PRESQUE-ISLE, Maine — Tiger talks, tractor-pulls, a Dukes of Hazzard exhibit, and a village within a building are among the many attractions planned for the 161st Northern Maine Fair that opens Friday at the Presque Isle Fairgrounds.
“There are very few things anywhere in the world today that are still operating after 161 years,” said Lynwood Winslow, chairman of the Sponsorship Committee and a director of the Northern Maine Fair. “It’s a very big event. To put this fair on takes thousands of hours of volunteer work. I’d say our sponsors support this fair more than any others in Maine, including the big ones.”
The Northern Maine Fair, taking place July 24-Aug. 1, requires over 250 volunteers and staff to operate. In addition, the Northern Maine Fair Association spends roughly $800,000 annually.
“We could not pull this fair off and sustain it without our sponsors,” said Winslow. “Sponsors and advertisers this year have given us $86,600. In my tenure, that’s the largest donation total I’ve ever seen.”
Winslow discussed a few of the upcoming exhibits for the fair.
“We’re very pleased to have a live tiger exhibit. It’s a great chance for children to be up close and learn about these magnificent animals. We’re also bringing back ‘County’s Got Talent,’ and trying to get this to be a regular part of the show by putting the word out to more contestants. The Tractor Rodeo is a new event we brought on last year in which we have people perform interesting tasks with antique tractors, such as popping balloons and delivering mail.”
“The (4-H) Baby Beef Auction,” continued Winslow, “is really something we should be proud of, because we’re helping out local kids. We’re so lucky to live in a place that does this for children. They get a lot of kids to work hard and raise these steers. Then, they get purchased, mostly by businesses, and the kids get to put that money away for college.”
Additionally, there are a plethora of culinary events taking place at this year’s fair.
“We have a Maine potato salad contest, sponsored by the Potato Board,” said Winslow. “Everybody thinks they make the best potato salad, so we should have a great turnout. There’s also the Chili Cookoff and Pie Contest.
These are staples of any fair; you can’t go without them.”
Rick Guerrette, second vice president for the Northern Maine Fair, spoke about the upcoming car show.
“We have a two-day indoor car show,” said Guerrette. “It’s all transportation related. There’s going to be airplanes, snowmobiles, motorcycles, vintage cars, hot rods, and many more. This year, we’re featuring the ‘Dukes of Hazzard’. We have four of the Dukes’ cars, one of them is a real Warner Bros TV car. The TV car is made to run on two wheels, and will be on display.
“We also have some of the police cars you see in the show, and we even have a Sheriff Roscoe Impersonator. Tom Sarmento, the man who built all the cars for the show, is coming. He’ll be here for the whole weekend. He built over 300 of the orange General Lee cars and over a thousand of the bad guys and police cars. He’ll be here to discuss what anyone wants to talk about. It’s gonna be a great show. We have a total of about 125 cars,” he added.
Christa Galipeau, committee member and NM Fair Association secretary, showed off the “Our County” exhibit inside the Agricultural Exhibition Hall.
“Before, this building was just one big open space,” said Galipeau. “This building holds all the entries people will bring in of their art, photography, knitting, flowers, vegetables, and just about anything else you can think of. If you think about your traditional farm, the farmer is going to come to the fair and show off his livestock and his crops while his wife brings all of the crafts she works on in the house, and that’s really what we’re showing off here. We have one lady, for example, that drives all the way up from Pittston, Maine. She goes to all the fairs, and usually brings around 60 unique homemade items.”
The entire building was renovated to look like a miniature village. A homemade tree in the center of the exhibit is surrounded by shelves that will hold a diverse assortment of plants and flowers. The cubicles on the left and right side of the building were transformed into colorful houses that will contain unique homemade crafts.
“Local businesses can sponsor a building front and put their name on it if they choose,” said Galipeau. “The talent and creativity that people in Aroostook County have is amazing, and most of us really don’t know about it. For example, the single largest art display in Aroostook County is at our fair. Four of these ‘houses’ will be full of nothing but artwork and photography. One whole side will be filled with needlework, crafts, crocheting. Aroostook County Extension Homemakers are helping oversee all the crafts for this exhibit.”
A kitchen, complete with refrigerator, oven, and sink, stands at the far end of the “Our County” exhibit, and it will play a big role in the miniature village.
“We have a fully functioning kitchen here,” added Galipeau. “If you think of this as a village, then this part would be like our stadium. People can come in and do cooking demonstrations if they like. The ‘Our County’ exhibit is something really new that we’re trying out. I don’t think there are any displays like this in the state, and it gives us a chance to provide a better venue for all these items to be displayed.”
“Time and time again,” said Winslow, “we hear about people saying that there’s nothing at the fair. Well, there really is if you go looking, and there’s a lot that you can get for that $2 or $8 admission. You can also learn a bit about who we are, our area, and have some fun in the process. We all love the fair. It brings families and kids together to have affordable fun, so we put a lot of work into it. All the volunteers and sponsors can’t get enough thanks.”
For more information, visit http://www.northernmainefair.com
