Farmington Fair opens Sunday

FARMINGTON — Sounds of metal being pounded echoed at the fairgrounds Thursday as people set up food booths, rides and the Exhibition Hall.

The work will come to fruition on Sunday when the 169th Annual Exhibition of the Franklin County Agricultural Society opens the Farmington Fair to the public.

All the workers need now are fair-goers and for the good weather to continue through next week.

The grounds open at 8:30 a.m. for the steer and oxen scooting contest for children ages 9 to 15. The Exhibition Hall will open at 10 a.m.

Ernest Lane of New Vineyard had backed his empty animal trailer partially into one barn. He was just finishing putting up pens for the Lane Family Barnyard in a livestock barn.

"It's quite a bit of work setting these pens," Lane said. "I set them up today because we're doing the New Portland Fair Friday and we'll be coming here Saturday."

Several yards away, members of the Franklin County 4-H Beef Booster group were bringing in supplies.

"We usually do well here," Moe Powers of Jay, one of the assistant leaders, said. "We start on Sunday."

Over at the Exhibition Hall, Agricultural Society representative Glenda Barker showed off the new 4-H booth area. It shares the first floor with the granges from Chesterville, North Jay, Wilton and Farmington, Barker said.

"When we remodeled the hall we had done it with partitions," she said, so it would be easier to adapt for displays.

The seating area in the pulling ring has been reinforced and a lot of floor work was done in the grandstand area of the race track.

The dirt track area was groomed Thursday by a truck pulling grading wire.

Sandee and Dick Welch of Rumford hauled in six bushels of apples and were setting up the Maine Elks pie booth. A seventh bushel would be brought in later. The Welches picked the apples at Shackley's Orchard in Livermore before heading to the fairgrounds.

Sandee Welch, the exalted ruler of Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks No. 862, usually makes 100 pies herself and others bake pies as well. All kinds of pies, not just apple, she said.

The proceeds benefit the Maine Children's Cancer Program.

Over in the midway workers from Smokey's Greater Shows were setting up a Ferris wheel along with other rides.

Specially priced unlimited ride days will feature a $15-per-person charge from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 21, and $20 per person from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Admission to the fair that runs from Sunday, Sept. 20, to Saturday, Sept. 26, is $5 for ages 12 and up, except on Tuesday when senior citizens will get in for free. For children ages 8 to 11, admission is $1, and ages 7 and under are free.

dperry@sunjournal.com