Fall Fairs & Farming Roots

Friday, August 22, 2025

Ag Societies Balance Honouring Their History & Evolving for the Future

By Emily Mckinlay

Many rural communities across Ontario have a long-standing annual tradition of gathering at their local fall fair to celebrate agriculture. While many fairs are now over a century old, their events, competitions, and attractions continue to evolve as a balancing act of appealing to a changing rural population while remaining loyal to their farming roots.

Fall fairs are an opportunity for neighbours to connect, building on the camaraderie that small communities are known for.

“It’s always fun at the fair. The biggest draw is reuniting with people you haven’t seen in a while and catching up with old friends,” says Danny Jefferies, past president of the Ilderton Agricultural Society.

Fall fairs have traditionally supported the development of local agriculture by creating an opportunity to compare practices and share successes. As the public becomes further removed from ag, fall fairs are finding new ways to keep them connected to the farm community.

A long history

Fall fairs are some of the longest standing annual events in rural communities, with many approaching two centuries of history.

“Agricultural societies were created – some over 200 years ago – to promote agriculture,” says Vince Brennan, executive director of the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies.

“It wasn’t just about livestock. It was also about showing off new varieties of seed and sharing equipment. Livestock were brought to competitions for trading or upgrading genetics.”

Many fairs still have livestock shows, crop shows, and home crafts displays, but many have added other forms of entertainment.

“Owen Sound Fall Fair is 173 years old this year,” says Hiliary Breadner, secretary and treasurer of the Owen Sound Agricultural Society, who notes how much the fair has changed over time.

“In my research, I think it is one of the oldest events in our area. I’ve always found that really interesting. Our fair has changed a lot, moving from horse racing and track facility events in the ’50s and ’60s, to the ’90s and 2000s, when it was all about the midway.”

The Ilderton Fall Fair has undergone a similar transition throughout its 175 years of events.

“The Ilderton Agricultural Society has been hosting an event since 1851, making 2026 our 175th year. It’s a very long-standing fair,” says Jefferies.

“It started very much as an agricultural fair and was heavily focused on livestock. There was even a horse racing track at one point in time. It has transformed over the years to more of a rural event with a strong agricultural flair. We are hosting a midway now, which is a major attraction, along with educational shows and entertainment.”

New people, new attractions, and fewer farmers have created unique challenges for fall fairs. Agricultural societies are in a balancing act of maintaining financial viability, among other challenges, while honouring their history.

Changing challenges

Fairs have changed a lot over 200 years, and the costs and logistics to run a large event have also evolved alongside those changes.

“Fortunately, we have the benefit of being adjacent to larger city, which helps a lot in terms of revenue with the midway, but we are challenged just like everybody else with the rising costs of everything,” says Jefferies.

“It is hard finding more budget to cover more costs. We are doing a balancing act as a fair. Our mandate is to have strong agricultural representation and to have a rural component, but we also want to keep people coming to the fair. That seems to be tied to the midway.”

Jefferies says that on top of increased costs and requirements for insurance and security, some fairs have been struggling to attract enough volunteers.

“Our fair is 100 per cent volunteer-run, so our biggest challenge is the depletion of volunteers. Many of the volunteers on our board are from older generations, so replacing those folks that have really put in a lot of the work is difficult,” says Jefferies, who says they are working to welcome and retain more volunteers, including those new to their community.

“Many people come to the fair and enjoy it, and then kind of forget about it until it comes back around. If we keep engaging with the community around the whole year, we can keep people thinking about it and bring in volunteers.”

Breadner says it is critical for agricultural societies to be flexible as new challenges and changes arise.

“For ag societies, if you don’t adapt or try new things, unfortunately, you likely won’t make it to that 200-year celebration because the world continues to move forward,” says Breadner, who adds that they have been strategizing about how to attract more visitors to their fair.

“We have decided to pivot into a fair focused on good family fun. I think that’s been integral for us. It’s hard to attract teenagers or adults, so for us it’s important to focus on families and bringing in kids.”

Breadner adds, “A fair board is just like farming. If we weren’t such resilient folks and didn’t learn how to pivot and adapt to the challenges, we wouldn’t survive.”

Fairs have found unique ways to evolve across nearly two centuries of events, but they remain committed to recognizing their agricultural history.

Recognizing agricultural roots

With the increasingly limited agricultural background of fair visitors, a focus on education has become more prevalent in the livestock and crops classes.

“A big component of our fair’s recognition of the agricultural community is the Ag Awareness Day we host,” says Jefferies.

“The fair runs over a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On the Thursday leading up to the fair, we host our Ag Awareness Day for Grade 3 students from local schools. They come to the fair grounds and learn about agriculture-related topics at eight stations covering livestock, grain farming, and machinery.”

This event introduces young students from both the rural and growing urban areas to common farming practices.

In recognition of their local farm community, the Owen Sound Agricultural Society has asked farmers for their input on fair events and resources to reconnect the public to agriculture.

“We are trying something new this year. We are doing a ‘50 Farmers Who Care’ campaign to try to get 50 farmers or agriculture industry professionals to donate $100,” explains Breadner.

“This would be used to create ag education resources to use at our fair, and to make available to other fairs. We want to educate the public about where their food comes from and why agriculture is important.”

Breadner adds that the Owen Sound Agricultural Society has plans to offer these producers an educational meeting of their own in return for their assistance.

“To give them something in return for their donation, we are calling a meeting to vote on where the money is being spent,” says Breadner.

“That evening, we will also have a speaker come to talk about the importance of mental health in agriculture, and there will be a farmer social so they can chat with people they haven’t seen in a while. We are trying to give back to our farmers as they give back to us to help promote ag in general.”

Brennan believes that fairs are a great way to connect the public to the farms around them.

“Think it’s a great opportunity to continue to promote agriculture to folks who would not traditionally be around it. There are quite a number of societies stepping it up a notch by not only having a competition, but also farm-related displays,” says Brennan.

“There are so many people who wouldn’t have the opportunity to see, touch, or smell agriculture until they go to the fair.”

He also says that fairs can improve their visitors’ experience by making an effort to explain how classes and events are run.

“When the show is on, have a speaker that is explaining what’s happening to the public,” recommends Brennan.

“A lot of people want to know what’s going on. You can share the background and history of the show, the components of show, and the preparation that goes into it. It engages people and keeps more of an audience around the show ring.”

The team approach and passion for agriculture is critical for a fair board. Despite the many challenges and changes, Breadner says working together to host a fair is addictive.

“Every year you are working so hard to produce the event, and problems usually come up, and it’s quite stressful, but for some reason, you can’t help yourself from being involved. It’s addictive,” says Breadner.

“Our board calls it ‘the sickness.’ You get to have a lot of fun and make a lot of memories by coming together as a common cause.”

As fairs continue to find new ways to connect the public to their local farmers, Brennan encourages open minds.

Brennan says, “It’s hard to put a finger on one thing that will make a fair successful, but it’s important to be more open-minded that there are more new people going to the fair than there used to be.

“How are we addressing their needs and getting them to come back next year?” BF