By Kathy McCarty, Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — The 159th Northern Maine Fair, slated for July 26 through Aug. 3, has its first-ever female president, with the election of Carol Bell earlier this year. “Carol’s the first female president the Fair Association has had. This signifies the direction the fair is going,” said Lynwood Winslow, assistant treasurer.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
A NEWLY-REFINISHED Northern Maine Fair sign will be used this year. Lynwood Winslow, assistant treasurer for the Fair Association, said the sign was discovered in storage and recently was refinished by Rick Guerrette.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
CAROL BELL, who was named the first female president of the Northern Maine Fair Association earlier this year, was on hand last week to provide an overview of what’s in store next week.
“We have many new family events, brought by the ladies on the board. Carol is leading us in the right direction,” said Winslow. “She’s one of those people who’s community service all the way.”
Bell met with local media on July 18, offering an overview of what’s in store this year.
“We’re an $800,000 business. We bring a lot of people and money to town,” said Bell, as she began a slideshow of what’s planned for the coming week.
Several new things are on the agenda, according to Bell.
“We have a whoopie pie event, draft horse shows and music outdoors. We’ll be holding a Texas hold ‘em poker tournament. The Demolition Derby will feature not just cars but pickups this year, as well as the Tough Truck Show,” said Bell.
She said Rods, Rides and Relics features a vintage racecar museum.
“This also marks the 40th anniversary for truck and tractor pulls at the fair,” Bell said.
The BMX bike show and freestyle event also returns this year. There will be a bear show, a pig scramble and the ever-popular Princess and Pirate Party.
“We’ll have a Paul Bunyan look-alike contest, as well as the Miss Northern Maine Fair pageant — so far 39 girls have signed up. We’ll offer our first scholarship with that this year,” she said.
There will be a woodcarving exhibit. The Baby Beef event returns, as will the blacksmith shop.
“We’ll also have our popular cooking contests. There’ll be a cupcake decorating contest for kids and a parent-child cooking contest,” she said.
Food will be the focus of several activities, including cake decorating, a healthy potato recipe contest, chili cookoff and pie event.
“We’ll have the lumberjack roundup, with both women’s and men’s events. Harness racing will feature both day and night races. The Historic Pavillion will be packed with lots of interesting items and will have an area for those interested to share their stories, which will be recorded to preserve oral history,” said Bell.
Many popular activities return this year, including: fireworks, the music festival with nightly performances and Smokey’s rides.
“We have a lot of things. We’re more than just rides. There’s so much to do; so much goes on here,” said Bell.
Much of the fair’s focus remains on education, said Bell, as she turned the meeting back over to Winslow.
“We really put more effort in families — bringing children back to the fair. We’ve created a new camping area and invested thousands in upgrades, including electrical connections and sewer lines. Our goal is to bring families back to the fair,” said Winslow as he began a tour of some of the upgrades.
He indicated the bathroom facilities have undergone an upgrade as well, totaling about $10,000 in improvements.
On the educational side, the Little Farmers area continues to grow.
“We have two or three new things in the Little Farmers display, including a new Spuddy’s Caboose, farmer’s market and blueberry barn,” noted Winslow. The caboose, sponsored by the Maine Potato Board, offers an air-conditioned option for youth who might not be able to make it through the Little Farmers area. “We’ll have activities geared for younger children and an educational video in the caboose.”
Winslow also unveiled a “new” sign that will be used this year promoting the fair.
“We found this stored. It had ‘119’ on it. When we peeled that off, it revealed the number ‘103.’ Rick Guerrette restored it so we can use it this year to mark the 159th Northern Maine Fair,” said Winslow.
