The animals steal the show at the West Niagara Fair
By Luke Edwards
As the goat plucked a bit of hay from Penelope Duffie-Edgar’s hand, the young Wellandport girl’s face lit up with joy.
The goat was one of several in pens at the West Niagara Fair. Not too far behind her competitors were taking part in one of the shows, but for Duffie-Edgar, the interaction was perfect.
“We come every year,” said mom Heather Vaughan. “(Our favourite is) probably the animals. She loves visiting all the animals.”
The fair returned, as always, to Grassie the weekend after Labour Day. And despite it being after the unofficial end to summer, Mother Nature shone down with summerlike conditions.
Animals were the stars of the show for many. The fair is also a tradition for Isla Moskal and her Stoney Creek family. She loves the animals, too, but more specifically the horses.
“I like to ride on the ponies,” she said, shortly after taking a few laps around the pen on one such pony.
But as always, there was far more to do beyond visit with the four-legged friends. The Martin family from Smithville enjoyed some of the rides at the Midway. Others challenged their competitive spirit with pie-eating contests for the adults and doughnut-eating competitions for the kids.
At the other end of the fairgrounds tractor owners competed in the tractor pull, and as the sun came down drivers crashed into each other in the demolition derby.
Fair organizers thanked everyone who participated in this year’s event, from the sponsors and vendors, to the volunteers, entertainers, and of course, everyone who visited.
Comments