GUILFORD FAIR — The Guilford Fair was first held on Labor Day Sept. 7, 1942, and except for one year during the war, a rainy day in the 1970s and the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been held every year since.
“It’s a great time to be able to see neighbors and reconnect with people that we’ve lost touch with,” said Belinda Lashway, who’s been organizing the Fair for more than a decade. “You can visit with neighbors and see a lot of a lot of people where there’s nothing heavy going on. If you don’t want to talk about certain things, you just don’t bring them up and you can just visit with people without any kind of pressure.”
Lashway gave an update to the Guilford Select Board during its Aug. 8 meeting.
“Hopefully you have vegetables that have survived the drought or flowers or you’ve been crafting,” said Lashway during the meeting. “Please bring them to Fitch Hall on Saturday, Aug. 13, because that’s when everything is brought in.”
The Fair is set for Sunday, Sept. 4, and Monday, Labor Day, Sept. 5, rain or shine. Admission is $8 for adults, $2 for children 6 to 12, $5 for seniors and kids under 5 can get in free.
“If you volunteer for the fair,” Lashway told the Reformer, “we give you a ticket to come to the fair. It’s a great opportunity for community service for high school kids. You work for us for a couple of hours and then you’ve got the rest of the day at the fair with your friends. Kind of a win-win.”
She said the Fair needs about 50 volunteers to make it a success. Anyone interested in chipping in should contact her at bznest1@gmail.com or call David Franklin, president of Fair Board of Trustees, at 802-254-2228. Trustees are also needed, said Lashway.
“We have a new midway provider, Green Mountain Amusement,” she said. “They’ll have the the normal stuff up there for games and rides and whatnot and there could be some different stuff this year, too, which could be fun.”
Ride bracelets are available for $25 from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
There will also be lots of food this year, but no beer or other alcoholic drinks.
Fitch Hall Exhibit Registration is on Sept. 3 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Also on Sept. 3 will be a talent showcase of musicians and singers from 1 to 3 p.m.
The Fair opens at 7 a.m. and Fitch Hall opens at 9 a.m. on Sept. 4 with an obstacle challenge to kick things off, and a classic car show and an ox pull, both starting at 10 a.m. There will be music and bingo all day (both days) and circus performances by the New England Center for Circus Arts (also both days) at 11 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. If you’re an ice cream fanatic, there’s an ice cream eating contest at noon, and the Guilford Volunteer Fire Department’s chicken barbecue starts serving also at noon, followed by the fire department muster at 1 p.m.
On Sept. 5, the horse show starts at 8 a.m. and the cattle show starts at 10 a.m., with another ice cream contest and chicken barbecue, both starting at noon. The Chainsaw and Crosscut Contests start at 10 a.m.
More information, visit the website at www.guilfordfairvermont.com.
