WESTLOCK – The 107th-annual Westlock and District Agricultural Fair promises a full-weekend of family fun with tried-and-true staples like the parade, demo derby, beef show and rodeo on tap, plus the addition of some new events like a pie-eating contest.
Ag society members have spent months ensuring there’ll be a full slate, in addition to getting the facilities, like the track and bleachers, back into shape. For ag society president Carl Larsen, this final week is about taking care of the minor details and praying that the weather holds for the Aug. 18-20 event — for a full schedule, see the ad in this and last week’s paper, or the ag society’s fair brochure available around town or its website. Tickets are $10 per day for anyone 14 and older, while it's $5 for kids ages 7-13 and children under six get in for free.
“It’s looking good so long as the rain holds off. We’ve spent the last three weekends trying to get the track prepared but it’s been tough sledding because of all the rain,” said Larsen. “But we’ve got the signs out and the building is ready. It’s been a lot of hard work by a lot of really dedicated volunteers. And we’ve had great support from businesses and from the community at large. I think it’s going to be a good one, so long as the weather holds.”
As custom, the Friday-morning parade is the official kick-off to the fair and starts at 10:30 a.m. and runs west down 97th Street, before turning north on to 100th Avenue then heads downtown before turning east on 106th Street. From there it turns down 103rd Avenue, before finishing on 104th Street — this year’s theme is 'rural life' and will be livestreamed here.
The opening day also includes an outdoor trade show at ag grounds, bouncy houses, which are changed out daily throughout the week, and a petting zone, along with a new family disco dance at the ag barn in the afternoon. The draft horse pull runs from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., while the day ends with the chuckwagon and chariot races on the track at 6 p.m.
Saturday is when the fair really hits its stride, with the rodeo, horseshoe tournament, chuckwagon and chariot races, along with a cabaret that runs from 8 p.m. to 1 p.m. at the ag barn. New this year is a pie-eating contest, slated for 5 to 6 p.m. at the track Saturday, with the finale going at 4 p.m. on Sunday just before the demo derby. The Westlock Red Lions will also be hosting an alumni game from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Keller Field in celebration of their 50 years in existence, while the free pancake breakfast goes Sunday from 9-11 a.m. at the ag office and is followed by the chucks and chariots and the last day of the rodeo.
Larsen said the addition of the pie-eating contest, which sees the winner get $100, a trophy and “bragging rights”, along with a Chicken 101 talk from the vet clinic on Saturday, is just some of the things they’ve added to try and keep the fair fresh.
“We wanted to try and create some new things to see if we could attract some more people out. I think the pie-eating contest will be a good time, along with the cabaret we have Saturday night,” he said.
One complaint some have is the lack of midway rides, which Larsen acknowledges, but said the company wants six figures just to show up, which is outside the ag society’s budget. Larsen also cited accidents on midway rides at the fairs in Stony Plain and St. Albert and said that helped confirm their decision.
“They won’t come … we even offered them extra money to come and they said, ‘If you can offer us $100,000, we’ll come.’ We can’t afford that,” said Larsen. “Unfortunately, those rides may be a thing of the past for us, but we’ll see. We can only do so much, so that’s part of why we’ve tried to create some new things this year. I mean, the bouncy castles will be switched out every day, so that will be good for the kids.”
