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‘There is truly something for everyone’: Salmon Arm Fair features fun

124th annual fair showcases 4-H competitions, local talent, parade and more
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Pieces of shattered lances fly through the air after jousters (and brothers) Aaron and Joshua Toby score hits on the grid guards bolted to their shoulders during a Knights of Valour show at the Salmon Arm Fair on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (Observer file photo)

Agricultural excellence and local talent will once again be on display this fall.

The Salmon Arm Fair, showcasing exhibitions and presentations of everything from fruits and vegetables to livestock, will take place at the Salmon Arm Fairgrounds Sept. 8-10, 2023.

The fair has a long history of giving exhibitors “a sense of pride in the recognition of the fruits of their investment, as well as a connection to the community that appreciates and encourages them,” reads a Salmon Arm Fair media release.

Shuswap-area 4-H and open class exhibitors can register online now at salmonarmfair.ca, under the Exhibitors Info tab. Rules and regulations, as well as judges’ standards and prize catalogues, can also be found there.

More than 1,000 competition classes in 32 departments are on display at the fair, with a variety of livestock, horse shows and other demonstrations, farm, garden and home arts competitions, and other competition opportunities.

West Coast Amusements will entertain at the fair, along with other games and activities, and the Quality Farms Hatch-A-Chick Center, Buckerfield’s Urban Agriculture Education Zone and Canadian Tire’s presentation of full-contact jousting will return.

New this year will be Canoe Forest Products’ presentation of Canine Stars and Little Queens Reptile Show.

Live music, including Shuswap Pipes and Drums, an Elvis tribute artist, Okanagan cover band The Young’uns and country rockers The Dirt Kings, and additional entertainment like hog calling, rooster crowing and music trivia contests, will occupy the stage. Food courts and The Hub featuring Ricochet Brewing, Northyards Cider and Sunnybrae Winery will satisfy the craving for food and drink.

Project Grow’s youth awards show will be held Friday evening, with more than 60 participants ages nine to 12 showing off their vegetable gardens, raised with the help of Shuswap Food Action Society and Grow and Change Horticultural Services.

The parade, presented by Fix Auto, will see floats decorated to a ‘backyards and barnyards’ theme winding its way through downtown Salmon Arm on Saturday morning (Sept. 9).

“Our goal is to provide a variety of safe, enjoyable and educational experiences to help make memories for a lifetime for thousands of exhibitors and thousands of Fair fans,” said the fair’s general manager Jim McEwan. “There is truly something for everyone.”

“We know many folks are struggling financially and offer two initiatives to help: $5 Fridays up to 5PM for any ticket; and Askew’s Sunday Family Fun Day where families get 50% off a family pass and seniors are free all day with a voucher.”

Tickets can be purchased online at the fair’s website, under Buy Tickets.

READ MORE: ‘It was a good year:’ Salmon Arm Fair sees record attendance numbers

READ MORE: Salmon Arm Fair soured by destruction of fencing, expense of ongoing damage and vandalism


@willson_becca
rebecca.willson@saobserver.net

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Rebecca Willson

About the Author: Rebecca Willson

I took my first step into the journalism industry in November 2022 when I moved to Salmon Arm to work for the Observer and Eagle Valley News. I graduated with a journalism degree in December 2021 from MacEwan University in Edmonton.
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