Heavy traffic was no deterrent for more than 17,200 people who bought a ticket to the Saanich Fair on Saturday.
Fair committee chair Jenna Saunders of the North and South Saanich Agricultural Society, said no attendance records were broken Saturday, but she’s expecting a larger crowd today. “People seem to be having a really good time in this beautiful weather.” Saunders urged visitors to purchase tickets online so that they can maximize their time at the fair.
Kayleb Shields walked 1.5 kilometres to get to the fair after he was dropped near a Central Saanich farm so that his mother could avoid the kilometre-long traffic jam along Stellys Cross Road.
Kayleb was there for the midway rides. “My friends will probably try and talk me into going onto Speed again and I’ll probably do it,” he said. He was also considering the games even though he felt they are “severely rigged.” Jean-Guy Mayer, volunteering at a pop-bottle ring toss with the Air Cadets, said his game was fair and a true test of skill. “As you can see right here, the rings fit on the bottle,” he said, demonstrating exactly that.
No one had won the big prize yet, but lots of smaller prizes had already been given away, he said, adding that the money from the game is going to the Rotary Club of Sidney.
The sheer amount of people on Saturday appeared to cause technical difficulties. Those manning the ticket booths had to use internet connections from their phones for a time to keep debit- and credit-card machines going when the Wi-Fi signal failed.
Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock, who visited the fair by bike via the Lochside trail, said he recommends parking at the bike valet, a new addition at the fair this year. “It was easy, convenient, and I didn’t have to line up for parking.” Motorists faced a wait getting into the parking lot as early as 9 a.m.
Sam Holland, a program developer for Capital Bike, said bike valet users included cyclists from as far as Salt Spring Island and Shawnigan Lake.
The Saanich Fair, in its 155th edition, is the oldest and largest agriculture event of its kind on Vancouver Island.
Alina Moren, 16, and her family travelled from the mid-Island community of Black Creek to participate in the 4-H club competitions. They arrived at the fair at 6:30 a.m. to prepare their animals. Alina and her pure-bred short cow, Spud, placed second in fitting and third in showmanship in her competition division on Saturday. The costs of purchasing the cow and raising it over the past year have totalled about $5,000, but she’ll be making a profit when she sells.
“It’s been quite the adventure. I’ve got two more years before I’m done and I’m looking forward to them,” she said. “You raise them from when they’re tiny and you get to see how well you do at the end.”
Alina said she wants to work as a butcher some day.
Spud is destined for the slaughterhouse this November, she said, with a touch of seriousness.
Then her face brightened up: “But he’ll be tasty!”
• The Saanich Fair continues today 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Monday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Saanich Fairgrounds, 1528 Stellys Cross Rd. Buy entrance tickets ($10 and $15) at saanichfair.ca.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
