FRYEBURG – Renewable energy options will be among the top attractions at the 159th Fryeburg Fair that runs Oct. 4-11.
Visitors to Maine’s largest agricultural fair will also find more than 4,000 animals, horse pulling, harness racing, four pig scrambles, dozens of exhibition halls and a gigantic midway with more than 50 rides.
Located along Energy Row adjacent to the Natural Resource Center this year will be vendors and companies covering wind power, solar photoelectric panels, wood pellets and systems, outdoor wood and corn furnaces, generator power systems, geo-thermal power, gasification boilers and energy efficient solar homes. Last year’s concentration of renewable energy options along the southerly side of the center, formerly the Forestry Center that began 20 years ago, proved to be hugely successful.
“There will be a number of different companies displaying energy-efficient ways of heating homes, water and businesses,” said Dean Baker, who has been midway superintendent since 1985. “It was a tremendous success last year and we feel it will be even better this year.”
Also new last year in the same area is a replica fire tower. Thanks to the relocation of utility poles and wires, visitors to the fire lookout tower will have a clearer westerly view of Kearsarge Mountain in Bartlett, NH and its historic tower.
The fair’s major project for this year has been the construction of a new 5,000 square foot employee dining facility that will handle the feeding of hundreds of employees during fair week. Previously, the majority of workers, including parkers, security and ticket personnel, were fed at the aging security kitchen located above the Farm Museum. Livestock area personnel were fed at the livestock kitchen. The livestock office was retained but the actual kitchen was torn down and the new dining hall and kitchen built in its place.
The fair continues its development of social areas through the livestock exhibits and barns. The purpose is to provide places that provide information and photographs. The first one was created a few years ago in the steer and oxen area. Many of the questions fairgoers have about oxen are answered through posters and an educational video that plays when the area isn’t staffed. Visitors can find social areas in the pony and draft horse barns but perhaps the largest and most comprehensive social area is History Hall near the front gate. The large room that is part of Expo I contains a timeline of the 159 years of the fair as well as photographs of officials and superintendents both past and present.
Camping at the fair continues to be as popular as ever.
“We have as many reservations right now as we did at this time last year,” said first-year Camping Supt. Gale Bell, who noted the addition of several computers to the camping office. “I expect we’ll be full by fair time.”
Longtime Fair Secretary June Hammond said the continued computerization of the fair has helped immensely with the workload.
“The fair premium book is put together in the spring using a computer program designed just for that,” she said. “Since we started putting the book on our website - fryeburgfair.org - we have seen fewer calls. People are able to get the answers to their questions immediately while exhibitors can download the applications they need.”
While many fairs have gone exclusively to online premium books, Fryeburg continues to mail them out to exhibitors.
“But we’re cutting back on the number of books we print,” Hammond said. “Between the cost of printing and mailing, it’s quite expensive.”
The fair will be renewing life membership photos this year for last names A-G. The plan is to renew all of them over a 3-year period. Life memberships are only available to residents of the 22 towns that make up the West Oxford Agricultural Society (16 in Maine and six in New Hampshire). A full listing is available on the website.
The fair continues its efforts to improve the barns for exhibitors by adding wooden floors, which make it better for the animals and reduces the sawdust use. The wooden planking has been added to two draft horse barns this year.
Other improvements include reconditioning of the infield pulling area, which is used throughout fair week by tractors, saddle horses, draft horses and wagons, loggers and 4-wheel drive pullers on the final Sunday.
Over the summer, the fair hosted more than 80 functions ranging from dozens of camping events to a flower show, beef expo, yard sales, auctions and numerous private gatherings such as weddings.
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