TORONTO — After a two-year in-person hiatus, The Royal will be back bigger than ever to celebrate its 100th anniversary this fall.
The event is scheduled Nov. 4-13 at Toronto’s Exhibition Place.
“Since 1922, The Royal has celebrated the very best of what Canada has to offer through world-class competitions, interactive education and inspiring entertainment,” said Charlie Johnstone, Chief Executive Officer, The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. “This year’s Royal promises to be truly special as we celebrate ‘A Century of Champions,’ creating exceptional and unforgettable experiences for all those who compete, exhibit and attend The Royal.”
New this year, The Royal will kick off its centennial celebration ahead of opening day with a 100th Anniversary Gala Dinner and Royal Showcase on November 2. The historic Heritage Court at Exhibition Place will be transformed to welcome 1,000 high-profile guests for a meal curated and prepared by acclaimed chef, Michael Bonacini.
Following dinner, the evening will continue inside the Coca-Cola Coliseum where an additional 4,000 guests will be treated to The Royal Showcase hosted by comedian and television personality, Rick Mercer. The show will include presentations from St. Andrew’s College Pipes & Drums, The RCMP Musical Ride, Ontario’s first poet laureate, aspiring country musicians, First Nations singer-songwriters and a special performance from the legendary Canadian band, Blue Rodeo. Tickets will be available for purchase at royalfair.org in the coming months.
Other planned highlights of this year’s Fair include:
● RCMP Musical Ride. The fan favourite RCMP Musical Ride will return throughout the entirety of 2022’s Fair. This iconic symbol of Canada features 32 horses and riders performing intricate figures and drills choreographed to music – movements that demand the utmost skill and control.
● Royal Horse Show. For the first time in The Royal’s 100 year history, the Royal Horse Show will be an FEI (Fédération Équestre Internationale) 5*-W event, in addition to being officially recognized by Equestrian Canada as Canada’s National Championship in the Hunter, Jumper and Equitation disciplines; featuring The Canadian Show Jumping Championship.
● Agricultural Competitions. An historic and unprecedented year in the livestock barns is foreseen as nearly every breed will host their national competition.
● Food Competitions. For the first time ever, the cheese, butter, ready-to-eat meats and ice cream competitions will be moved to June 2022 to ensure in-season judging. The jams and jellies, hot sauce, pickling, maple products and the everpopular butter tart competitions will continue to take place in September. You can expect to see the Royal Champions in all these competitions integrated into various restaurants and hospitality initiatives at this year’s Royal.
● Royal Tartan. The Royal commissioned a Canadian tartan designer to create a 100th anniversary tartan, accredited by the Scottish Register of Tartans. The design brings to life “A Century of Champions” with 100 threads of royal blue and 22 threads of dark blue. The Royal Tartan will be available for purchase in various merchandise items including a luxury wool scarf made with The Campaign for Wool, whose patron is The Prince of Wales.
● 100th Anniversary Display. To pay tribute to The Fair’s long and prestigious history, The Royal has introduced a new role — a Royal Archive Curator — tasked with curating, designing and building a physical exhibit and virtual platform with highlights from the last 100 years.
● 100th Anniversary Timeline. The Royal 100th Anniversary Timeline offers exhibitors and fans the opportunity to upload their treasured Royal Moments — memories, family photos, and stories etc., — to a virtual online timeline.
Additional activations and programming will be announced at a later date, including the unveiling of the 2022 Royal Ambassador, who will take over from 2021’s Roy The Royal Rooster.
