Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show
Encyclopedia
| Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show |
|---|
| Location: Simcoe Simcoe, Ontario Simcoe is an unincorporated community and former town in Southwestern Ontario, Canada located near Lake Erie. It is the county seat and largest community of Norfolk County.... , Ontario Ontario Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....  |
| Opened: 1840 |
| Season: October |
| Sponsor: Various |
| Events: animal shows, professional art, agriculture-related events, food-related events |
The Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show is an annual agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
fair that takes place in the town of Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. This festivity begins on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and ends on the Canadian Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving (Canada)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day , occurring on the second Monday in October , is an annual Canadian holiday to give thanks at the close of the harvest season....
Monday. Since 1840, the fair has been active in Norfolk County
Norfolk County, Ontario
Norfolk County is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the north shore of Lake Erie in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Bloomsburg is a small town located in Norfolk County and is the hometown of David Slater. The county seat and largest community is Simcoe...
on the 48 acres (194,249.3 m²) complex. There is also a horse track where paramutuel betting is offered on the Saturday and Monday. It is considered to be the fifth largest fair in Ontario.
Attractions
Inside one of the buildings, students from all over Norfolk CountyNorfolk County, Ontario
Norfolk County is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the north shore of Lake Erie in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Bloomsburg is a small town located in Norfolk County and is the hometown of David Slater. The county seat and largest community is Simcoe...
submit their artwork to be evaluated by the local judges. The top prize winners receive a small monetary cash prize. Larger prizes are offered for professional art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, riding, horse, cattle and poultry shows. Other buildings feature commercial inventions and innovative technologies demonstrated to the local populace. Large vegetable and field crop competitions are held, including the classics like the heaviest pumpkin. In the past years, winners have weighed in more than one thousand pounds. Homecraft and Childcraft are a big part of displays with some of the finest in quilts and culinary arts at all age levels. Traditional and historic displays make this a "must see" area when you visit. Commercial demonstrations and product offerings remain a big part of "the Fair".
Patrons can still see them first with a variety of products which are either hand crafted or have been recently advertised on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. Innovative services are also being demonstrated and/or sold within the confines of the commercial building. Haggling is allowed to the merchants and is strongly encouraged. The rides consists of some of the world's finest travelling amusements for children, teenagers, and adults alike. One of Canada's largest horse shows, this local competition features many kinds of horses from miniatures, jumpers, Clydesdale
Clydesdale
Clydesdale was formerly one of nineteen local government districts in the Strathclyde region of Scotland.The district was formed by the Local Government Act 1973 from part of the former county of Lanarkshire: namely the burghs of Biggar and Lanark and the First, Second and Third Districts...
s and even Percherones. The traditional horse competitions, pulls and 8 horse hitch parade are spectacular. Cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, sheep, goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s, llama
Llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
s, poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
and animals from every field and pen put on their finest coats for judging at one of the most important fairs on the circuit. Get real close to meet them nose to nose on competition days.
All around the facility is student art, displays and more special interest entertainment.
Food and entertainment
Both classic and new carnival-style foods like cotton candyCotton candy
Cotton candy , candy floss or candyfloss or candy buttox , or fairy floss is a form of spun sugar. Since cotton candy is mostly air, a small initial quantity of sugar generates a tremendously greater final volume, causing servings to be physically large and voluminous...
, dixie dogs, pulled pork
Pulled pork
Pulled pork is a form of barbecue in which pork, usually shoulder cut or mixed cuts, is cooked using a low-heat, long-cook method. With these extended times at low temperatures, the meat becomes tender enough that its weakened connective tissue allows the meat to be "pulled", or easily broken into...
, french fries
French fries
French fries , chips, fries, or French-fried potatoes are strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans tend to refer to any pieces of deep-fried potatoes as fries or French fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of deep-fried potatoes are...
are everywhere. Patrons can enjoy the fresh taffy
Taffy
Taffy can refer to any of the following:* Taffy , a type of chewy, often colored, candy* Taffy is a sometimes pejorative term for a Welsh person or thing...
and fudge
Fudge
Fudge is a type of Western confectionery which is usually very sweet, and extremely rich. It is made by mixing sugar, butter, and milk and heating it to the soft-ball stage at , and then beating the mixture while it cools so that it acquires a smooth, creamy consistency...
made on site as the demolition derbies
Demolition derby
Demolition derby is a motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another...
, tractor pulls and finest Canadian stage acts take place Friday and Saturday nights. Popular bands like Emerson Drive
Emerson Drive
Emerson Drive is a country music band founded in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada in 1995. The band is Brad Mates , Danick Dupelle , Mike Melancon , Dale Wallace , and David Pichette .Early on, the band found minor success in Canada, releasing two albums under the name of 12 Gauge, the first Open...
, Blue Rodeo
Blue Rodeo
Blue Rodeo is a Canadian pop and country rock band, which was formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have been signed with Warner Music Group since their debut album Outskirts in March 1987...
, and The Roadhammers have all entertained the fair with their individual style of beats and lyrics in the past years.