Carberry Fair

Since 1883, the people of Carberry and its surrounding district have gathered once a year to compare the products of the fields and gardens, show off the farm stock they worked hard to raise and train, display their domestic skills and, incidentally, to have more than a little fun!

The Carberry Agricultural Society hosted the first fair in October, 1883, on Carberry's Main Street, and in 1885, moved the fair to an area north of Jardine Street where the fair was held till 1897. Many buildings were erected to house the exhibits, the most notable of which was the famous Round House (the Horticultural Building), now an officially designated Heritage Building, which can still be viewed at the current Fair Grounds south of Fifth Avenue. In 1897, the fair date changed from October to early summer, and drew a whopping attendance of over 2000 people, one of the largest crowds ever assembled on the Carberry Plains. The Fair (and the Round House) moved to the present Fair Grounds in 1899, and the grounds have been maintained and developed there since.

No fairs were held in 1904, 1910, 1933, the last omission due to the great depression of the Dirty Thirties.

Over the years, activities at the fair have included harness racing, chuckwagon racing, Fat Stock shows and sales, seed fairs, plowing matches, bingo, dances, carnival midways, petting zoos, heavy and light horse competitions, homecraft exhibitions, horticultural displays and competitions, children's art competitons, commercial displays, food booths sponsored by community organizations, parades, barbecues, Queen competitions, Fine Arts displays, gymkhanas, old-fashioned dress competitions, beard-growing competitions, gopher extermination contests, corn ensilage competitions, pet shows, dog obedience demonstrations, and vocal and instrumental concerts.

The tradition continues yearly on the first weekend of July. Come and join in the fun!

NOTE: The sources of this information are listed in the Bibliography and are available at the Carberry North Cypress Library and the Carberry Plains Archives.