Elementary School Fair celebrates another successful year in Belgrave

BY SCOTT STEPHENSON

In Huron County, there’s no surer sign that summer vacation has ended and the school year has begun than the spectacle of the student foot parade that kicks off the Elementary School Fair each year. 

 

This showing of scholastic strength traditionally begins with a great amassing of all participating students in a field, who then proceed to stride down a side street, class banners held high, until they arrive at their destination: the Belgrave Community Centre. Upon arrival, the teachers work in concert to temporarily corral their flock of students within the confines of the baseball diamond so they can be addressed by visiting dignitaries from all levels of government, after which they are turned loose for a full afternoon of activities of all kinds.

 

This year, there were firefighter demonstrations, a robot-battle ring and alpacas, and so much more. Students presented their best sheep, calves, and goats during the livestock show, and the arena was filled with impressive agricultural entries and creative craftwork, all made and grown by students that rose to the occasion of the friendly competition.

 

The opening ceremonies occurred during a particularly hot moment in an otherwise temperate day, and the speeches were wisely kept short and to the point. Morris-Turnberry Mayor Jamie Heffer thanked all the volunteers who made the fair possible, and encouraged the kids to go all out. “Enjoy the day, take in everything you can, and engage with everything you can!” he said.
North Huron Reeve Paul Heffer added his “kudos to the younger generation!” and Minister of Rural Affairs, Lisa Thompson, was also in attendance, representing the provincial government. She spoke to the students about the significance of their school fair. “You’re carrying on a tradition that’s over 100 years old,” she pointed out. It is Thompson’s opinion that the Belgrave fair is, in fact, the longest running elementary school fair in all of Canada.

 

MP Ben Lobb applauded the commitment of the school board, the agricultural society, and the parents that took the day off to volunteer at the fair. He explained to the children that he attends many, many fairs each year, and let them know that, “Each fair is unique in its own way, but this fair is the most unique, because this is the only one that’s all about the kids.”

 

Elementary School Fair Ambassador Revel Beck closed the ceremony with the speech she’d been working on all summer, and summed up her official position on fairs with her trademark succinctness. “I wanted to be the fair ambassador because I love fairs,” she stated, and with that, the wild rumpus began!