Residents here are ready to party ‘till the cows come home, as suggested in the theme of this year’s Harriston-Minto Fall Fair, which runs from Sept. 16 to 18.
There’s a full slate of activity planned for the weekend starting off Friday night at 6pm, as the main arena and curling club open up and the midway gets in full gear.
At 7pm the 4-H Showmanship gets underway in conjunction with a silent auction.
Starting off are the local 4-H dairy show and the Wellington County 4-H inter-club dairy show.
That is followed up at 8pm with the Junior Calf Show in memory of Jim Burgess and the start of the talent show in the auditorium.
Saturday morning begins at 9am with a light horse show, followed later on by the startup of the midway and the opening of agricultural awareness displays in the barn.
At noon, a parade travels through town to the arena grounds. By 1pm, the horseshoe tournament should be underway as well the mutt show at the ball diamond.
The baby show begins at 1:30pm in conjunction with the Girl Guide Tea Room and Bake Table.
The horse pulls begin at 2pm, as do the Junior Farmers Olympics
Field Crop Awards begin at 3pm and the pork auction at 3:15pm.
And at 8:30pm Elvis will be in the building; at least in spirit with performer Peter Irwin.
Sunday starts off with a hearty breakfast from 8am to 10:30am just as the antique vehicle and motorcycle shows get underway.
At the same time, the agricultural awareness displays open up once more.
The silent auction ends at noon, just as the midway starts up.
The all-breed beef show begins at 12:30pm as well as the 4-H inter-club beef show and pedal tractor pull.
A spectator favourite, the Big Bale Rollout, begins at 2pm, while the demolition derby begins at 2:15.
The afternoon ends with s pork and beef barbecue from 4:30 to 7pm.
In his message to fairgoers, agriculture society president Laverne Stinson welcomed everyone to the 152nd Fall Fair.
“Our theme this year is ‘Party ‘Til the Cows Come Home,’ so we hope everyone will come up with some good ideas to celebrate our theme,” he said. He also thanked the directors for all their great work in preparation for the fair, and also all the helpers for doing a great job making this fair one of the best.
He anticipates the junior directors putting on another great ag-awareness show to educate young people about agriculture.
“We have a great line-up of events planned for everyone to enjoy, including Elvis on Saturday night, demo-derby on Sunday and the same midway returning for the weekend.”
Mayor George Bridge said, “I would like to extend best wishes for a successful fair this year. Having been personally involved in agricultural societies, I know about the hard work and many volunteer hours that go into creating an event such as this. Fairs are an integral part of our community fabric and your dedication keeps this tradition alive.”
He added, “In my youth, going to the fair was one of the highlights of the year. This still holds true today. This truly is where your family belongs, so lets party ‘til the cows come home.”
Harriston-Minto 2010 Fall Fair Ambassador Jessica Oelschlagel considered it a pleasure to welcome everyone to this year’s fair.
“I have had many memorable experiences and it has been my honor to represent my community as the Harriston-Minto 2010 Fall Fair Ambassador.
“Last year’s fair was filled with amazing events. I had the opportunity to be present at many exciting events like the cattle show, horse show, talent show, pet show, baby show and the midway, just to name a few.”
She added, “I can not believe all the different events that our community organized and implemented within one weekend; it was incredible.”
Oelschlagel thanked the Harriston-Minto Agricultural Society, the Fall Fair Board, the Ambassador Committee, all the amazing community volunteers and sponsors for their support and guidance and for their dedication to the community.
“All these dedicated people are the reason our fall fair is always a great success.”
