The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2008 13 10 Reasons to attend the Acton Fall Fair Custom make Premium Wines Proud sponsor of the wine competition at the Acton Fall Fair Vintners of Acton Acton Precast Concrete Limited Enjoy yourself at the 95th annual Acton Fall Fair! See you at the tractor pull at noon on Sunday Quality concrete products since 1963 853-1529 Dr. Stephen A. Hess & staff ACTON VETERINARY CLINIC 10 River Street 853-1450 Wishing everyone a Great Fair Weekend! 16 Mill Street East, Acton ON L7J 1G9 Tel: (519)853-9555 Fax:(519)853-9555 Email: actonbia@aztec-net.com Web: www.dowtownacton.ca downtown acton Enjoy the Fair! Welcomes everyone to Acton & the 93rd Fall Fair 1) Most people I talk to tell me how much they enjoy living in Acton and that the small town felling is very much a part of that image. The event is run by a dedicated group of volunteers, most of them your neighbours, who devote countless hours to en- suring everyone has a good time during Fair weekend. Neighbours helping neigh- bours is an important part of living in a small town. 2) Although the Acton Fall Fair has an exciting midway with rides, games and ven- dors, it ha managed to stay true to its agricultural roots (no pun intended since this years theme is Rooted in Time 95 Carrots). Come and see the various agricul- tural exhibits. The Homecraft displays feature quilting, pre- serves, baking, and a host of other skills that were common in the past but, with todays busy schedules, are becom- ing less common. I think its important for children to see for themselves that the food we eat doesnt originate in a supermarket. 3) Education Day is a big part of our fair. Children from grades one through five are brought to the fair from school on Friday mornings. There are activities such as hay wagon rides and wheelbarrow races, interactive displays, a petting zoo and various information tables. Admittance for these children is free for this event. This is just another example of the community spirit of the members of the Acton Agri- cultural Society. You can best show your appreciation by coming to the fair from Friday at 4pm to Sunday afternoon. Pre-schoolers and seniors are welcome to attend education day events. Pre-schoolers must be accompanied by an adult. 4) I think the KenJen Petting Zoo is a fantastic addition to our fair. Children today may know what a sheep looks like from TV, but how often do they get to actually pet one? As the father of four children myself, I found my kids tended to be rather insulated from common domestic animals. The KenJen Petting Zoo gives kids the opportunity to get up close and personal to the animals we are all so familiar with and a few we only see in the movies. 5) For the big kids the fair ahs all sorts of pulls. Friday night is reserved for Heavy Horse Pulls and Log skid- ding contests. Again, this goes back to our agricultural roots when strong horses were necessary for ploughing fields and harvesting trees from the bush. From the modern era we have highway truck, lawn and garden tractor (some obvi- ous modifications), antique tractor and 4x4 truck pulls. The noise these mechanical marvels makes just adds to the overall atmosphere of the fair. 6) The Spot in the Park is a popular attraction. This is one of the few venues not aimed at children; obviously. Our children are grown now and look forward to meeting old school chums and neigh- bours at the popular venue. I hear them on the telephone, Meet you at the beer tent on Saturday. Former residents now living out of town have told me they always check out the beer tent to see if old friends or neighbours are in there just hanging out. Halton Regional Police are stationed at the Spot in the Park to make sure no-one gets carried away. But if they do, the Police make sure they are carried out. 7) The Acton Agricultural Society is a non-profit organi- zation. This is not to say that the object of having a fair is not to make a profit. The fair could not have survived for 95 years if it continually lost money but, and its a big but, all the profit generated by the fair stays in our local commu- nity. I have already mentioned that the Agricultural Society is a totally volunteer organiza- tion. They only have one part time employee to help with the myriad of organizational and financial details. How does the community benefit, you may ask? The new Agricultural So- ciety building, where many of your children play indoor soccer, is one example. The Agricultural Society, with much appreciated financial support from the town, owns and operates that building. There are plans to refurbish the old drill shed which is also located in Prospect Park. Your support in at- tending the fair comes back to the community in the form of facilities that would oth- erwise not exist and various school award programs. 8) The Miss Acton Pag- eant itself is another example of the society staying true to its roots. These days the politically correct term tends to be Ambassador of the Fair. The Society made a conscious decision to buck this trend and honour their history. Personally, I ap- plaud that decision. 9) The Fair Board spends a considerable amount on entertainment. There are pro- fessional performers during both the Friday night Miss Acton Pageant and Saturday the Grant Daniels Band fol- lowed by The Good Brothers show runs from 7:30pm to 10:30pm in the Agricultural Society building. All the entertainment is included in Mike OLeary September 19-20-21 the price of admission. 10) There is no number 10. If you are not convinced that coming to the fair is for you, nothing I can write will convince you. For all the rest; See you at the Fair.