The Bayfield Fair is certainly characterized by its community effort and spirit.
One new feature for the fair –the youth stage on Saturday August 15 –has a lineup which consists entirely of community talent. The first act is The Honey Sweethearts with 7 year old Ava Dawe and her parents accompanying her. Next is Serena Rutledge who won the Bayfield Rise 2 Fame competition and achieved 3rd place at the Western Fair. The third act is Holly Clausius who just graduated from South Huron High School and has recorded her first original song. The fourth performer is Sarah Hoy who was raised in Wingham. She has produced her first album and she is preparing for Western university in the fall. The final performer is Mary Paige St. Onge from Seaforth. She was runner up at last year’s Western Fair talent competition. The musical acts will begin at about 12:30 and run through to about 4:30.
The parade is always known for its community spirit. The various campgrounds have floats filled with happy campers who have creative ways of depicting the current fair theme. This year it is “Blue Jeans and Machines.” Some of the Bayfield neighbourhoods also get in on the fun and show their enthusiasm for the event. This year we hope some of the young people, including the young at heart, will decorate their bikes, trikes, or skateboards and wheel through the parade.
The Ag Society definitely supported the Blue Community Project in Bayfield. There will be a water bottle refill station set up prominently throughout the fair thanks to the Blue Community members. If fairgoers forget to bring their refillable water bottle, they will find them for sale at a reasonable price. There will not be water bottles sold at any of the Ag Society booths. It was only a few years ago that some of the young members of the Ag Society challenged the group to have recycling containers in visible locations to be better stewards of our environment and the Blue Community Project continues that walk toward making events more environmentally responsible.
The organization received some sad news this past week. Its long term exhibitor, Helen Turner, passed away at 99 years of age. Helen received the President’s Award three years ago for her commitment to exhibit flowers at the fair for over 60 years. She was always proud of the ribbons and rose bowls that she won over the years. Last year her flower arrangements continued to take prizes. She had an eye for detail and design and blended different types of flowers well. She always felt compelled to take part in her community. The Ag Society does send its condolences to Helen’s family for their loss.
The community can support the fair in several ways. The easiest is by attending the events on as many days as possible. The second is by telling others about the events and encouraging them to see the changes that have taken place over the last decade. The third way to show support is to volunteer. Last year over 100 people volunteered to ensure the fair was a success. This year we encourage anyone interested to check the website www.bayfieldfair.ca and see where the need is.
The Bayfield Fair truly is a community fair and annually celebrates rural Ontario.