BY REBECCA LOTT Special to the VOICE
Why does a milking stool only have three legs? Because the cow took the udder. The Wainfleet 2018 Fall Fair, which runs Thursday September 20 to Sunday September 22 at the Wainfleet fairgrounds, has been a hometown favourite for the Augustine family for generations.
Ted Augustine, President of the Wainfleet Agricultural Society and the Fall Fair, lives on farmland off Side Rd. 28. In Wainfleet. He comes from a family of six children and he farmed most of his life. There are streets in Wainfleet named after Augustine’s forefathers. The road they live on is named after his wife’s family.
Augustine has participated in the Fall Fair for about ten years and acted as president for the past three years. He remembers the area when it was largely agricultural. Although farming has changed with the introduction of technology and development, Augustine says the Fair still honours and celebrates the farmers, the agricultural industry and the rural lifestyle of the Wainfleet community.
“Everyone has that connection of back to the land and to our roots,” said Augustine. “I’ve always enjoyed and attended the Fair. You get to see people you haven’t seen since the last Fair. It’s a good community project.”
Augustine says the Agricultural Society doesn’t try to be big.
“It’s a small country fair with good musical entertainment and exhibits."
The Wainfleet Agricultural Society, otherwise known the “Fair Board,” puts on the event every year with the help of many volunteers. The Fair began in 1967 and was started as a Centennial project. The chairman at that time was Lloyd Emerson Jr.
The Fair features adorable rabbits and chicks and has a full lineup of events such as Wainfleet Idol, a parade, tractor pulls, a cattle show and fireworks. There is a horse show, ATV Expo and Mud Bog, pancake breakfast, sunflower growing contest, baby show, Iron Man competition, corn eating contest, pumpkin carving and a popular demolition derby.
Exhibitors must have a current Exhibitor’s ticket from the Wainfleet Agricultural Society to enter contests and to be eligible for prize money. Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for children. Judges follow a point system and decide on who places first, second, third and fourth. All exhibitors’ classes and competitions are open to Wainfleet residents and those of neighbouring communities. Participants can enter the different contests for food, canning, flowers, grains, hobbies, crafts, animals or needlework. There is a 92-page program.
This year’s Fair highlights women in agriculture. Augustine says this theme was established because women take on a big role and don’t always get the recognition or acknowledgment they deserve. “Women are very involved,” he said. “They are often the caregivers, and a lot of the time they don’t get a lot of notice.”
Augustine’s daughter, Whitney, 23, is on the Fair’s hay and grain committee this year. She has grown up on a farm in Wainfleet and with the annual Fair. She used to bring calves to the Fair and now has a pet Jersey cow named “Amelie.” Amelie does not like posing for pictures, but Whitney singlehandedly got her cow to cooperate with a pear.
“I like living in a rural area,” she said. “The Fair is something that I enjoy. It’s a nice time of year because you see everyone and it’s interesting to see people’s exhibits.”
“I believe that this is a worthy investment of time to help build community, as well as a chance to parade our different talents,” said Ted Augustine.
For more information on the Wainfleet Fair see, http://sites.google.com/site/wainfleetfair/
