It’s not secret that the Westlock & District Agricultural Fair is the biggest show in town, and this weekend residents and visitors alike will have the opportunity to take in three days of stellar entertainment.
This year, the 97th annual show will be as good as it ever was, despite a few changes and last-minute hiccups, fair president Bob Jones said.
“Everything seems to be organized, on time and on schedule,” he said.
The major change this year is that the hall exhibits and the trade show will take place in the ag barn on the west side of the old Pickardville road, instead of in the Jubilee Arena as in previous years. There will also be no parking on that side of the road, so people will have to walk a bit further to get to the midway and rodeo grounds.
There has also been two cancellations this year: the steam-engine thresher demonstration will not go ahead, and there will be no heavy horse pull, either. “They just don’t have enough teams,” Jones said. “It’s like everything else, it’s harder to get volunteers.”
Nonetheless, there will be plenty for spectators to fill their weekend.
The action kicks off Friday at 10:30 a.m., when the parade will start at Highway 44, head west on 97 St., north on 100 Ave, then back east on 107 St. to the end of the route near 103 Ave.
Later on Friday, there will be action on the midway and some chuckwagon and chariot races at the track starting at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday will be an action packed day with too many activities to count. The rodeo will start at noon, the North Central Alberta Baseball League semi-final tournament starts at 11 a.m., beef shows and light horse shows run all day, the midway will again be open, and the flower and vegetable judging will take place, just to name a few.
Sunday will not lack for things to do either, with the rodeo and midway continuing, demonstrations of all kinds, the midway again being open, and the crowd-pleasing demolition derby taking place at 4:00 p.m., once the rodeo activities have finished.
As is to be expected for an event with this many components, Jones said the group of volunteers has been indispensable in getting this show put together for this year.
“It’s hundreds of hours that go into this. If it wasn’t for the volunteers, we wouldn’t have a fair, for sure,” he said.
The other essential component that makes for the festive atmosphere is the crowd. More than 12,000 people pass through the gates each year, and Jones said he expects that many or more this year.
“Everything is good so far; if the weatherman cooperates with us, we’ll be on top of the world,” he said. “And if not, we’ll work around it.”
