HOULTON, Maine – In northern Maine, July 4 means celebration, independence, fireworks and the start of the region’s agricultural fair season.
Things are off to a bang with the opening of the Houlton Agricultural Fair running Wednesday through Sunday at the Houlton Fair Grounds in Community Park.
“I’m looking forward to another great year of the Houlton fair,” Paul Cleary, fair president, said in a press release. “Without the help of more than 100 volunteers every year, the fair wouldn’t be a success.”
New to the fair this year is the Live and Local Music Fest starting Friday at noon, featuring local bands on the softball field.
There are agricultural events for farmers young and old, including antique tractor pulls, horse shows, market hog shows, a pig scramble, a sheep show, a dog show, rabbit show and cooking contests featuring the best of northern Maine’s bounty including apples, blueberries and dairy products.
Throughout each day, families can take part in sporting events from traditional to a little offbeat like softball and soccer contests or try their hands at a Hula Hoop contest and frying pan tossing competition and the salsa-chugging contest.
Other events include Dan Grady and His Marionettes, a midway, karaoke, pie eating contests, a piñata contest, a scavenger hunt and Moxie chugging.
Starting around 9:20 p.m. on the Fourth is what organizers are billing “the largest fireworks show north of Portland for the holiday” on the fairgrounds.
Admission to the Houlton Agricultural Fair is $10 per person with on-site parking available at $5 a vehicle.
Friday is the fair’s Family Fun Day and admission is $25 a carload.
For complete information and a schedule of events for the 2012 Houlton Agricultural Fair visit houltonfair.com.
Saw houlton’s parade today. Pretty good except too many tractors and what was up with the border patrol vehicles? One was missing parts and the other wasn’t even washed! Carelessness…
I agree that while a lot of people like to see Bartlett’s tractors, they don’t have to see every single one of them every single year.. They could get by with bringing 10-12 different ones every year. The 25 mins it takes for them to go by is the most boring part of the parade for a lot of people.
My only other critique would be that who ever lined up the parade, probably shouldn’t have had that small group of kids marching right behind the old tractor trailer and in front of that large thing behind them.(lime spreader?) Neither operater could see the little kids very well. They should have been with any other walking group either before or after the big vehicles, not in the middle of them. That is a potential accident waiting to happen – even in a parade. Plus that old truck gave off a lot of exhaust right in their little faces.
Other than that a nice parade. I would like to see the award winning Houlton High band in parades too. If Southside can do it, the High School should be able to find enough kids out of that 100 member band. They are soooo good, it’s a shame they don’t preform in the parade