Western Fair
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The Western Fair is an agricultural fair held annually in London, Ontario, Canada in early September.
The first Western Fair was held in September 1868 in downtown London, northeast of the current location of Victoria Park. Organizers had hoped to use the Crystal Palace Barracks as the main exhibition area. Livestock shows took place on the parade grounds outsite the Crystal Palace.
In 1887, when it gained legal status through the Provincial Charter and Act of Incorporation, it moved to 316 Rectory Street in east London, where the fairgrounds remain today. The present Fair Grounds were purchased for $65,000. Except for an eight-year period between 1939 and 1947 when the Canadian Department of National Defence occupied the grounds, the Western Fair has operated on the new site.
The Western Fairgrounds are open all year. Apart from the fair itself, the Western Fair Raceway, slot machines, former Western Fair Museum and Archives(closed in 2005), an agricultural complex and a former IMAX theatre are located there.
The Western Fair Museum and Archives began with the efforts of Inge Sanmyia, who was working on her Ph.D. in history at the Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario in 1997.
Her three-month summer research project soon became the foundations for the Western Fair Museum and Archives. Since 1997 she has designed historical displays for the Fair and written its history: A Celebration of Excellence: The history of the Western Fair.
In 2002, Dr. Inge Sanmiya began an outreach program which included, giving lectures locally and within the 14 counties of southwestern Ontario. She has written articles for a variety of local and regional newspapers, historical journals and magazines.
John Huse Saunders was President of the Western Fair Association (WFA) for 22 years. He devoted more than 50 years to the Western Fair and was known throughout North America as a poultry breeder. After receiving Honorary Presidential status the WFA changed the by-laws and limited the term to three years.
The Board of Directors of the Western Fair are currently deciding what to do with the $4-million IMAX building, which closed after nine years on November 30, 2005, due to a lack of patronage (an average of 100,000 patrons per year).
[edit] External links
- WFA Official website
- Link to a Virtual Tour of the Western Fair
- IMAX shuts out the lights
- A Celebration of Excellence: The history of the Western Fair Inge Sanmiya WFA 2000 ISBN 0-9687675-0-8
- Ferris Wheels in Canada
