City Vs. Country – A Fair Comparison

Agriculture is the greatest and fundamentally the most important of our industries. The cities are but the branches of the tree of national life, the roots of which go deeply into the land. We all flourish or decline with the farmer.
— Bernard Baruch

The county fair is a place where dreams come alive and memories are made. From thrilling rides to delicious food, the county fair has something for everyone. The county fair is a chance to disconnect from the world and embrace the simple pleasures of life. Walking through the county fair feels like stepping into a nostalgia-filled dream.
— FsmStatistics.FM

Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful and most noble employment of man.
—George Washington

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to man my stitchery group’s table at the Port Hope Fair. It’s small potatoes, as fairs go, but I tell you, I honestly enjoyed it far more than the CNE.

The Canadian National Exhibition may have started out as Canada’s largest agricultural fair, but there’s nothing agricultural about it anymore. It’s become very citified, with it’s international markets and high tech displays.

I remember one of my favorite things was cutting through the horse barn on the way to one of the other buildings, and sitting in the stands around the indoor ring watching the horses jumping. And there was a whole building devoted to farmers and the farming industry. All sadly part of the past now.

The Port Hope Fair, however, was everything a fair should be. There was a midway with plenty of activities, fair food, and plenty of displays, like ours:

For a small entry fee, you could pit your skills against other people in everything from floral arrangements:

To jams and preserves:

I helped set up our display on Friday night, and then took a turn manning the table to answer questions on Saturday and Sunday mornings. After my shift on Sunday, I stayed to have a wander around the fairgrounds.

I took a ride on a horse-drawn wagon:

Then I got to pat an alpaca:

The lighter coloured one was named Bella, and the darker one was Rebecca. In case you were wondering. :-)

I also got to pat a lion-mane bunny - so soft!

I saw goats, cows raised by members of the 4H Club, dogs in training to be sheepdogs, and all kinds of agricultural displays. I watched a sheep being sheered. And other than an overabundance of wasps present, I enjoyed myself far more than I did at the CNE.

This fair, though small, had more of a sense of community to it. It helped that though busy it wasn’t crowded. There were truck and tractor pulls, a hunter/jumper horse show, and a demolition derby. There was a vintage tractor show, a flyball (dogs) demonstration, and lawnmower races. You won’t find any of that at the CNE.

I guess I’m just a small town girl at heart because I’ll take a small, county fair over the big city fair every time.