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Cancelled fall fairs have 'staggering' economic impacts to Wellington County

Fairs account for millions in local spending and are big loss to rural communities according to agricultural societies
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WELLINGTON COUNTY – During a season normally filled with fall fairs, agricultural societies are feeling an economic and cultural blow from their absence.

“It’s staggering, I don’t think anyone realizes how big an impact it is,” said Vince Brennan, manager of the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies (OAAS).

Brennan said the estimated economic impact from fall fairs in Ontario is approximately $700 million.

More locally, a report from the Erin Agricultural Society (EAS) showed their fall fair accounts for around $9.5 million in area spending. 

This is the first time the Erin Fall Fair has been cancelled in 170 years.

There are nine fairs hosted by Wellington County agricultural societies including: Aberfoyle, Arthur, Drayton, Fergus, Grand River, Harriston, Palmerston, Erin and Mount Forest. 

“The entire county derives a lot of revenue and the economic impact is really high from the fairs not happening this year,” said Eileen Brown, EAS secretary.

Tayler Black, Fergus Agricultural Society (FAS) president, explained that many vendors, midway entertainment companies and other businesses have lost their entire season because they normally work at multiple fairs.

“That’s something they’re missing across the year, it’s usually a circuit,” Black said. “A lot of them go to all these other fairs and Fergus is just one of those stops.”

This impact is hitting the agricultural societies differently.

For example, EAS owns the land they host their fair on and the buildings on it.

“We own our 25-acres there and we maintain that totally on our own,” Brown said. “That includes the grass cutting, heat, hydro, water, insurance and utilities. We depend on the fair for revenue to generate enough money to pay those expenses and to be able to host the fair again next year.”

FAS rents land from the Township of Centre Wellington to host their fair and he noted they have been very supportive through the pandemic.

“That’s not to say we don’t have our own losses,” Black said. “We do have a lot of expenses through the year that we need to cover whether or not we host an event.”

Back in August, the province announced $1 million in funding for fall fairs, but Brown said this isn’t new funding.

“It’s the same money we’ve received every other year as a grant,” Brown said. “There’s no COVID recovery money coming to any of the fall fairs.”

Brennan said the maximum an agricultural society can get is $3,000 which will have a varying effect depending on the size of the fair.

For many of the larger fairs, he said this amount isn’t going very far.

Brennan said he’s had a frustrating time trying to advocate for more funding for agricultural societies as many don’t qualify for other government recovery programs.

“One of my biggest challenges I had with the ministry is, not only working with the agricultural minister, we’re a major part of the tourism industry and we don’t seem to be included in that portfolio at all,” Brennan said.

“To date I’ve had no response from the minister of tourism in trying to have a conversation about what can be done.”

This is particularly troubling for him as he shared that the Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions has estimated that one in 10 Ontario fairs will shut down permanently without additional funding. 

An OAAS survey has also estimated a total shortfall of $12 million for agricultural societies across Ontario.

“We have as much history and heritage as any other tourism group,” Brennan said. “How many of the agricultural societies are older than Canada itself?”

Brown sees it as a big loss to agricultural awareness.

“I think fairs are vital to the community spirit in the rural areas,” Brown said. “It’s a gathering place for people to come together and celebrate agriculture and thanksgiving in our case.”

Brown wrote to the County of Wellington economic development committee to ask for support to agricultural societies.

The committee was largely sympathetic and concerned about the fairs but had reservations about committing money as many nonprofits are hurting during the pandemic.

Like many other events, the fairs have had to adjust to using an online model to entertain and survive.

“We know that the Fergus fall fair is an important part of the community and people will be missing it,” Black said. “We wanted to give an opportunity to reminisce about the fair.”

EAS is fundraising through an auction and offering baked goods available for pick-up.

Brown said EAS remains optimistic as they have been through worse things than a pandemic, such as a major fire destroying their building in 1994. 

“We’re not closing shop or anything like that we’re carrying on,” Brown said. “The community response is fantastic in Erin. We will survive it but it’s just not easy.”


Keegan Kozolanka

About the Author: Keegan Kozolanka

Keegan Kozolanka is a general assignment reporter for EloraFergusToday, covering Wellington County. Keegan has been working with Village Media for more than two years and helped launch EloraFergusToday in 2021.
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