Norfolk County Fair marks 185 years of Thanksgiving tradition

It’s a fall tradition that’s been at the heart of the Norfolk County community for many generations.

“It’s the Thanksgiving weekend. We’re 185 years old so there are generations of people that work with us, that volunteer with us and that come here and spend Thanksgiving with their family at the fair. I mean, you can’t argue with 185 years,” said Angela Hogeveen, the general manager at Norfolk County Agricultural Society.

Since opening early this week, the Norfolk County Fair and Horse show has already brought in thousands of visitors and counting.

“We hope for 120, in a good year even higher than that. But we’ve seen a little bit of rain so I would guess it would be close to 120 for sure,” said Hogeveen.

The weather might have been gloomy and gray at Norfolk County Fair, but the atmosphere is anything but.

Visitors flocked to the livestock show ring to not only seek shelter from the rain but to watch the llama costume competition.

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One by one the llamas came out decked in their most creative costumes together with their handlers.

“My daughter’s over there, green and yellow. So they’re just kind of looking to showcase their skills. Right now it’s really about the llamas so that the llamas are okay with the costumes being over their ears, over their eyes, down their legs, across their body, as covered as they can be as — the best points that they’d like to get,” said Sue Clark, one of the costume contest participants.

These llamas are ready to outshine each other and vie for the top prize.

“Bragging rights and the big Norfolk County Grand Champion Ribbon is what they’re looking for,” said Clark.

Beyond the fun and food, the annual fair is also a celebration of harvest season and a chance for the region’s farmers to showcase their crops.

“All sorts of field crops, fruits and vegetables, plants and flowers — and that’s kind of the heart of what we are as an agricultural society,” said Hogeveen.

And what fall fair is complete without pumpkins. But this year, Hogeveen says some farmers had a little problem bringing their prize-winning pumpkins in.

“There are tons of enormous pumpkins. I think that the winner was about 17,000 pounds this year, not quite the record but pretty impressive. And there’s a lot for them to see,” said Hogeveen.

By the time it ends on Thanksgiving day, the Norfolk County fair would’ve closed another big event, with a record breaking number of 200 vendors this year and lots of happy visitors.

READ MORE: Norfolk County Fair kicks off today until Thanksgiving Monday