THUNDER BAY – This year’s Canadian Lakehead Exhibition ended on Sunday with a great turnout and even better weather.
Though organizers are a little sad that the experience is over for the year, Basil Lychowyd, fair chair, said that he expected to turnout to makeup for what was missed on Friday due to the rain.
“Our attendance has been excellent and we got some stuff still planned for tonight,” he said.
“We’ve got The Tragically Hip cover band playing tonight, we have a nice fireworks display at the back, we have all the things that are still happening with our creative arts, our agricultural display of the animals and some places you can still go get your treats and eats and novelties.”
Lychowyd said that the annual event usually averages 55,000 to 65,000 attendees over the course of the week and even with the rained out Friday, this year’s event was close to meeting that goal.
“I could see it picked up on Saturday so, you know we're kind of heading the same directions as we were last year, but it might be down maybe 5,000 to 6,000 I'm guessing,” he said. “And I might be totally wrong. We might even hit the mark.”
While attendees of all ages love riding rides and playing games, another important aspect of the fair is the connection being made between the public and various industries in the region, particularly agriculture, according to Julie Grgurich, owner, Northern Townline Equestrian Centre.
“So the biggest part of the CLE is actually built around agriculture, and that's what we are,” she said.
“We're informing the public about cows and horses and the need for them, showing children, farm animals and what we do with them and talking about our farm stuff and farming, we actually have pamphlets and leaflets. We're also hatching out chickens in their eggs so people can see.”
