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1' 8-- The Canadien Champion, Tuesday, September 23,1997 FLWIKS's ~ ' Milton Fall Fair A last, lively showpiece of life on the farm "You have to keep changing to keep it inter- esting and keep people coming back." -- Halton Agricultural Society pres- ident Tom McDonald By KAREN SMITH The Champion It's time again for the sights and sounds of crunching metal, mid- way rides and agriculture at its finest. The Milton Fall Fair, which attract- ed 14,500 people last year, will be back for another three days of demoli- tion derbies, amusement rides and agricultural activities this weekend. The popular extravaganza put on by the volunteer-run Halton Agricultural Society will feature the traditional events as well as a few added attrac- tions. "You have to keep changing to keep it interesting and keep people coming back," said agricultural society presi- dent Tom McDonald. New this year will be a jumper horse show at 9 a.m. as well as skate- boarding demonstrations Friday at 4 p.m. and Saturday at l1 a.m. And new to the Milton Fair Grounds stage will be the magic of Brian Michaels, the zany musical duo of the Stvlamanders and the country rock group Southem Reign. An addition to the food department will be barbecued chicken. Returning events will be truck and tractor pulls, barrel racing, horse and cattle shows, two demolition derbies, commercial exhibits, a pedal tractor pull, chilli-cooking contest in the beer tent, the midway, petting zoo, 4-H shows, pet shows and agricultural dis- plays. More than 1,500 school children were already registered late last week to attend Youth Day at the fair, and more bookings were expected, said secretary-treasurer Marilyn Gooding, the society's only paid help. Students from elementary schools across Halton and part of Metropolitan Toronto will get an early glimpse of the fair during the special event Friday morming. Activities will feature a farm imple- ment parade, Farmer Lance's pig demonstration and livestock displays. Participants will also witness cheese- making, sheep dog, cow-milking and blacksmith demonstrations. Demoliton derbies More than 80 competitors are busy making final preparations for the demolition derbies - one of the fair's main attractions. The events -- Saturday night at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. -- have earned a reputation as some of the most entertaining and hard-hitting With $1,200 in prize money posted for each derby, entry blanks have been a hot commodity. All 48 available entries for the Saturday evening event are sold out. Additionally, the Sunday show is already half-full and Sunday's special 'Figure 8' heat for four-cylinder cars has just a few entries left. "Our largest field of competitors in history says a lot for the tradition of the Milton Fall Fair demolition der- bies," said organizer Roger Slack. "We already have more cars entered for this year's shows than we did for last year's record-setting year, and that is without the Saturday drivers re- entering for Sunday's event. It is very well possible that we could have a complete sellout of 116 cars for the two days." Overall, the agricultural society tries to provide something for everybody, Mr. McDonald said. Milton's agricultural community is diminishing, but urban residents are still intrigued by rural life, he said. "We're trying to do more education now." The organization has upgraded its cattle display barn this year to make it more inviting for fair-goers, Mr. McDonald said. The fair's back-to-basics Homecraft Division, which this year features the theme, 'Halloween Traditions', is popular among homemakers, Ms Gooding said. "You can't go to the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto) and enter your jams and jel- lies," she said. The Homecraft Division features classes from antiques and collectibles and domestic science to flowers and photography. There are special con- tests for children as well as senior citi- zens. If fairs ever die, it won't be because of a lack of interest, Mr. McDonald said, but rather a shortage of donated manpower. Approximately 30 committees and a total of about 150 volunteers run Milton's fair - a year-round project. Organization of the 1998 fair will start soon after this year's event ends. Volunteers needed "Milton really isn't an agricultural community any more," said Charlie Speck, former agricultural society president. And, Mr. McDonald added, "That's the type of people who help out at fairs." But for now, Mr. McDonald is keeping his fingers crossed for good weather and a crowd of 18,000 this weekend. The fair will open to the public Friday at 3 p.m. The action will con- tinue Saturday and Sunday, opening aI 9 a.m. both days. The midway will open Friday at 3 p.m., Saturday at 9 a.m. and Sunday at noon. Admission costs $7 for adults and $3 for children aged 6 to 12 years. Children aged under 6 are admitted r'- - l' 1. rà lu