Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
GETTING READY — Kevin Chamberlain of Skowhegan gives his french fry booth a scrub down Tuesday afternoon in preparation for the Houlton Agricultural Fair. A full schedule of the Houlton Agricultural Fair appears in Section B of this week’s paper.
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
HOULTON — Houlton Community Park is buzzing with activity these days as organizers of the 2013 Houlton Agricultural Fair are putting the final touches on this year’s four-day celebration.
The fair begins its four-day run Thursday, following the massive Fourth of July parade. Thursday’s parade starts at 10 a.m. and follows the traditional route, with floats gathering at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on upper Military Street. The parade winds its way down Main Street, through Market Square, onto Kendall Street and up Military Street ending where it began.
This year’s fair includes all the time-honored traditional events, midway rides and carnival foods, as well as a few new wrinkles.
Each year, the fair rolls like a well-oiled machine, but trying to find new ways to keep the annual fair exciting, while maintaining the traditional events that people have come to love, is always the biggest challenge, according to Paul Cleary, fair president. Cleary has been with the Fair Board for 15 years, serving as president for the past six years.
The price of admission remains unchanged at $10 per person, which includes all shows and midway rides. A special admission price of $5 after 8:15 p.m. is offered on July 4 for those wishing to see the fireworks display form inside the park. That admission price, however, does not include rides.
On Friday, July 5, a discounted rate of $5 will be offered from 6-9 p.m., including rides.
“We have a lot of events that are back this year and some returning events that were not here last year,” Cleary said.
Back by popular demand, after a one-year hiatus, is the Beano Tent, Cleary said. The tent will be open all day on Thursday, July 4, and Friday and Saturday, July 5-6, from noon to 3 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. and Sunday, July 7, 4-9 p.m.
“Members of the Houlton (High School) senior class will run the games, and we’ll split the proceeds with the class,” Cleary said. “We chose those times because during special events like the demolition derby and pig scrambles, historically there really were not a lot of people in the beano tent. You need to have a minimum of five players to do it.”
Another new event is the “Cow Plop Drop” raffle. A total of 500 squares, sold at $5 per square, will be sold throughout the four days, culminating with the drop at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
“It will be completely random with a potential for a person to win $1,000 if all of the squares are sold,” Cleary said.
Mud runs are also returning after a brief break. The mud runs are scheduled for Thursday, July 4, at 1 p.m.
“We didn’t have the mud runs last year because nobody wanted to take responsibility for organizing them,” Cleary said. “This year, Travis Bartley and Chris Putnam have agreed to take charge of them.”
Another popular returning act is the “Kachunga and the Alligator” show, with shows each day.
“Kachunga has been one of our most popular events at the fair and it’s been two years since we have been able to book them,” Cleary said.
In celebration of Houlton Farms Dairy’s 75th anniversary, the fair will hold a Houlton Farms Dairy lemonade chugging contest on Friday, July 4 at 6:45 p.m. A piñata contest will also honor the dairy at 5 p.m. on the Fourth.
Prior to the fireworks show, the local band “Under the Main Floor,” featuring Kevin Mania, will perform from 7:30 p.m. until the pyrotechnics go off. The County Ramblers, featuring Johnny Fitzpatrick take the stage on Saturday evening, after the demolition derby.
Aside from the traditional food vendors featuring grilled sausages, burgers, french fries, blooming onions and such, this year the fair is welcoming a crew from the Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland, who will be bringing lobster rolls and other seafood treats to The County.
Also on July 4, the exhibit hall will be dedicated to Leota Hare, a member of the fair board for more than 20 years.
On Sunday, numerous prizes will be given out. Any person who comes through the gate is automatically entered into a drawing for a $1,000 cash prize. Individuals must be present to win, with the drawing slated for 7 p.m. Sunday. A 50/50 raffle will also be drawn.
The fair board is always looking for individuals to work security during the event. For more information, call 532-4315 or e-mail houltonagfair@ outlook.com.
