Published in The BANAR September 2001
by Michael Binda
It was another exciting year for the Fun Fair on June 1st and 2nd. Although we had some rain, the fair was enjoyed by the community of Blackburn Hamlet and surrounding area. The fair attracted great crowds to all events on both days.
I would like to thank all of our various corporate sponsors who gave so generously. Some of our major sponsors included the TD Canada Trust, who sponsored the Bavarian Garden, Loeb Blackburn Market for all the donations of food and for their staff who helped prepare everything, and Lafarge for sponsoring the fireworks. Due to a planning glitch, the fireworks had to be cancelled. Plans are already in place to have them for next year.
We also had many other sponsors that helped in a variety of ways such as the auction, prizes and cash donations. Please note that the Balloon Ride sponsored by Sarah Cloutier of Remax was for two people not one as listed on the auction sheet. As chairman, I’d like to thank all the sponsors once again for all the time and effort they gave to Fun Fair 2001.
This year we tried a few new things that were a pretty big hit with the residents. We had the Blackburn Hamlet Showcase in the General Store as a means to profile stores and services that are in our community. We expanded the Midway and added an extra castle for the kids so as to avoid line-ups. Demonstrations and the reptile show were also very well received by the fair goers. We even had great music throughout the day with the Swampwater Jazz band on the outdoor stage. Of course we kept many favorites such as the petting zoo, candy floss, pancakes and Dr Danic’s Blues Berry Jam band on Friday night.
This type of event would not have been possible without the help of the many volunteers and fair directors. I would like to applaud all their efforts and time to make this 30th anniversary Fun Fair a success. The Fun Fair Board of Directors is a team of dedicated volunteers who usually work for months doing all the planning. This year, time was short and the planning was done in less than two months. BRAVO !