HEATH — Perfect late summer weather and a mix of traditional and new attractions drove record crowds to the Heath Fair, where those who attended celebrated the 100th year for the Franklin County staple.
The event ran from Friday to Sunday and featured the staples of a classic fair including every type of food, amusement rides, booths, livestock and 4-H competitions as well as a parade on Sunday afternoon.
Organizers said between those attending the fair and those entering in competitions, the crowds totaled around 9,000 for the weekend. The event is organized by the Heath Agricultural Society. Justin Lively, president of the society, said Saturday likely broke attendance records. He said the parking attendants were busy from when the fair opened to when it closed, which is unusual.
He said organizers tried to incorporate as much as they could for the 100th year, and though many come out to volunteer and help out during the weekend, they can always use more volunteers to help bring ideas to fruition.
“There’s never a shortage of ideas for this event,” he said.
He said the fair has its roots in agriculture, so it’s important that organizers make sure to celebrate the local farmers who contribute, as well as connect the broader community to those farmers.
Many attendees at the fair described it as a quintessential summer fair that’s not too big, but not too small.
Ken Korby of Colrain brought his 2-year-old granddaughter Ellery, of Montague. Korby was teaching Ellery how to hula hoop on Sunday afternoon.
“We’re usually out of town this weekend and this year we weren’t, so we couldn’t miss it,” he said.
Maryanne Gallagher of Gill brought her grandchildren. She said the commitment of the locals and those who return for the fair is inspiring. For her, the event offers hands-on experiences for all ages to learn and see new things.
“I love that the town is so involved,” she said.
Held at the Heath fairgrounds, at the center of this traditional fair was the 4-H livestock competitions in which children and teens in the area compete.
Becky Peterson of Leyden was this year’s sheep judge. She and the Superintendent of Sheep, Launie York of Shelburne, said the competitions are an important part of the fair each year.
“It’s the best little fair there is,” York said.
The livestock are judged according to breed, according to Peterson, so not all sheep are judged against each other, because different breeds have different characteristics.
While the competitions and the agricultural history are a large part of what makes the fair classic, the steering committee also incorporated new events for the 100th year. Zucchini racing, which asked contestants to attach four wheels and decorate the squashes before racing them on a track, and goat and oxen parades were all new this year.
There were also a hot air balloon raffle, where someone would win a ride for four in a local balloon, a free ice cream social at the end of Sunday and a roaming barbershop quartet.
The Shelburne Falls Military Band performed Sunday afternoon and also participated in the parade, where there was a mix of floats and local firetrucks and police vehicles.
Volunteer Roberta Baker was running the exhibition hall and said all of the commemorative T-shirts were sold out by Sunday. She said there was a line out the door of the exhibition hall on Friday to purchase them, and she ran out of some sizes then.
For those still interested in purchasing a shirt, she said you can go online to cart.silverscreendesign.com/heathfair to order a shirt by Sept. 1.