A pre-COVID 4-H sheep competition at the Seaforth Fair in Huron County.
Irena Vélez
Farmers Forum
SEAFORTH — The year that the Seaforth Fair was supposed to celebrate its 175th anniversary, the world shut down.
This year, one of Ontario’s oldest fairs will finally be celebrating the postponed milestone. This year is ‘take two’. The Sept. 16-19 fair, organized by the Seaforth Agricultural Society, will be a combination of both live and virtual activities.
There is no entry fee.
“The fair is such a part of Seaforth in the fall we wanted to come up with activities for all ages to feel that sense of community this fall,” said Crystal Whyte, co-chair of the fair committee. “My hope is that people can gather safely to celebrate agriculture, so that people can appreciate the role that agriculture plays in our community.”
4-H competitions will include dairy, swine, goats and sheep. Whyte says normally 120 kids come to show their animals but this year they’re expecting half of that. The homecraft sections that include produce, baking, home accessories, and crafts will be pared down this year. Visitors may walk through the Agriplex to view the entries.
All other contests will be online on Seaforth Fall Fair’s Facebook and Instagram pages. The baby show and pet show require digital photos to be submitted the week before the fair. The sunflower selfie field and the hay bale maze are returning this year. The only difference is that social distancing measures are in place.
The parade will be very different from past fairs. During the 10 days leading up to the fair, vehicles will be decorated as floats and parked around town. Participants may take photos of the stationary floats and post them on social media tagging #seaforthfallfair for a chance to win a prize.
There are three new additions to this year’s fair: a decorating contest, a scavenger hunt, and a fireworks display. For the decorating contest, participants must decorate their home or business property between Sept. 12-19. The decoration will be judged based on the best promotion of the fair and the best use of the fair theme.
The scavenger hunt will be spread all over Seaforth prior to the fair. Participants may take photos of the items listed and send them in for prizes.
The fireworks will be a drive-in event on the Saturday evening.
