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The Voice of North Dundas
Vol 5, No 16
August 8, 2024
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Next week, the 132nd South Mountain Fair will be sure to put smiles on many faces as it has successfully done for well over a century. The Fair uses the slogan “A fair to remember”, and also boasts being “Ontario’s best priced fair”. While the Fair may attract visitors from all over Eastern Ontario and beyond, it is, and always has been, a truly local event. Richard Gilmer – a local resident who lives and farms just outside of South Mountain – has been involved with the South Mountain Fair for many decades. He has been a firsthand witness to an unimaginable amount of the Fair’s history – the good and the not-so-good. “I’ve been going to the Fair basically as long as I can remember,” said the 78-year-old Richard. His
father and grandfather were jobs was as a “race secreinvolved in the Fair, and tary”. He came in one day Richard still does what he to help with paperwork, and can. About five years ago, was soon tasked with the job another local family pro- of filling out a paper for each vided Richard’s family with horse after every race. He a video of his grandfather did this job for several years walking around at the Fair before taking higher leaderin a shirt and tie with his two ship roles with the Fair. “It brothers. The video clip is takes a pile of work and a lot only a few seconds long, but of good volunteers,” Richard Richard is grateful to have it. added. When asked how the Fair He estimates it was taken in has changed over the years, the 1950s. Richard’s father was for- Richard explained that the merly a president of the Fair, Fair has become more of a as was Richard himself in “festival-type” event comthe 1980s. He served on the pared to what it used to be. board of directors for many There has been some big years until the early to mid name entertainment over the 1990s, and then took a lead- years, particularly following ership role again just over the addition of an entertain10 years ago. While he no ment tent in the early 2000s. longer serves on the board of Decades ago, the focus of directors, he still does what the Fair was more on the he can for the Fair, nearly agricultural shows, as is 60 years later and counting traditional in small town from when he first became fairs. Richard also explained that the midway has gotten involved. One of Richard’s first larger, and there are more
shows for younger kids than there used to be. There was one occasion approximately 50 years ago when Richard’s father went to a convention in Toronto and signed up a midway provider that never showed up for the Fair! Thankfully, this hasn’t happened again since. Some fairs in the area have trouble securing a midway and have resorted to inflatable attractions or no midway at all. Richard reports that the South Mountain Fair’s current midway is strong, and he hopes it can stay that way. Richard is proud that the Fair has remained a local event. He now has 10 grandchildren of his own, and expects that they will all visit the Fair at some time or another. His daughter Meghan also currently serves on the Fair board. Richard notes that in more recent years for many locals, the Fair has started to act as a sort of “homecoming” event, where people can meet up with old school friends or other acquaintances they haven’t seen in a while. “There have been lots of trials and tribulations over the years, but we’ve come out stronger than we’ve ever been,” Richard added. The South Mountain Fair runs from August 15-18. See inside this issue for a detailed schedule.
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