The annual Drayton Fair will feature more hands-on events along with traditional crowd favorites this August.
Natalie Green, secretary of the Drayton Mapleton Agricultural Society, said their main events are usually the truck tractor pull and the demolition derby. They’re hoping events that people can participate in without needing a truck or tractor will draw in more people to the fair during the day.
“New this year we’re having the two-man log saw competition. And we had it last year, the excavator games. We’re trying to appease some of the bigger boys. They needed something to play with so we got two excavators and they do some games, it’s a competition. It seemed to go well. But with the first year, not as many people knew about it. There were a lot of guys that couldn’t wait to get their hands on playing with something they don’t normally get to play with. It’s usually picking up or moving something,” Green said.
It costs $20 each to play the excavator games on Aug. 9 from 11 a.m. to noon, with $250 in prize money to be won. It costs $5 per team per try for the log saw competition, with multiple tries allowed for a chance to win $100.
“We wanted more hands-on events. It’s nice to go see a truck and tractor pull, but it’s also nice to have during the day something else to do,” Green said.
This year’s theme is bees and bears. The hope is to educate more people about how vital bees are to our agriculture and environment. Cedarwood Honey will be on hand with educational material and honey for sale. And to incorporate bears there will be a teddy bear picnic with crafts, and snacks on Sunday.
It’ll cost a bit more to get into the fair this year, due to rising costs. Children under five will still be free but children 6-12 will pay $5 to get in. The children’s wristband is good for the whole weekend. Adult wristbands are $10 and they go up to $15 after 5 p.m. There also will no longer be family passes.
“The price of everything has gone up. So to help cover these events, the majority of money comes from admissions. We get a huge support from donations and sponsorships, but the rest is covered by us. So to keep the fair going, unfortunately the rates usually have to go up as well,” Green said.
Other events include the heavy horse show, goat show, dairy cattle show, garden tractor pull, baby show, pet show, miniature horse show, beef cattle show, and sheep show. There will also be new food vendors, including a pizza truck and a smoked meat truck, along with the usual fry and ice cream vendors.
The local truck and tractor pull runs Aug. 7 at 6:30 p.m., with different classes of trucks, tractors, and farm tractors.
The demolition derby is Aug. 9. It costs $25 to enter and there’s $1,500 to be won. Drivers have to register between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and be at the drivers’ meeting at 1:45 p.m. before the show starts at 2 p.m. The three derby classes are six-cylinder cars, eight-cylinder cars, and two-wheel drive half-ton trucks.
“Last year was a really good success,” Green said. “The weather plays a huge part. Getting to see all the old and new tractors last year brought out quite a few people.
The Drayton Fair runs August 7-9. For a full schedule of events visit www.draytonfair.com.
