PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Nearly 50 exhibitors will be on hand at this weekend’s 34th annual Agri-Business Trade Fair in Presque Isle.
“We actually sold out of booth spaces in January,” said Fort Fairfield Town Manager Michael Bosse, “and I’ve got a waiting list of exhibitors in case I get someone who calls and backs out at the last minute.”
Sponsored by the Fort Fairfield Chamber of Commerce, the Agri-Business Trade Fair will be held March 29-30 at The Forum in Presque Isle.
New exhibitors this year include Roger’s Sports Center in Fort Kent and Inject A Seal of Limestone.
“There’s also many returning exhibitors which is nice to see,” Bosse said. “Most of the exhibitors that I have on my waiting list have told me that the other exhibitors have bragged up the show. They’re telling others that it’s a good show, that it’s come back around to the way it used to be, and that’s excellent to hear.
“At the end of each show on Sunday, I pass out a form and I ask the exhibitors to critique the show,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of positive comments from the exhibitors, and it’s showing with the recommendations that they’re making to other exhibitors.”
A rite of passage, as Bosse calls it, the Agri-Business Trade Fair is a sure sign that spring is here.
“While it may not look like it outside, it is officially spring, and our trade fair is the first show of the season,” he said. “In previous years, you could feel spring in the air, the snowbanks were getting smaller and people were itching to get out due to the length of the winter, but this year winter seems to be dragging on.
“However, they’re calling for 40-degree weather on Saturday, so hopefully people will still want to get out and dust the cobwebs off themselves from staying in all winter,” said Bosse. “I’m hoping for a good show, and I expect the weather will play a factor in that. It always does.”
The Maine Agri Women will once again be selling french fries that were donated by McCain Foods, while local queens will be serving milk and cookies at 1 p.m. Saturday.
“Traditionally we’ve had local 4-H clubs come in and do demonstrations, but we had never really organized it where they were on a schedule; if you happened to catch them when they brought their rabbits in, for example, you lucked out,” said Bosse. “We heard from several parents last year saying they wished they knew when certain animals would be there because their children would have loved to have see them.
“We tried to put a little organization to that this year so there was more of a schedule,” he said, “and I think this will be a big attraction.”
On Saturday, chickens will be on display from noon-2 p.m., a baby beef exhibit from 2-4 p.m., and clay and pottery demonstrations from 4-6 p.m. On Sunday, dairy goats will be featured from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and rabbits will be on display from 1-3 p.m.
Bosse said this year’s show will feature “every brand of tractor in northern Maine.”
“Roger’s Sports Center sells Mahindra, and we’ll also have Bernaiche Sales & Service (Bobcat), Harry’s Motor Sports & Equipment (Kubota), Theriault Equipment (John Deere), Crown Equipment (New Holland and Massey) and Gary’s Yamaha (Kioti),” he said. “We’ll have every color of the rainbow of tractor, and I think every brand, this year, as well.”
The Agri-Business Trade Fair will be held from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children under 12.
For more information, contact Bosse at 472-3800 or log onto www.fortcc.org.
