Northern Maine Fair introducing new layout, activities for fairgoers

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The 164th annual Northern Maine Fair will feature a new layout this year, with much of the action taking place around The Forum as well as new parking spaces and hottop that aim to make events and activities safer for families, according to Lynwood Winslow, president of the Northern Maine Fair Association.

The festivities will kick off Friday, July 27 and feature a variety of agricultural and family-friendly activities through Saturday, Aug. 4.

The fair midway, which formerly was located separately from The Forum, will now wrap around The Forum building and feature a brand new hottop. Instead of driving through a ticket booth at the Mechanic Street entrance, people will enter through a designated vehicle entrance and park near the former indoor pool building. Separate walk-in entrances will be located from Mechanic Street and the parking lot. The State Street entrance will remain unchanged from previous years.

“The association felt that having a separate parking area would make the fairgrounds safer for people and that hottop would make the experience more pleasant for people, especially those with strollers or wheelchairs,” Winslow said.

The new midway will feature popular fair rides such as the ferris wheel, skydiver and carousel, an outdoor music stage that will include performances from Heath Bartley, Star City Syndicate and County Combo Jazz, and the ticket and information booths.

This year the newest event will be the Mystik Magic Illusion By Anastasini shows, which will occur during all nine days of the fair with three shows per day on the weekends and two shows per day weekdays. The site for those shows is in front of The Forum.

Another new event is the Commercial Expo and Marketplace at The Forum from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday, July 30, through Friday, Aug. 3, and from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 4. The event will feature about 95 business vendors and will take the place of the long-running Northern Maine Agri-Business Trade Fair, which was cancelled in March due to vendors with limited products and questions about the fair’s agricultural focus.

The evening and weekend hours are meant to attract businesses who might not be able to send their employees to the trade show during the day, Winslow said.

The Forum also will host the Rods, Rides and Relics car show on July 28 from noon to 9 p.m. and July 29 from noon to 3 p.m. Vintage cars, trucks, snowmobiles and motorcycles as well as the Optimus Prime Replica Truck, known for its appearance in the “Transformers” movie series.

Agricultural activities will include the popular “Lil’ Farmers at the Fair,” a livestock show, agricultural exhibition building and 4-H and Future Farmers of America activities. The grandstand will host truck and tractor pulling, a demolition derby and Summer Motor Mayhem. Folks can come to the racetrack to enjoy harness racing and a Kids Nights on Tuesday, July 31. A fireworks display will be held that same evening after dark.

Winslow has been president of the fair association for two years now and previously held that position from 2007 to 2008. He has been involved with the fair for most of his life and participated in agricultural activities as a child. He has seen firsthand how much the fair has changed over the years all while still drawing support and appreciation from business sponsors and families who attend.

“We have amazing support from local business sponsors, who help cover for $90,000 of expenses, which allows us to keep all these events as affordable as possible,” Winslow said. “It takes 250 volunteers and employees to pull off the fair every year and we work hard to honor the agricultural traditions of Aroostook County while making the atmosphere a family friendly one.”

For a complete schedule of events and listing of ride pass specials go to http://northernmainefairgrounds.com/.