The Citizen, 2017-02-09, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2017.
Countdown to
0
•
Brussels Fall Fair at IPM begins to take shape
Welcome to the fair!
Cutting the ribbon at the Brussels Fall Fair has always been a unique experience and you can
bet that the 2017 fair will be no different. Here, Mervyn Bauer, left, and Nicole Noble, right,
assist as Ambassador Tiffany Deitner cut the "ribbon" at the 2015 Brussels Fall Fair. This year's
fair will be a bit different, but one of the most important in the Brussels Agricultural Society's
history. (File photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
This year's Brussels Fall Fair
represents just one of many firsts
that the International Plowing Match
(IPM) in Walton will bring to the
world of competitive plowing in
Ontario.
As well as having the first-ever
female chair in IPM history in
Jacquie Bishop, this year's match
will be the backdrop for the first-
ever authentic rural Ontario fall
A massive undertaking
The Brussels Agricultural Society was just putting away the
Fall Fair decorations for another year when it took on a
massive tractor parade and evening of food and
entertainment just days after the fair. The event served as
the official passing of the torch from International Plowing
Match 2016 to the 2017 match in Huron County. President
Matt Cardiff is seen here speaking at the event, which
ended at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre.
(File photo)
fair to be held at an IPM.
This is a responsibility that those
involved with the Brussels
Agricultural Society, as well as the
organizers of the 2017 IPM, don't
take lightly. And, now as the months
have gone on, details about the
partnership and what the fair at the
IPM will look like are beginning to
emerge.
Matt Cardiff, the youngest -ever
president of the Brussels
Agricultural Society, is the man
behind the partnership. He said that
when faced with the fact that the
traditional date of the fair would be
during the 2017 IPM he didn't see a
challenge, but rather, an opportunity.
"It sounded like a great
opportunity to do something
different," Cardiff said.
The proposal dates back to 2014
when discussion began and then at
the society's annual meeting in
January, 2015 when the concept was
formally put to the society.
What would follow were a number
of monthly meetings during which
the logistics and feasibility of
hosting the Brussels Fall Fair at the
IPM were discussed at length.
Those meetings culminated in a
secret ballot vote among members of
the society at their May 6, 2015
meeting at the Brussels Library in
which 83 per cent of members voted
in favour of holding the fair at the
IPM. Bishop had been in attendance
at the meeting to deliver her final
pitch to the group, but then excused
herself ahead of the vote to ensure
members would be able to express
their opinions freely.
With the immense positivity
surrounding the proposal after
several rounds of problem -solving
sessions, the decision to host the fair
at the IPM was met with a round of
applause by the over 60 members of
the Brussels Agricultural Society in
attendance that night.
At the time, Bishop also
applauded the decision in an e-mail
to The Citizen.
"We feel that it is very fitting with
the celebration of Canada's
sesquicentennial anniversary to
include a historic, authentic rural
fair, which has been the fabric of our
rural community longer than the
confederation of our country," she
said. "We welcome the
resourcefulness and vision that the
fair members have and look forward
to working with the volunteers from
the community of Brussels and
beyond with this endeavour."
Once the decision had been made,
the society struck a special
subcommittee to handle all things
associated with hosting the fair at the
IPM, which included
Secretary/Treasurer Brian Schlosser,
former Presidents Dorothy
Cummings and Nicole Noble and
President Matt Cardiff.
Since then plenty of work has been
done and details have been ironed
out, which have brought into focus
what the 2017 edition of the fair will
look like at the IPM.
The fair will be housed within a
tent that measures 60' by 150', a
footprint that will provide exhibitors
with as much as space as they would
have at a normal fall fair at the
Brussels, Morris and Grey
Community Centre, if not more,
according to Cummings.
And while the details surrounding
a midway being part of the 2017 fair
have yet to be finalized, both Cardiff
and Schlosser are optimistic that
fair -goers will exit the Brussels tent
into the midway to complete the
authentic fall fair experience.
Cardiff says he hopes to secure at
the very least a ferris wheel that will
encourage IPM visitors to take in a
bird's eye view of the grounds at the
crest of the wheel's revolution.
With these grand plans come
grand expectations as Schlosser, a
long -serving member of the society,
has guaranteed that 125,000 people
will see the fair as a result of the
move.
It's possibilities and opportunities
like having 125,000 sets of eyes on
all Brussels has to offer that made
Schlosser feel the decision to host
the fair at the IPM was a no-brainer.
That enthusiasm and confidence
has been crucial going forward, as
Schlosser says his biggest challenge
on a day-to-day basis has been
convincing doubters that the society
is capable of pulling off such a
massive undertaking.
"It's getting easier. We're all on
board now," Schlosser said. "One
person at a time you just have to
explain how it will work."
Part of the plan to make things
special for the 2017 fair are the new
ribbons being introduced by the
society this year — a decision that
was approved just weeks ago at the
organization's annual meeting.
The ribbons will honour the 100th
IPM, the 156th Brussels Fall Fair
and the 150th anniversary of
Canada, which is why the ribbons
will be coloured brilliant red and
white. They will also be significantly
bigger than ribbons from previous
fairs.
Another departure from the fall
fair's norm is that the ribbons will be
distributed to all who enter their
work into the fair this year, not just
those who place first, second or
third.
While the ribbons are just one
more way to encourage participation
in the fair, the hope of members of
the society is that the more people
enter, the better the exhibition is for
the community of Brussels.
"I thought it was a fabulous idea,"
Cummings said of hosting the fair at
the 2017 IPM. "It means so many
more people we can showcase
Brussels to."
Cummings also added that the 4-H
component of the show, which
includes both beef and sheep
competitions, will be much bigger as
well, because they will be held in the
Dodge Ram Rodeo ring, which is a
great opportunity for young 4-H
members to reach larger audiences
than they've ever seen before.
While many of the fair's displays
are anticipated to come from
Brussels and area residents,
Cummings and others have already
been proactive in recruiting regular
IPM -goers to be part of the fair and
to show off all they can do.
At the 2016 IPM in Wellington
County, society members distributed
literature on the fair and its many
categories to those camping at the
site, hoping to encourage them to
enter items into the 2017 Brussels
Fall Fair.
This means that when IPM -goers
arrive in Walton on the Monday of
the match, they will be asked to enter
their items at the fair tent, where
they will be taken in alongside items
that had been dropped off at the
Brussels, Morris and Grey
Community Centre over the
weekend to be judged and awarded
in time for the fair to open its doors
on Tuesday morning when
Continued on page 9
JOIN US FOR
Maitland
Conservation's
Annual Meeting
it 46r Pir
Feb. 15, 2017 at 7:00 PM
Snow Date: Feb. 22, 2017
For information:
www.mvca.on.ca
519-335-3557
Council Chambers
Township of North Huron
274 Josephine St., Wingham
16.*1
' Maitland
MO CONSERVATION