the truck pulls and beer garden on Saturday night.
“Those are definitely crowd favourites,” Hannam said.
But also high on the list of must-haves are the exhibits.
“We have 700 different competitions at the fair,” she added.
These include hobbies and crafts, baking, garden-grown fruits and veggies and more.
“These will be on display the whole weekend. Everyone loves checking them out.”
There’s still time to enter, so if you’ve grown a spectacular zucchini or completed a special quilt, drop off days are Sept 12 and 13.
“Everyone loves coming in to see the beautiful quilts and checking out the largest pumpkin,” Hannam said.
Celebrating agriculture
The heart and soul of the Fergus Fall Fair is agriculture and there will be lots of agricultural displays as well.
Check out the tent of farm animals. City folk might not know the difference between a llama and an alpaca.
There are also the 4H shows, where youth demonstrate their abilities managing beef and dairy cattle, horses, sheep, goats and poultry.
About that midway
Hannam let out a big sigh at the question.
They’ve had trouble sourcing a company that provides midway rides and games, she said.
“It’s not possible for us to book a large midway company this year. Very few are offering it anymore,” she said.
“We have sourced some rides and activities and they’ll be in the Fun Zone.
“But it won’t be the same as past years and there’s nothing we can do about that.”
Attractions in the Fun Zone include:
– Mindwinder, must be 42” tall;
– swing caarousell, must be under 47” tall;
– Berry-go-round, must be 36” tall or with an adult;
– spider jump trampolines;
– ultimate rock wall climbing;
– mechanical bull; and
– the Gaming RV video games.
Fair visitors can purchase all-day access wristbands for the Fun Zone online before the fair for $20 or $25 at the fair.
Individual coupons and wristbands will also be available for purchase at the fair.
The entertainers
What’s new this year, and it fits with the Saddle Up theme, are some demonstration teams:
– the Cutting Edge Cowgirls Drill Team will put on their show on Saturday;
– Ontario Xtreme Cowboy racing demos are on Saturday as well;
– EquiMania is an interactive youth education program that teaches kids about horses. This University of Guelph team will be at the fair on Saturday and Sunday in the tent;
Axe swinging – Visitors to the Fergus Fall Fair can take in the Great Canadian Lumberjack Show on Saturday and Sunday of fair weekend. Submitted photo
– The Great Canadian Lumberjack Show, takes place three times on Saturday and three times on Sunday; and
– you can also try axe throwing with the Lumberjacks.
All about agriculture
Hannam said her interest is to promote and celebrate local agriculture.
Centre Wellington is surrounded by farmland and it’s important to her that people realize and understand how important agriculture is to the economy and to our health.
“People get a glimpse of where food comes from through displays and activities. Farmers talk to the public. They get a lot of questions about farm equipment.
“It’s very rewarding reaching people about agriculture. We make it fun.”
Young visitors under age 10 might enjoy Farmer for a Day – a unique series of activity stations.
There will also be a Toddler Farm Yard with toys for the wee ones to enjoy.
Fair amabassador
There’s a kick-off barbecue on Sept 8. That’s when the fair ambssador will be chosen. It takes place at the Sportsplex. Doors open at 5:30 pm and dinner starts at 6pm. Cost is $30 for adults and $15 for children 12 and under.
Admission
Organizers have not increased admission prices this year in an effort to keep the fair affordable.
Children under 5 are free;
– ages 6 to 12, $4;
– 13 to 18, $8;
– adult day pass is $10;
– adult evening pass is $15.
Passes for the entire weekend are also an option.
With parking at a premium on site, fair organizers have also arranged for a shuttle bus.
It will run continuously from the AO Smith parking lot at 599 Hill St. W. in Fergus to the sportsplex and back again.
The shuttle runs on Friday from 5pm to midnight and on Saturday from noon to midnight.
For all the details and schedule of events, visit fergusfallfair.ca.
