FRYEBURG — Fryeburg Fair President Roy Andrews cut the ribbon to officially open the new $2 million-plus Mountain View Pavilion on Tuesday, the largest building on the grounds.

The 120-by-240-foot structure can house 400 sheep and 80 cattle. It has a ventilation system, a show ring, bleacher seating, audio and visual wiring, and a rotating livestock stage.

It replaces a sheep barn and a cattle shed that burned in July 2018 due to an electrical malfunction.

 

Nancy McBrady, director of the Bureau of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources said the loss of the historic buildings last year was devastating for the Fryeburg Fair community.

“July of last year, a traumatic event did occur; a blaze burned down the sheep barn and the cattle barn,” she said at the ceremony Tuesday. “The blaze was so intense it required a response from 20 fire departments from New Hampshire and Maine to come together.”

But out of the ashes, a new, state-of-the art facility rose.

“There was no doubt that it was quite a shocking loss,” McBrady said. “It was devastating to the community here at the Fryeburg Fair. But, here we are at this new state-of-the art facility, and what an asset it is. It’s a crown jewel.”

During Senior Citizens Day on Tuesday, barbershop singers Arnie Jordan, Carl Cappello, Ted Tracy and Walter Dowling serenaded fairgoers with renditions of traditional favorites such as “Sweet and Lovely” and “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.”

“‘We walk around, and where we can see some smiling faces, we’ll sing a song or two,” Cappello, a baritone, said.

“People light up,” he said.

“We’re part of the Downeaster Barbershop chorus based in Portland,” he said. “We’ve been coming out here, some of us, for more than a quarter-century on a senior day to sing for the seniors.”

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