Deadline for entering the 107th Annual Priddis & Millarville Fair is August 10, less than a month away.
Half the fun of going to the Fair is seeing how many of those all-important Fair ribbons you’ve might have won from entering a wide diversity of bench classes, including baking, field grasses, photography, sheep, painting, dressed-up pets, woodwork, show jumping, etc. There are lots of categories for children to enter. The Fair typically has more than 4,000 bench entries across all categories.
The Fair itself takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday, August 16 and is once again fully integrated with the famous Millarville Farmers’ Market at the Millarville Racetrack.
Enter the Fair on-line at http://primil.fairmanager.com/ or mail or drop your paper entries to/at Priddis & Millarville Fair, Box 68, Millarville, Alberta, T0L 1K0. The all important Fair Book, showing all the categories you can enter along with the entry form, is at http://www.millarvilleracetrack.com/page/fair-book or at various retail locations in your community.
Fair day is a great one for children in particular, with Kid’s World and its jumping tents, face painting, Cyclone, the kid-friendly mechanical bull as well as other entertainments, a Petting Zoo, the return of the friendly, gigantic horses making ice cream (yes, you read that right) and all manner of ducks, roosters, chickens, kids roping, children’s pet shows, a messy pie-eating contest, dressed-up horse competition, wagon rides, a parade . . . . and the list goes on.
Be sure the kids are entered in The World Stick Horse Racing Championships. Show your fancy stick horses earlier in the day, competing for ribbons, and then get down and dirty in the rodeo infield racing for glory and ribbons against other like-minded kids/adults in your age groups.
Don’t forget an Antique Tractor Show, Automobile Shoe N’ Shine, live auctions, and of course the original reason for the Fair itself in 1907, almost 4,000 competition exhibits of produce, grains, grasses, livestock, baking, sewing, artwork, creative writing, photography and many other categories to gaze upon.
“It’s a great opportunity for the community to come together once a year and put their best efforts forward and try and win some of those Fair ribbons, ” said Fair Chairman Donna Kendall. “Having said that, it’s a wonderful day for our friends from the city and nearby towns to actively take part in a very friendly, interesting and fun day in the country. It’s an amazing day for children in particular, competing or taking part in all the activities.”
The 2014 Fair features the hilarious Working Farm Truck Competition where the local farmers and ranchers will be able to enter their most ingeniously duct-taped, baler-wired, binder-twined, older but functional farm vehicles. Each contestant will start with 200 points with deductions starting for the newest, shiniest and cleanest of vehicles but points gained for demonstrated survivability, jumper cables on the seat, quarts of oil rolling around on the passenger floor, an old hound dog in the back . . . . .
Be sure to get your $5 raffle tickets with the top prize being a choice between a custom-built wooden swing or a night at one of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts in western Canada. Proceeds benefit Rowan House, the family emergency shelter in High River, as well as the Fair.
Admission is $5 with children 8 and under free.
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For media, Donna Kendall at 403-933-3753 or e-mail donnaorlloyd@gmail.com
The Millarville Racing & Agricultural Society is a non-profit entity, operating the famous Millarville Farmers’ Market Saturdays through to Oct. 11, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the 18th Annual Millarville Rodeo August 1-3, the Millarville Christmas Market, Nov. 7-10, the 4rd Annual Millarville “Run To The Farmers’ Market” Half Marathon, June 20, 2015 and the 110th Annual Millarville Races, July 1, 2015. The MRAS has more than 100,000 pass through its gates in any single year, with more than 100 members and over 300 volunteers providing thousands of hours of time in ensuring the community-focussed facilities continue for future generations. For information about the MRAS and its facilities and programs, please contact MRAS President Malcolm Sills at 403-931-3411or go to www.millarvilleracetrack.com