Terry McNamee
Special to the Beaver
Old-fashioned fun is coming to Centreville on Aug. 30-31 when the town hosts the 166th annual Centreville Fair at the Centreville Fairgrounds on Lake Road.
This special event includes many activities that have disappeared from many other fairs in the past few decades, such as horse racing on Friday night, a pie-eating contest, and log-sawing and nail-driving competitions.
Entertainment features the Land O’Lakes Cruisers on Friday and, on Saturday, two performances by Barry Lovegrove plus the Napanee Pioneer Square Dancers and the Redneck Riders Lawn Mower Races.
The horse show on Saturday includes 50 different classes — horse and pony halter, showmanship, English and western classes, and both halter and performance classes for draft horses, Miniature horses, carriage and roadster horses and Hackney horses.
The cattle division has separate classes for British beef breeds and other beef breeds, dairy classes for Holsteins and Jerseys, classes for cows with their calves, showmanship classes and more. The goat division features five different breeds as well as classes for mixed breeds. There are showmanship classes for all ages from under four years old to adults.
The poultry barn will feature a variety of fancy pigeons, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, pheasants and rabbits.
As for the non-animal part of the fair, there are classes for everything from salsa to sweets, bread to biscuits, plus pies, tarts, pickles and more. There are special baking contests, some just for youth. The crafts section lets the imagination soar, with whole sections for quilting, knitting, crocheting and needlework, and individual classes for just about anything one can create to decorate a home. The flower show and the school art show are always popular.
Events and attractions include Kid Zone Inflatables, local vendors, displays of antique cars and farm machinery, and of course the food vendors to keep visitors fuelled and hydrated all weekend long.
The fair is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $8, and free for ages 12 and under. For all the details and times, go to www.centrevillefair.ca