Next week, the Manitoba Summer Fair will be coming back to Brandon for its 130th year, offering loads of new exciting features to compliment the returning favourites.
"The fair has been going for 130 years now," said Karen Oliver, General Manager of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba.
"The summer fair started the same year Brandon was incorporated. We go back to the very beginning of the community, starting small but as tradition continued the summer fair has become an important part of Brandon's community."
Many of the favourite attractions at the fair will be continuing this year, such as the Summer Saloon and Slingshot ride, and even more are being added.
"For people who are real thrill-seekers, we have a zip line this year," said Oliver. "We also have a really neat attraction called 'wobbly waterballs,' which is a big pool of water with big hollow balls that people can enter and walk around on the water."
Instead of a motocross display this year, the fair is featuring something called 'Elastic Gymnastics,' which is a spectacular aerial performance that utilizes a special type of bungee cord.
The bungee allows performers to execute a multitude of spectacular and graceful moves while being suspended nearly 40 ft in the air. Brandon's favourite performer, Doodles the Clown, will also be returning with his 'unbelievable' antics, alongside newcomers Terry Stokes and Daniel Steep. Stokes is a premier hypnotist who has starred at the Calgary Stampede and is a regular at the Tropicana in Las Vegas, while Steep puts on an informational magic show called 'Agri-Magic,' as a high energy and interactive was to promote a positive image of the Canadian farmer to kids. Two new rides, the Twister and the Spidermania, are also being added this year.
With new attractions come new special events, the first of which kicks off on the opening day.
"We are starting on Wednesday with a 'Salute to Heroes'," said Oliver.
"During last year's fair we were still fighting the flood, and we found a lot of the regular fair-goers could not make it because they were working to help fight the waters. So we are offering them a lower pay-one-price ticket for only $25. This is for all firefighters, police, Shilo personnel, and paramedics. It's our way of saying thanks and making it easier for them to come." The Provincial Ex is also working to improve their Aboriginal showcase at the fair this summer. "We are working alongside a student from ACC's Aboriginal Community Development program and the Friendship centre to grow our Aboriginal Showcase this year," said Oliver. "Every day of the fair will have a display of Aboriginal culture, and on Saturday we will actually have a powwow demonstration that will be really spectacular. We have a high population of Aboriginal people in Brandon, and we feel that this will help two communities that don't mingle much to understand each other a little bit better." There will also be a new hub area at the fair this year, featuring three large inflatable 'tornado tubes' for fair-wide visibility, the area will include guest relations, child finding services, St. John's ambulance, and the StarFM broadcasting booth. "One thing we strive for is enforcing the idea that the fair is not only for under-30 folks and the midway," said Oliver. "We strive to change things up each day. We have a new venue now called the Towne Square in the UCT Pavilion that will have horticultural displays, artwork, and displays from local museums as well as a place to sit and have a drink. It's a little slower-paced than the midway, and a great place to adults to go and see some of the exhibits by skilled people in the area."
The Towne Square will also be featuring an old-time dance for seniors on Thursday night, a German themed night on Friday, complete with 'oom-pa-pa' band, and a 1950's style 'sock hop' dance on Saturday. Finally, Sunday morning kicks things off early at 9:30 a.m. with Breakfast Under the Domes, a pancake breakfast in the Dome Building. Breakfast will cost only $3 per person, with proceeds going to the building restoration, and anyone who partakes in breakfast will be able to get free entry to the fair between 11:30 a.m. and noon.
There are countless activities set to make the Summer Fair exciting, so make sure you pick up your tickets at both Sobeys locations or the Shoppers Mall.