One of the area’s oldest traditions continues this weekend at ODAS Park
After being limited to a one-day event the past couple of years, the 173rd Orillia Fall Fair will take place over the course of two days: Friday and Saturday.
“The sled team that has the weight for the truck and tractor pulls didn’t have the staff, post-COVID, to run the event on Friday night,” explained Erin Abbott, ODAS Park manager. “They are now back to normal staffing levels, and we are able to run on Friday night this year.”
The truck and tractor pulls are among the biggest draws of the fair. On Friday night, local highway trucks and tractors will be put to the test before modified sanctioned vehicles take over the show Saturday evening. The main event of the weekend, the demolition derby put on by Impact Motorsports, will take place Saturday at 1 p.m.
“That’s our big draw on Saturday afternoon,” Abbott said. “People will come early to get seating for it.”
Abbott says it’s important for the area to have a fall fair to celebrate its agricultural history.
“For most of us in this area, our ancestors were the people who were producing all of our local food,” she said. “If we don’t have them and if we don’t have agriculture, we don’t have food today.”
The local fair is older than Orillia itself. The only time the Sunshine City didn’t have a fall fair was in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War.
“It’s a family tradition that has been celebrated through many generations,” Abbott said.
The biggest part of the fair that will still be missing from before the pandemic is the midway. Abbott says the midway company asked for $100,000 to operate at ODAS Park this year.
“In the past, the midway company paid us to come,” she said. “A lot of midway companies have shut down, can’t get new rides over the border, or don’t have any staff.”
She notes that there are 18 other fairs happening in Ontario this coming weekend.
“If you don’t have a midway, you aren’t getting one unless you have $100,000 to shell out,” she said. “We don’t.”
The midway used to be a big attraction for thousands of local teenagers and kids, Abbott says.
“It’s absolutely a big loss for us to not have a midway,” she said. “There is literally nothing we can do about it, unfortunately.”
Returning events this year include horse pulls, cattle and sheep shows, and the international plowing match. A full schedule of events can be found here.
“We have a lot of vendors registered, free face painting, a magician, and inflatables, so it would be great to have everybody back out again,” Abbott said.
The two-day price to attend the fair for those 15 and older is $15. Admission for kids five to 14 is $5, and it is free for anyone younger than four.
“We are a not-for-profit organization,” Abbott said. “Any of our income goes to putting on our events that we have every year or towards maintenance on our buildings that have been here for over 50 years.”
