MANITOWANING—The countdown is on for the 149th edition of the Assiginack Agricultural Society’s Manitowaning Fall Fair being held September 5 and 6. This year’s fall fair theme is ‘Barnyard Boogie.’
Fall fairs are a staple of rural life and entering items into the fair competitions is a time-honoured tradition. Fairs offer an amazing opportunity to “get creative and showcase your talents” from baking to crafts, gardening and photography, there is something there for everyone.
“Welcome to our annual Fall Fair on September 5 and 6,” said Assiginack Agricultural Association president Alice Pennie. “This fair has seen many beautiful exhibits throughout the years, all made or grown by our local families and friends ranging from artistically displayed booths of years ago to our fabulous exhibits of today.”
Ms. Pennie noted a particular facet of the fair. “We have a ‘tea biscuit’ queen at our fair,” she said. “The crown gets passed each year to the winner of the tea biscuit entry, and it is always fun to see who will win the ‘crown’ each year. It could be you! All you have to do is become a member and enter the tea biscuit section.”
Ms. Pennie went on to thank “our directors, associate directors, junior directors, volunteers, judges and of course, the many exhibitors who make our fair possible. Also thank you to those people who attend our fair. Next year, 2026, will be our 150th fair, so start planning for it now. Any ideas are welcome. Thank you, miigwetch and see you at the fair the weekend after Labour Day.”
Exhibits can be brought to the arena on Thursday evening between 7 and 9 pm and/or Friday morning starting at 8:30 am. The doors are locked at 11:30 am sharp and entries can no longer be submitted.
Only one entry is allowed for each individual section in each class. All exhibits must be made, grown, or tended by the exhibitors, otherwise they will be disqualified.
The judges will commence to award the prize for the articles in the exhibit hall (arena) at 12:30 pm on Friday.
During the inspection for any of the exhibits no person will be allowed to interfere with the judge, nor will they be allowed to go near them except for the directors and helpers for the category being judged. Any person wishing to change a ticket due to a mistake must only do so with attendance of any official before judging begins.
All exhibitors and their helpers must have the exhibit number visible when removing their exhibits. Exhibits cannot be removed until Saturday at 3 pm.
The fair is always looking for sponsors, and if you or your business are willing to lend a sponsorship you can contact Ms. Pennie at (705) 869-3670 or Brenda at (705) 859-2112. Sponsors are appreciated and will be recognized in print in the program and prize list.
All exhibits in the arena must be properly ticketed before submitting them for judging, according to the fall fair booklet. Youth and pre-school entry tags must clearly show the age of the exhibitor as of December 31.
There’s plenty more going on at the fair, so check out Pages 16 to 17 in this edition of The Expositor for details.