male: Yah.

male: Yah.

♪♪♪ ♪ Grandfather, grandfather, hitch up your gray mare, ♪ ♪ out along, down along, out along lea.

♪ ♪ Ussuns must go to the old county fair, out along, ♪ ♪ down along, out along lea.

♪ ♪ Grandfather, grandfather, hitch up your gray mare, ♪ ♪ out along, down along, out along lea.

♪ ♪ Ussuns will dress in our best truly fair, out along, ♪ ♪ down along, out along, lea.

♪ ♪ Grandfather, grandfather, hitch up your gray mare, ♪ ♪ out along, down along, out along lea.

♪ ♪ Ussuns must go to the old county fair, ♪ ♪ out along, down along, out along, down along, ♪ ♪ out along lea, the old county fair.

♪♪ Leslie Webster: I was three years old when we went to the fair the first time with my father with horses.

We lived in Fitch Bay, and he drove 'em to Ayer's Cliff and showed 'em.

Every year after that, I think I was at the fair.

I don't think I ever missed one.

We love it.

Love it.

Everything, people, the animals, everything.

Well, I mean, I don't know.

I can't really explain it to you because it's right in our blood.

Well, I mean, I wanna go out to his -- I am sure of it.. ♪♪♪ female: We're cleaning, but it's really quite clean actually.

We didn't have any mice or anything.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ female: I miss them, but it's only four days, so it's not that bad.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Lyle Roarke: The Ayer's Cliff Fair survives on its volunteers, and the fair is just not a--they're not a huge cash generator.

It's just the fact of life of a fair.

You hopefully make enough to start the next year's fair, and that's about what you do.

Ayer's Cliff Fair have been blessed with generations of volunteers, people who deeply care about the fair.

It's not a weekend deal.

Jennifer Bowen: My first memory of the Ayer's Cliff Fair is being an exhibitor in the horticulture department.

As a teenager, I volunteered at the gates, and I also assisted in various buildings wherever they needed help to ensure that the fair functioned smoothly.

When Jamie Webster was ready to retire, my boss, Lyle Roarke, asked if I was interested in being the next fair secretary, so I gave it a little thought and said, "Sure, why not?"

and that was back in 2010, and this is where it all happens, whether it's questions, information, contracts, people looking for ribbons, everything happens in here.

♪♪♪ Tricia McDaid: I didn't know how much I would love it, you know, that this would become another aspect of community and family-- Okay, so, if somebody asks about the bin-- Tricia: --and that it--bein' a part of something like that really feeds you.

Tricia: This is where we keep all of our minute books.

Everybody's name who's ever participated or volunteered is in here--ooh, it worked--all the history of the fair from 1845, minus about 20 years, due to a house fire.

"We, the subscribers, being anxious to promote the prosperity and welfare of our county and encourage the improvement of agriculture and the rearing of livestock, have for the purpose formed ourselves into an association to be known and distinguished by the name of the County Agricultural Society."

Tricia: So they were people that, you know, would've grown their own food, built their own house, raised their own livestock.

This was where the first fair happened in 1845.

Johanne Brouillet: [speaking French] Angus MacKinnon: Ayer's Cliff Fair is somewhat of a bringing together of the English-speaking community, which I grew up in.

I went to a French school, but I always felt part of the English community.

I saw a lot of potential in the fair, and it was part of my community.

My father was involved.

My great-grandfather was the president of the Stanstead County Agricultural Society, as that's what it was called back in the day, exactly 100 years before I became president.

Angus: Today is move-in day at the Ayer's Cliff Fair, and so we've just installed some water bowls, and we bedded the other night with straw and shavings, and we're gonna hang our sign in a minute, which is kind of a big thing 'cause it means it's official.

Angus: Is that straight?

female: Yup.

Angus: So we can now officially say it's the start of the Ayer's Cliff Fair, heh-heh, heh-heh.

♪♪♪ female: 'Cause that's where the hay is gonna go.

male: Okay, there.

