Hundreds of residents and out-of-town visitors attended the annual Burford Fall Fair on Saturday, October 3, and Sunday, October 4, 2026.
The event, which took place at the Burford Fairgrounds, kicked off on Saturday with a birds of prey show, chainsaw competition, live wood carving, favourite stuffy competition, a horse show and ambassador auction. Guests were also sure to stick around into the afternoon for a line up of live entertainment from the Murray Williams Band, the Great Canadian Dueling Pianos and the Chaos Kings concert.
Guests also spent their time enjoying classic midway rides and games, exploring the various handcraft and agriculture exhibits, and grabbing a bite to eat from one of the on-site food trucks throughout the run of the fair.
On Sunday, the festivities continued with the RC crawler trials, the toddler farm hopper race, Tractor Club slow races, a princess party, and the inflatable farm animal suit obstacle course.
Other highlights included the baby show, a roast beef dinner, and car show which attracted more than 148 classic, vintage and newer cars.
Throughout the entirety of the weekend, youngsters also got the chance to enjoy their first pony-ride, discover new animals at the petting zoo, sit for a fun face paint design or visit the kids play area. While many took part in the various kids’ pedal pulls, toilet bowl races, kids roping and line dancing, others didn’t miss the opportunity to play around on the straw castle, partake in crafts or face their fear of heights on the rock climbing wall.
“We’re not a huge, fancy fair, but we try to keep it family-friendly. We really aim to make it fun for the kids, and they’ve been running around having a good time this weekend, so that’s what it’s all about,” said Gayle Barker, secretary for the Burford Agricultural Society. “We also know that the cost of everything is continuing to come up and so we try our best to make it as affordable as possible so the families can come out and still have a good time.”
Given that the fair has traditionally been held over the Thanksgiving weekend for decades, Barker said they decided to try something different this year.
“As far as the date change, we’ve had some mixed reviews. I think people, including myself, are sad about it because, let’s face it, it’s a tradition. We know that a lot of families always enjoyed coming here on Thanksgiving weekend, but we had been getting requests from the community to try something different because it just didn’t work for them and they couldn’t come. So we’re trying to accommodate the community and see if things work a little better this way, and hopefully the people who wanted to try a different date, have come out to enjoy the fair.”
Harley resident Ashley Clement, who was attending the fair with her husband and children, said that she and the family have been attending since her oldest was just little, and that they always enjoyed stopping in.
“We love this fair. My husband has been coming since he was really little so it’s important to us,” she said. “I know our kids just love it and we always like seeing people we know while we’re here too, and we always like getting to support local things like this.”
When asked how she felt about the date change, Clement said that while going to the fair on Thanksgiving was always a family tradition, she was personally happy with the date change.
“I like it, I think it was a great idea. The downside is that there’s one less day, but I think everybody’s more available to come out, and now we’re not really competing with the bigger fairs either,” she said. “There’s no harm in giving it a try, and I know from the friends and family we’ve talked to, most people are on the same page.”
While there’s been no word yet as to whether the agricultural society had a high attendance with the date change, Barker said she couldn’t be more thankful to everyone who makes the fall fair possible year after year.
“This fair is run by a whole lot of people who love what they’re doing, and we couldn’t do this without the families that volunteer, or our student volunteers that come and help on the weekend,” she said. “Also our sponsors, without them there would be no fair and so we’re always so pleased with the people who support us; not just them but the people who come through the gate too.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
