Quebec’s oldest fair returns to Lachute

The twinkling lights of the midway, the roar of the crowds and the smashing sound of demolition cars grinding together are only hours away, as residents in Lachute prepare for the 186th annual Expo Lachute Fair from July 7 to 10.

Established in 1826, the Expo Lachute Fair is the oldest agricultural fair in Quebec and across Canada, it is second only to the Williamstown Fair, which is commemorating its 200th anniversary this year.

The fun begins on Thursday, July 7 with a parade of horses, floats and tractors that will leave Richelieu Park and travel down rue Principale to the fairgrounds.

A weekend farmer's market is sure to attract attention on Saturday and Sunday, as local artisans display their wares in a tented village of locally produced goods.

Free wagon rides are intended to allow visitors to discover the entire site and to rest their legs in between pony rides, competitions and midway games.

Jello wrestling in the beer tent on Friday night is sure to generate some laughs but if that isn't your flavour, the Counterfit band will also be playing in the beer tent on Friday, while fans in the grandstands cheer on the competitors in the heavy-horse hitch competition and the modified lawn-tractor pull.

Saturday will dawn with a full lineup of activities, including an antique tractor pull, livestock judging, the heavy-horse hitch class, Little Ray's Reptile Zoo and an evening demolition derby that will begin at 6 p.m. with a tug-of-war competition during intermission.

Activities come to a close on Sunday with a light-horse competition, a Holstein dairy show and the down-and-dirty mud-bogging competition.

The principle of mud-bogging is simple. A muddy pit is filled with water and participants get the chance to board their all-terrain-vehicles, trucks and other modes of transportation and attempt to cross. Those who don't make it will be dragged from the pit by a hydraulic shovel while the crowd roars with laughter and the mud flies.

Closing ceremonies will be held on Sunday during the Expo Lachute Supper, which offers a sampling of local produce and a large buffet of food. Tickets are available for purchase and the money that is raised will be used to support the next fair and to help raise funds to change the roof on the beef barn, which was built in 1947 to house around 50 cows during the fair.

This year's honorary fair president is Saint-André d'Argenteuil dairy farmer, Kenneth McOuat, of Harvest Acre Farms. The two honorary lifetime members are Clifton Berry and Pierre Sabourin and the fair president is Scott Lees.

For more information or to register for events visit www.expolachutefair.com