WILLIAMSTOWN, Ontario – It was a fair like no other. The 209th edition of the Williamstown Fair and the committee behind its organization, faced the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic head-on.
What was produced was something very different than what fair goers were used to, but it was the Williamstown Fair none the less and kept the tradition of Canada’s oldest agricultural fair alive.
Rather than taking place in the second weekend of August as is tradition, this year’s fair was pushed back a month to allow time to create something that would work with the realities that the pandemic posed. The COVID-19 pandemic saw every other agricultural fair in Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry cancelled, and the same is true for many other events that would usually see large gatherings.
On Saturday Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. fair goers were invited onto the fair grounds for the first ever Williamstown Fair drive thru edition.
Entering from the Johnston Rd. entrance, patrons in their vehicles drove along the road through the middle of the fairgrounds.
Lining the road were all the usual staples of the Williamstown Fair, the livestock, the farm equipment, the classic tractors, scarecrows, art projects and even familiar faces.
Members of the public were encouraged to create floats that lined the road featuring various depictions of the best of the Williamstown Fair, agriculture, and life in South Glengarry.
The Raisin Region Conservation Authority was on hand to hand out 500 trees to the first 500 cars.
As patrons drove through the fairgrounds, they were able to tune into a guided tour on their radio that played on a loop that included some information about this year’s fair, as well as some Celtic music.
Once they reached the end of the fairgrounds, one fair goer was heard to say “that was so much fun, I want to go again!”
