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Blue Heron Fair Days has a little something for everyone

The Barrhead and Agricultural Society has done everything it could to ensure Blue Heron Fair Days has something for all age groups.
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Carisa Hendrix walks on broken glass during her Blue Heron Fair Days magic show performance in 2015.

The Barrhead and Agricultural Society has done everything it could to ensure Blue Heron Fair Days has something for all age groups.

“And I think we’ve succeeded,” Ag Society fair committee chair Brenda  Visser, said, noting fair days all the traditional family favourites are back, but there are a few new additions that are sure to please.

Daily passes for the fair are $12 for adults (17 and older), $6 (youths six to 16) and five and under are free. Three-day passes are also available at $30 and $16 for adults and youths, respectively.

Passes may be purchased in advance until Aug. 10 from Sandermans Home Hardware and The Back Forty.

The fair officially starts Friday, Aug 9, at 11 a.m. in the Ag Barn barn with the beef show. However, for many fairgoers, the fair doesn’t truly begin until the checkered flag is waved marking the start of the demolition derby. Friday also marks the opening of the beer garden and the inflatable bouncers’ village and concessions.

On Saturday, festivities start at the fairgrounds at 8 a.m. with the horse show. At the same time in the Freson Bros. parking lot, the Rotary Club will be hosting a free pancake breakfast.

At 10 a.m. the parade begins with the route taking participants a short distance on 54th Street and then turning onto 50th Avenue before turning onto to Main Street. From there, they will head towards 52th Avenue for a block and then turn on to 51th Street. Parade line up starts at 8:30 a.m. on Elevator Road. The theme of the parade is “Music Through the Years”.

After the parade is when things begin to heat up at at the fairgrounds.

The rodeo officially begins at 1 p.m. The event is part of the Wildrose Rodeo  Association (WRA) with competitors competing for points which go towards seeing who will qualify for the finals in September.

Visser said the attraction she is most excited about and also a first for the fair is the President’s Choice Superdogs. The travelling attraction has been entertaining crowds across North America for four decades.

“What these dogs can do is simply amazing and has to be seen to be believed,” she said.

The Superdogs perform Saturday and Sunday with shows at 1, 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. After each performance, people will have a chance to meet their favourite dog and handlers through a ‘pet and greet.’

Also new this year is the Outlaw’s Ride, who for $10, will give fairgoers an authentic monster truck experience. On Friday Outlaw’s Ride will be giving rides from 6 to 9 p.m. and from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Visser noted they are also bringing back two of the fair’s most popular attractions in recent years, the first being Inception VR, a virtual reality video game system.

The other is a mobile escape room featuring two different challenges, escaping from a starship taken over by an evil overlord or discovering and decoding clues left by inventor and painter Leonardo da Vinci. The mobile escape room will be at the fairgrounds from 12 to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.

This is on top of the regular children’s entertainment such as the petting zoo, face painters and other children’s entertainment scattered throughout Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday’s festivities conclude with a concert as well as an outdoor movie.

The concert, which is being sponsored by the Ag Society, features country performer Donny Lee.

In 2017 and 2018 Lee was an Alberta Country Music Association nominee at Bablitz Exhibition Hall in the Ag barn. Lee will be joined by special guest Abbey Powell. Tickets are $20 and are available at the Back Forty as well as at the door. Net proceeds of the concert will go towards paying for the recently completed renovations of Bablitz Hall.

The outdoor movie, the Sandlot,  will start at 9:30 p.m. on the north side of Barrhead Elementary School grounds. Admission is free but patrons are asked to bring a non-perishable food item for the food bank.

“As you can see, we have put a lot of effort to make sure everyone who attends the fair is entertained. For the price of admission you get a lot of value,” Visser said.


Barry Kerton

About the Author: Barry Kerton

Barry Kerton is the managing editor of the Barrhead Leader, joining the paper in 2014. He covers news, municipal politics and sports.
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