Beloved Canadian tradition Spencerville Fair prepares for 169th edition

Grab your best riding boots because the Spencerville Agricultural Society is promising another jam-packed weekend of activities and shows at the 169th anniversary of the Spencerville Fair.

The fair will take place from Sept. 12 to 15, and is set to offer a wild weekend of livestock shows, motor shows, locally grown produce, musical entertainment and more.

Brockvillest spoke about this year’s festivities with Eric Connell, advertisement and marketing coordinator as well as the second vice president of the Spencerville Agricultural Society. 

“The Spencerville Fair is an annual tradition that fosters and celebrates Canadian agriculture and is older than Canada itself,” Connell said. “This four-day fair takes place on the second weekend of September and provides educational exhibits and demonstrations that offer insights into farming practices and sustainable rural living.”

Connell continued, “Our four-day fair will bring just over 25,000 people to the cozy village of Spencerville. The fair is a huge tourist attraction that draws folks from Canada and the USA and the community has a great impact. Businesses are always booming as we host many events throughout the year. A fair of our size is known on a provincial scale.“

He noted that an event of this scale requires an extensive amount of planning and preparation.

“Although the planning officially starts in January, we really are planning years out,” he explained. “While planning for this year’s fair, I am also planning for the next two fairs, specifically next year as that will be our 170th Spencerville Fair and it’s going to be a huge celebration.“

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the key events that you can expect throughout the historical fair: 

• The pony and horse show will be taking place on Friday, Sept. 13 at 10:30 a.m. If you would like to participate, you can submit your entry form at the fair office before 4 p.m. on the Monday prior to the fair or online via www.spencervillefair.ca by noon on Tuesday the week of the fair.

• The fan-favourite Heavy Horse Show is taking place on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 9:30 a.m. and features Belgians, Percherons, Clydesdales, and commercial horses. Draft horse exhibitors will compete in the Drummond Arena for over $10,000 in prize money.  The Spencerville Fair shared, “We are thrilled to be part of the Ottawa Valley Hitch Series for their four-horse hitch series show. This series aims to support draft horse hitch exhibitors in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec.”
• Taking place alongside the Heavy Horse Show, the Light Horse Show is also scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 14 at 9:30 a.m. in the Drummond Arena. This event includes Hackney ponies and horses, fine harness show ponies, roadster ponies, Western horses and more.

• Horses and ponies are not the only animals that are going to be on display at the fair. Connel told Brockvilleist, “We have many livestock shows that take place throughout the weekend, everything from our horse shows, Jersey and beef Shows, goat and sheep shows, to an entire barn dedicated to our poultry show. We also host the Grenville 4-H Achievement Day, which this year will allow us to have many additional shows but also our very own alpaca show.”
• The highly popular antique truck and tractor pull will be back in action over the weekend as well. The truck pulls will occur on Sept. 14 at 5 p.m. If you have a truck you want to show off, the entry fee for each truck per class is $30. The organizers shared that registration for this event will be on-site only during show day. 
• Tractor pulls will occur on Saturday, Sept. 14th, 2024 at noon. The entry fee for each tractor per class is $20 on-site during show day. 
• The National Barrel Horse Association (NBHA) show will be held on Sunday, Sept. 15 at 9 a.m. at the outdoor horse ring. This year’s show will be an NBHA District 04 event at the outdoor horse ring and will be run by District Director Jodi Burgess. The purpose of the NBHA is to provide barrel racers with an international organization to promote the sport of barrel racing and its growth. Please note that an NBHA membership or day permit is required for this event.

• Visitors can also enjoy a variety of other amusement rides, vendor stalls, live music and tasty takeaway grub throughout the weekend. Connell shared, ”We even have an entire building dedicated to home craft and cultural expression, where locals can submit anything from their grown vegetables to their photography, and in between. They are then judged and we pay out prize money to the winners,”

For more information on the events, entry requirements, ticketing information, and more, check out the official Fair Book athttps://static1.squarespace.com/static/5518b0f4e4b05c72e7f96a2f/t/66676196d2cb6f12ea3d63f4/1718051238347/169th_Spencerville_Fair-Fair_Book_2024.pdf.