Thousands of people turned out this past weekend to participate in the festivities of the eighty-fifth annual Durham Fair, Connecticut’s largest fair since 1916.
The fair was a three-day celebration of carnival games, amusement rides, exhibits, food, and live performance that attracted families from all over Connecticut. The main attraction of the fair, however, was the farm animals.
Farmers traveled from as far as upstate New York and New Jersey, many with their families, to exhibit their livestock in the fair. The livestock animals were stationed in barns for fairgoers to admire and pet throughout the day. Each day of the fair, llamas, alpacas, and sheep flaunted their sheered coats in competitions for blue ribbons.
“The animals really put on a show and relished in the attention people gave them,” said Alex Moore ’05.
The fair had a musical headliner each of the three nights. On Friday, Sawyer Brown, a chart-topping country band, performed on the fair’s main stage. Saturday night, a Durham-based rock band Deaf Dog took the mic. On the final day of the fair, Eddie Money, a multi-platinum recording artist, performed his hits from the 80s in front of thousands.
There were also numerous ribbons awarded to fairgoers and for various contests. There were prizes for the best desserts, best flower arrangements, best stitched sweaters, and best prepared jams and other hand-crafted products.
In between the contests, exhibits, performances and animal competitions, there were approximately 100 food venders selling an assortment of foods: burgers, blooming onions, gyros, pizza, barbeque chicken, funnel cake, popcorn and strawberry shortcake.
The exhibits of the fair celebrated the long tradition of farming in Durham. The Farm Museum at the fair featured a nineteenth-century corn grinder, a wooden stove, a saw mill, a cheese press and an original John Deere tractor.
“[The John Deere tractors] are the Cadillacs of tractors,” said Krishna Winston, professor of German Language and Literature, who attended the fair on Sunday.
Another exhibit featured collector’s items such as vintage dolls, furniture, and pottery from Durham residents.
“Most of the time, people [in the area] will approach us saying that they have artifacts that they think could be in the fair,” said Ron Lynch, a volunteer with the Durham Fair.
According to Lynch, the Museum plays an important role of remembering the farming heritage of Durham
“The fair reminds me and most of the people my age, of what we went through growing up,” Lynch said. “Farms are disappearing like crazy, and education is important. It is important to let the youth see how things were not too long ago.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the 10 percent population growth in the state of Connecticut is expected to intensify pressure on companies to buy and commercially develop agricultural land.
The Durham Fair is also distinguished for being the largest fair run entirely by volunteers.
“This is my third year volunteering,” Lynch said. “I first started volunteering when a friend of mine invited me to volunteer with him.”
According to Lynch, most volunteers are Durham residents. Other volunteers come from local churches, civic groups, and organizations.
“The camaraderie among [the volunteers] is great and we have a good time,” Lynch, who expects to volunteer in next year’s fair, said.
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