This Labour Day weekend, the 63rd annual North Thompson Fall Fair and Rodeo is set to take over Barriere.
The action will buck up at the fairground’s main rodeo arena starting at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 1, and continues until Sept. 3.
This year’s theme is Bulls, Boots and Broncs.
Beef, sheep and 4H competitions will be held at the new 35,000-square-foot North Thompson Agriplex.
For kids there’s an Ag Can Be Fun tent, where a five-foot teddy bear will be given away to a participating child on each of the fair's three days.
An outdoor stage features special performances runs throughout the weekend, and there’s an open mike area in the food court for anyone wanting to take the stage and share some tunes.
Saturday evening, there’s a family dance at The Ridge, with tickets available at the door. The same night, the Cabaret Dance happens at the Fall Fair Hall (advance tickets required).
Sunday morning Butch Falk and Rob Dinwoodie play at the Cowboy Church Service on the outdoor stage at 10 a.m., and in the evening, there’s a Cowboy Concert at 7:30 p.m. in the Fall Fair Hall featuring Butch, Rob, Hugh McLellan, Darrell and Saksia, Gordie West and the all-girl cowboy band, Horse Crazy.
The weekend will see heavy horse competitions, a light horse show, pony chariot and chuckwagon racing, trick riders, commercial booths and exhibits, a fall fair parade, a children's parade, free workshops, bingo every evening and more.
“In this modern and technological era, it is easy to blissfully go on our merry way, finding all we need to clothe and feed our families at stores,” said Jill Hayward, president of the North Thompson Fall Fair and Rodeo Association. “Part of the mission of the North Thompson Fall Fair and Rodeo Association is about education . . . (and) providing a venue where visitors can meet the families who grow the food (and) raise the stock.
“We need to say a big thank-you to the people who still work the earth, raise the stock, and feed the world. Without you, we'd all be lost.”
Camping is available on site.
For more information, see www.fallfair-rodeo.com.
