Brussels Fall Fair to skip parade this year in favour of procession
BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN
The Brussels Agricultural Society has met again and hammered out a few more details for this September’s Brussels Fall Fair, which will will be held at the Brussels Four Winds Barn and mark a return to an in-person event for the organization.
Society President Zoellyn Onn, in an interview with The Citizen, said that the planning process is now underway for the first in-person fair in the past three years, which coincides with her presidential term. Some details have been worked out, she said, while others are yet to be determined.
She said plans for hosting the fair at the Four Winds Barn are moving ahead. Onn is working on a floor plan for the barn in regards to exhibits, attractions and other amenities for which the fair is known. In addition, there will also be satellite locations for the fair at the Brussels Library as well as the Brussels Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, the latter of which will play host to a program for children. The Legion will also be hosting a fish fry dinner on the Tuesday night of the fair.
She also said that plans for the fair’s parade had changed slightly. Onn said the membership has decided that it will be more of a procession, making its way from the Legion to the Four Winds Barn, featuring society members, the fair ambassadors and the children taking part in the programs, rather than a parade that calls for floats from local businesses and service groups. She did say that Don McNeil’s famous parade car may also be included in the procession.
The 4-H achievement days at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre grounds will also be going ahead, despite the centre not being accessible due to a planned renovation and expansion project later this year.
On a personal level, Onn says she’s just happy to be able to plan for a traditional, in-person fair after two years of pandemic-related cancellations.
Onn was elected to a third year as president of the society earlier this year. Her first two-year term directly preceded the declaration of the pandemic, so the society has not held a fair during her time at the helm. This year’s elections were based on a one-year term, rather than the traditional two-year term. She just says she’s happy to be able to host an event this year and she’s looking forward to welcoming the community back to the fair.
She hasn’t done it alone, however, adding that she had only just returned to the community two years before taking on the society presidency, so Onn says she has leaned heavily on more senior society members for help and they have all been willing to pitch in.
As part of the fair’s big return, Onn says she’s hoping that exhibition entries will be high this year. Most of the annual Brussels Fall Fair book is available now online, with some categories still to be added in the coming weeks. She says she hopes the entire book will be available within the next month.
The 2023 Brussels Fall Fair has also already been scheduled with a date set for Sept. 19-20, 2023. The theme for the fair is “Bank Barns and Spinning Yarns”.
A theme for the 2024 Brussels Fall Fair will also be chosen at a meeting sometime this year.
The 159th Brussels Fall Fair, with the theme of “Twist and Sprout” will take place on Sept. 13-14 at the Four Winds Barn. For more information, visit the society online at brusselsfallfair.ca. or on Facebook.