PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The pouring rain and incoming thunderstorms did not damper the spirits of those who still came out to celebrate the opening day of the 164th annual Northern Maine Fair on Friday night.
Although much-anticipated outdoor events such as the international truck and tractor pulls at the grandstand and both the 5:30 and 7 p.m. Mystic Magic by Anastasini performances were canceled and the midway remained mostly empty, many indoor events still drew in a handful of people who believed the show must go on.
Staff Photos/Melissa Lizotte
Inside the agriculture exhibition building, the bakers and their supporters waited anxiously as the whoopie pie contest judges, Nancy Wright and Shelly Caldwell, sampled eight recipes in both traditional — chocolate pie with white filling — and non-traditional favors — everything from strawberry shortcake to pumpkin to blueberry lemon.
In the traditional category, second place went to Sierra Galipeau, 14, while first place went to Norma Bondeson. Non-traditional category winners included Sierra Galipeau in third place for her strawberry shortcake recipe and her sister Piper Galipeau, also 14, in second place for her blueberry lemon recipe. First place went to London Putnam for her pumpkin recipe. All first and second place winners received $25 and $10, respectively, while the third place winner for non-traditional received $5.
The fair will host numerous food contests through Aug. 4, including the parent and child cookie contest at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Chilli Cook-Off at 6:30 p.m. Monday, the Pie in the Sky contest at 6 p.m. Friday, and the Maine Blueberry Pie contest at 1 p.m. Saturday. All contests will be held in the agriculture exhibition building and include chances for fairgoers to sample each entry after the winners are named.
Delicious food contests are one of the many reasons why Rachel and Barrett Fisher of Fort Fairfield hope to make the Northern Maine Fair a yearly tradition for their daughter Emma, who will soon celebrate her third birthday.
“This is her third time coming to the fair and she loves the petting zoo and all the different food,” Rachel Fisher said. “Rain or shine you have to come. It’s the fair.”
Just next door in the agricultural heritage building, visitors could view antique farm equipment loaned to the exhibition by community members, including horse-drawn soil diggers, wood potato conyeyors and handmade potato barrels. One exhibit featured a photo of one of the most unique tractor pulls ever done at the fair — an elephant named Big Babes pulling an Oliver 77 Diesel Power Tractor in 1952. Another exhibit paid tribute to local potato distributer Larry Thibodeau, who contributed millions to the Maine potato industry before passing away in 2005.
Later Friday evening the rain slowly tapered off but many still chose to remain inside the exhibition buildings. Some made their way back to The Forum near the fair entrance to enjoy the Rods, Rides and Relics car show, where classic cars, trucks and motorcycles from the 1950s to the 2000s were on display.
The entries included everything from the more traditional, such as Cadillac DeVilles, Chevy trucks and Harley Davidson motorcycles to the unique, such as a 1998 Power Parachute owned by Fred Haines of Presque Isle and a 1996 Cadillac Hearse owned by Craig Green of Presque Isle.
Despite the dire weather, Cindy and Steve Deschene of Presque Isle came out to enjoy the car show, where Steve displayed his 2016 Polaris Slingshot motorcycle.
“We come every year for the harness racing, the tractor pulls and the lumberjack roundup,” Cindy Deschene said. “The fair gives people something different to enjoy every year.”
On Saturday, the rain from the previous evening gave way to sunny skies as more families lined up at the midway for a chance to go on some of their favorite rides such as the carousel, Tilt-A-Whirl and the Tornado. Those with younger children drifted toward the less harrowing but still fun activities, including the petting zoo and Lil’ Farmers at the Fair exhibition.
At the petting zoo, 4-year-old Asher Guerrette peered inside an enclosure that housed pigs both big and small, while his younger brother Ezra, 2, and parents, Chelsea and Will Guerrette of Mapleton, looked on.
“What do you like about the fair, Asher?” his mother asked. “Seeing the animals and the tractors?”
Asher nodded his head shyly while he stared at the pigs.
“We’ve come every year since the boys were born,” Chelsea Guerrette said. “At this age, they’re all about the animals.”
Just down the path near the midway, siblings Nevaeh, 8, and Kassidie Lopez, 6, and their cousin Aaliyah McKay, 5, got down from the Air Time ride excitedly and were more than happy to share their favorite parts of the fair.
“Everything!” Nevaeh Lopez said. But if she had to pick at least one favorite fair ride would choose, “The bumper cars.”
“I like the swings,” Kassidie Lopez said, referring to Air Times, and McKay agreed.
The girls attended the fair with their grandmother Rose McEwen.
“The fair is a great place to gather as a family and to give the kids different activities to do,” McEwen said.
Making the Northern Maine Fair a family-friendly event that honors Aroostook County’s agricultural roots has been a goal of Lynwood Winslow, president of the Northern Maine Fair Association, and his colleagues. To help the annual events become more accessible to all attendees, they changed the layout of the fairgrounds to include hottop pavement and repositioned the midway and parking spaces near The Forum.
The fair still has numerous activities in store until its final day on Saturday, Aug. 4, including musical performances, magic shows, 4-H and Future Farmers of America competitions and harness racing. For a complete schedule of events, visit northernmainefairgrounds.com.
