Fryeburg Fair, Maine’s Blue Ribbon Classic

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Fryeburg Fair, Maine’s Blue Ribbon Classic

It’s Fair Time in Fryeburg, Maine

The colorful and often exciting history of the Fryeburg Fair began on June 3,1851, when the West Oxford Agricultural Society, the non-profit organization that owns the Fryeburg Fair, was officially granted a charter.


The first fair was held in Hiram on October 23,1851, as a reflection of society and what was happening. Locals came from surrounding towns to compete against one another. That first year, they arrived by horse and buggy or oxen-drawn wagons, to see who had the best animals, harnesses, leather, carriages, silk, cloth, tools and more. “Following an address by Hon. Charles Andrews, William H. Walker of Lovell was awarded the top premium, $3.00, for the best acre of corn. Wm. W. Spring of Brownfield won fifty cents for the best seed corn and $1.00 for the best seed wheat . . .  Peleg Wadsworth won the plowing competition–one-eighth acre in 22 minutes, and this was such a popular event that more competition was planned for the future.” (Fryeburg Fair, First 150 Years 1851-2000, Penny Hathaway, Editor)

The location was Brownfield the next year, and then the Society purchased a lot on what became Fair Street in Fryeburg, near what was to be the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad.
In an atmosphere of fun and excitement 162 years later, the Society still strives to encourage, promote and preserve agricultural activities of sixteen western Maine and nine eastern New Hampshire towns and to educate the general public regarding their importance.
Now located on 185 acres in the Saco River Valley off Route 5, the Fair is directed by Roy Andrews, president of the Society. Roy knows that each year more than 300,000  visitors, whether rich or poor, rural or urban, young or old, flock to the rides on the midway and to see Woodsmen’s Day competitions, the skillet toss contest and the crafts, crops and animals.
Planning for the fair begins in January. Roy works with numerous department heads, from public safety to organic engineers (that’s a nice way of describing the crew that cleans up after more than 3,000 large animals) and wholesale food vendors. He and the 400 employees work behind the scenes to bring us a spectacular eight days of contests, shows and glitter.
The original reason for having a fair was to transfer information between farmers so they could improve their productions. As the agricultural economy changes, so must the Fair. Attracting fair goers means adding different demonstrations and exhibits to keep up with the times.
In keeping with the original tenet of the Fair, a specialty foods pavilion overseen by superintendent Jean Andrews will debut this year. Based on the idea of a market, the pavilion will feature specialty items derived from local agriculture.
In a recent e-mail exchange, Jean said, “I believe we are the first Fair in the State to celebrate this growing industry by building a facility devoted to specialty foods and their producers. The Pavilion is beautiful and right next to the Agriculture Building. We have over 6,800 square feet and expect to host more than 20 vendors this year and upwards of 30 next year. We will have some fantastic products available from gourmet chocolate to olive oil. We’ll also have barbecue sauces, gourmet popcorn, jams, jellies and coffee to name a few.”
Don’t miss the Fryeburg Fair–an eight day agricultural fair that offers a piece of Americana. It’s all about agriculture and  . . . games, rides, music, exhibits, pie contests, pig and calf scrambles, skillet toss, Woodsmen’s Field Day, Firemen’s Muster, Grand Parade, tractor pulls, museums, bright lights, brilliant colors and, of course,  fair food.

Fryeburg Fair
September 30-October 7, 2012
General Admission – $10 every day/Includes Night Shows
Children under 12 always free
65 & over – Senior Citizen Tuesday – No Charge
Gates open at 7 – Buildings open 9-9
Harness Racing 1:30 Tuesday thru Sunday
Night Shows at 8 pm Monday thru Saturday
“Pay One Price” Mechanical Rides (includes Kiddie Land)-$20-2-9pm on Tue 10/2,
Wed 10/3, Thu 10/4 & Sun 10/7 2-9 pm;
Kiddie Land Only-$15-Sun 9/30 10am-6 pm & $12-Mon 10/1 11 am-5 pm

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