Brussels Fall Fair 2026: Michaela Townsend relishes Little Ambassador role

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Last month, the Brussels Agricultural Society crowned its three Ambassadors for this year’s Brussels Fall Fair. Michaela Townsend is the youngest of them; she now holds the title of Brussels Fall Fair Little Ambassador and she has a busy week ahead of her.
Townsend was chosen as the winner over Emmett Blake. Blake is a Grade 3 student at North Woods Elementary School who lives on a beef farm in Molesworth with his family. Townsend is nine years old and has just begun Grade 5 at St. Columban Catholic School.

 

The daughter of Debbie Terpstra and Ross Townsend, Michaela loves to ride her horse - named Lena, who will make an appearance later in the story - play violin, do flips all over the pig barn while working with her family and selling her own sweet corn and pumpkins.

 

Michaela was one of three Ambassadors chosen that night, with Sophia Blake being named the Junior Ambassador and Rowan Gaspirc being crowned the Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador - the latest in a long and storied lineage of young community leaders in Brussels.

 

In an interview with The Citizen, Michaela and her mother Debbie said that it was one of Michaela’s 4-H leaders, Maggie Speer - a past Brussels Fall Fair Queen, before the title was changed to Ambassador, herself and one of the main organizers of the Ambassador program in recent years - approached Michaela and asked if she might be interested in putting her name forward. Jenn said that Michaela and their family have a tremendous amount of respect for Speer and when she thought Michaela would be a good candidate for the position, they took that to heart and seriously considered being part of the Brussels Fall Fair later this year.

 

Being part of the special Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador night, Michaela said, was a little nerve wracking to begin, but once she was around the other contestants and past Ambassadors, she was completely at ease. Spending time with them was a great aspect of the process, Michaela said, and she liked getting to know all of them a bit more. 

 

Now, looking ahead, all she has on the brain is the Brussels Fall Fair and, especially, the parade. She is looking forward to being part of the parade, which will be a first for her, and she’s hoping to ride her horse - Lena - throughout the village, putting both of their best feet forward at this year’s Brussels Fall Fair.

 

Whether or not she’ll be riding horseback in the parade this year remains to be seen, as there are some logistics to work out before that dream can become a reality, but it’s safe to say that Michaela is excited for what comes next and to be part of the historic world of the Brussels Agricultural Society and its storied Brussels Fall Fair. Keep an eye out for her at Wednesday’s parade.