“This is a celebration of the end of the year.”

That, in a nutshell, is what the Timmins Fall Fair is all about. And as Rock Whissell, President of the Fall Fair and Market Manager of the Mountjoy Market, says there is plenty to celebrate.

“[For] the farmers, it’s a tradition to celebrate your harvest, celebrate your summer,” Whissell said, “and to be able to share with your friends and your family members, the success you’ve had throughout the summer.”

This year’s Fall Fair celebration will be filled with activities, music, food, animals and dancing. It’s a family-friendly event that lasts the whole weekend, starting on Saturday, Sept. 8th at 9 AM.

One of the biggest shows happening at the fair this year is the BMX Bike Shows. The talented biking stunt team, Craz-E Crew, will be performing 7 shows this weekend. Four take place on Saturday, and there will be three shows on Sunday. The first show for both Saturday and Sunday starts at 11 AM.

The popular Baby Contest is back this year. That takes place on Sunday, from 1-3 PM.

Horses and animals will be a big feature for this year’s fair. This year there will be a Horse Pull, an event that promises to be a big hit.

“The older generation have been following the horse pull for a long time,” Whissell commented, “but I think the young generation haven’t seen exactly what the horses can do.”

The Chenier Motors Horse Pull takes place on Sunday at 1:30 PM. A regular horse show will also be featured and you can catch that on Saturday from 9 AM to 12 PM in the horse ring. And if kids want to get up close and personal with the animals, the petting zoo will be returning from Southern Ontario. Over 40 animals will be available for kids to pet and feed.

If the kids prefer magic over animals, then they’ll be happy to see Eric the Juggler walking around the Fair this weekend. Eric is a magician and juggler and he’ll be performing two shows on Saturday (12 PM and 2 PM), and one on Sunday (12 PM). Eric will also be performing for crowds on the fair grounds throughout the weekend.

One of the main locations people will want to check out at this year’s fair is the big tent outside that is dedicated to the Farmer’s Market. There will be 26 local vendors on Saturday and 24 on Sunday. Whissell is particularly excited to see the Farmer’s Market at the fair.

“To see 26 local vendors with local products and people that make their own stuff,” Whissell said, “it’s nice to see that the people are coming out to share what they make in their gardens. And I think that tent is going to be a real highlight throughout the weekend.”

Whissell says the Market is a great way for local farmers and gardeners to showcase their summer’s harvest and to share their summer experience with others in the farming community.

“To encourage each other and to learn from each other,” Whissell said, “it helps growth, it helps everybody learn how to work together and create better gardens and more products out of your gardens.”

There will be prizes for the exhibitor’s products being judged and awarded throughout the weekend. Farmer’s showcase their local food, crafters showcase their works and judges coming in on Friday judge everything and award 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes for items over the course of the fair.

Saturday night at the Fall Fair, the event is going to change from a harvest festival to an evening of dancing and entertainment. At 7 PM there will be line dancing, and at 9 PM Johnson’s Creek will be performing on the main stage. Bands will be performing until about 1 AM.

The Fall Fair has brought in big crowds in the past, with last year’s numbers at around 4,600 people attending. This year, there are over 100 volunteers that will be working throughout the weekend, and a 20 person committee has been working all year to organize and execute the fair.

“They’re one of the main reasons this fair has been so active and so popular and growing every year, is because of these 20 members that are dedicated to helping out,” Whissell said.

The Fall Fair is running this weekend at the Mountjoy Arena, from 9 AM to 8 PM on Saturday, and from 9 AM to 4 PM on Sunday. General Admission is $10. For kids 3-12, it’s $5, and kids under 2 get in for free.

For an updated calendar of the events taking place, head over to the Fall Fair Facebook page.

You can visit the official Fall Fair website here.