THUNDER BAY — Thousands made their way to the Hymer's Fall Fair over the Labour Day weekend, continuing a longstanding tradition for many families. .
As the Hymer's Agricultural Society is in its 111th year, the current president, Erin Laforest, is happy to keep the event going while supporting many local vendors.
Promoting local food vendors remains very important to Laforest.
"Our dining hall, it's all locally procured items. It's the beef, the ham, the vegetables, everything. It's all local," Laforest said.
Even the sponsors, big and small, are all local companies, she emphasized.
The fall fair uses a number of volunteers to guide visitors at the parking lots and ticket booths, ensuring water and rest stations are in working order.
Unfortunately, the weekend heat wave did have an impact, with many of the horses poised to take part in the horse show forced to pull out because of the weather. However, there were still many types of livestock that were on the grounds, including young calves, bunnies, various breeds of fowl (chickens, roosters and ducks), as well as other livestock like goats and sheep.
This year, the musical entertainment started earlier, at 9:30 a.m., which got many of the young children dancing in the gazebo.
When asked if there were historical competitions or games she'd like to bring back, Laforest said she'd love to see the Greasy Pole make a comeback.
"I don't think we'd ever be able to bring it back, but that would be so much fun."
She added in the coming years, she'd like to have a pie-in-the-face contest, eating contests, and maybe even hay-bale tossing competitions.
Laforest noted they are looking into making changes to the horse show for next year, like incorporating gymkhana events and maybe even a rodeo of sorts.
This year, the Hymer's Agricultural Society expects upwards of a few thousand people to walk the fairgrounds, with last year's attendance around the 8,000 mark.
