Published in The BANAR June 2021
by Kendra Brett
I recently had the privilege of looking at some photos of FunFair from a few of the older issues of the BANAR, and although many aspects of FunFair have changed since 1971, the community involvement and dedication to putting on FunFair has not changed!
In both the 1978 and 1980 issues of the BANAR, the FunFair chair recognized the contributions of the FunFair directors, as well as the involvement from all the different community members and groups, such as the Brownies, Cubs, and Baseball. In 1980, there was even a special shout-out to The Westpark Connection and The Woodhill Wombats (groups of volunteers from different streets in the Hamlet) for their involvement with FunFair. The Westpark Connection organized crafts for kids, entered a bed in the bed race, supplied moving trucks, and helped secure a loan for the stage. The Woodhill Wombats ran the beer tent and won a trophy for their steam engine float in the parade!
While the softball tournament still takes place at FunFair, some other events have fallen to the wayside. In 1980, there was a roller-skating competition that featured prizes such as ‘most graceful’, ‘best backwards’, and ‘funniest’. That year, the teen activities also featured chocolate roulette, basketball toss, nail driving, milk bottle toss, darts, flycasting, and a teen tug-o-war. For the younger kids, there was the 3-legged race, a sac race, and the ever-popular fish pond game!