By Joel van der Veen
HANLEY — Upwards of 900 people attended the Hanley Agricultural Fair last weekend, visiting the fairgrounds to take in the sights, sounds and flavours.
Patti Prosofsky, president of the Hanley Agricultural Society, said she and her fellow members were pleased with the results.
“We had a really good turnout and lots of community support from the Hanley area,” she said. “We thought it went really well.”
After several years of dormancy, the fair was revived by the ag society in 2009 and has continued every year since. This year was another success for the society, with a full slate of events happening over June 19 and 20.
The weekend kicked off Friday night with the town parade, which began at Thall’s Service, headed down Main Street and turned right down Railway Avenue to the fairgrounds. A kids bike parade was also part of the event.
“We had a huge turnout down Main Street,” said Prosofsky. “It was packed on both sides.”
The fair was a busy place throughout the evening with a midgets ball game, a slo-pitch tournament, lawnmower race and burnout competition. A performance by the band Roundhouse was followed by karaoke and a fireworks display.
Prosofsky said the lawnmower races and burnout competition pulled in huge crowds. Almost 300 came for the pancake breakfast on Saturday morning, while 250 enjoyed the steak supper that night.
Minor ball games continued throughout the day, along with the slo-pitch tournament and a buckaroo competition for kids 10 and under, which included broomstick barrel racing, a chuckwagon race, roping and a tractor pull.
Guests were invited to make their picks in the horticultural competition, a new addition to the fair this year.
Darla Holland, the owner of Holland Garden and Greenhouse, said they had suggested the event this summer, noting that the agricultural element of the fair has diminished in recent years. She added that she was happy with the response it received.
The Hanley 4-H Beef Club held its achievement day on Saturday as part of the fair; more details can be found elsewhere in this paper.
The amusement area for kids, which included inflatables, balloons, a train ride and airbrush tattoos, was a popular attraction throughout the day. Following the steak supper, the fair wrapped up with the spud gun contest and dance on Saturday night.
While grey skies were present, Prosofsky said the weather did not interfere with the fair. She said the “jam-packed” weekend entailed a lot of work for the four-member committee, which also includes Andrea Townsend, Bekki Kempton and Molli Speir.
“We’re all moms with little kids,” she said, extending her thanks to the volunteers and sponsors in Hanley and the surrounding towns and villages. “The four of us can’t do it without the support of the communities around us.”
Tyler Thall took first place in the lawnmower race, while Tyler Brown came first in the burnout competition.
Andrea Townsend and Patti Prosofsky finished first in the lawnmower “dash for cash” event, while Ethan Heagy was the winner of the spud gun contest.
Gavin Thall won first prize for his entry in the bike parade, while the Agricultural Society’s Roughrider-themed entry was selected as the best float.
Drewser’s Boozers won in the A final for the slo-pitch tournament.
In the kids fairy garden competiton, Emily Krueger won first, Ryker Kempton took second and Kylie Kempton received third.
Tammy Remmen took first prize in the adult fairy garden competition, followed by Faye McVeigh and Dani Gurski.
Shannon and Brody Froese won first prize for their succulent arrangement, while Carla Pethick took second and Tiara Kopeechuk won third.