♪♪♪ Angus: When you walk into the Ayer's Cliff Fair, it's like walking back in time, and that's what people want.

We try to add on some new things here and there to have some variance in the schedule, but we try and keep as much of the old as possible.

♪♪♪ [baaaaah] ♪♪♪ [baaaaah] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Tricia: Carlos Pierce had the horse trotting grounds since Stanstead Plain, and for about 12 years, the permanent residence was in Stanstead Plain until he passed away, and then that's when there were a couple years where it was moving around again, and the people wanted a permanent spot for the fair.

Tricia: In 1872, the Stanstead County Agricultural Society moved to what was then called Ayer's Flat, and that would be the current home of the Ayer's Cliff Fair.

Johanne: [Speaking French] Angus: As you walk around, you see neighbors and friends talking, renewing old friendships, whether it be walking down a horse line where the stalls are.

It's all the same exhibitors year after year, so it's like a reunion for them too.

♪♪♪ Angus: I usually have cattle there although my daughters and nephew take care of them for the most part.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Tricia: We like everyone to be in, I think, for 12 noon on the Thursday.

That's when we start charging people to coming in.

♪♪♪ [moooo] ♪♪♪ male: Get his tail, his groin too.

♪♪♪ Tricia: Poultry people come in a little bit earlier.

It all depends on which day they have their judging.

♪♪♪ Tricia: The ladies' department is on Thursday, so everything would have to be in on Wednesday.

Angus: And the largest section is the kids' section where they bring in their paintings and pictures of farm scenes and other activities that they've done throughout the year.

female: Now, this is love right here, this is-- Ellie (Bowen) Bailey: I'm a longtime committee member in the ladies' department and the craft department here.

I participated here when I was age seven with my sewing in 1959.

We're really trying to find different categories, jewelry, house decorations, ceramics that would still catch the interest of the younger generations.

It's a pleasant place to be because you see the community.

The county passes through this building at one point or another.

Angus: Well, when you first walk on the fairgrounds, of course, the midway welcomes you.

Far as I know, the midway has always been there, heh-heh, as back in my memory.

It's all part of the ingredients of the fair, and I hear stories of kids asking, "When is the fair?"

This is in June.

"When is the fair?

When is the fair?"

And it's certainly a rallying point for the kids in the community.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ female: Plus five.

Johanne: [speaking French] Tricia: There's nothing more magical than that wall of gladiolas when you first walk into the horticulture building.

It's an opportunity for people to participate in the fair that maybe don't have a farm because you're looking at a garden, you know, your flowers, your baking, and then there's the field crops as well.

You need that to feed your animals, and it's terrific when our local farmers participate.

They're not winning a ton of money, bragging rights.

I think the thing is that, for a lot of people, it's their tradition, you know?

Their parents brought them to the fair with their grandparents, and they've always exhibited.

They've always volunteered, and so it's their family tradition.

Mildred Miller: Ayer's Cliff Fair was always the highlight of our summers.

I met Dale, and we were married in 1950, and we have four wonderful children, and they've all been a part of Ayer's Cliff Fair.

Dale was with the fair board and volunteer work, of course.

Angus: The Women's Institute Tea Room, a long-held tradition at the Ayer's Cliff Fair, and we are so thankful for the Women's Institute that still put it on.

Although dwindling in numbers, we're still very happy that we can provide a quiet area for the people in the community to go in and have a cup of tea.

Jennifer: Attendance is very good between 20,000 and 25,000.

Lyle: But we run pretty steady the same typical crowd, the same crowd that comes year after year.

We draw a few more of the U.S., I think, each year.

A few more come in from Ontario than we used to see.

Angus: Ayer's Cliff Fair went through some pretty tough times with dwindling gate receipts and the buildings falling down, various economic constraints that governments went through in the '70s and '80s.

We saw less and less involvement by the governments, and it was then that, I think, some people, it crossed some people's minds, before my time, but it crossed people's minds of, "Well, will it make it another year?"

and there was a group in the community, the Brus family, the Antek families helped out a lot.

My father and others decided to "Let's try and rejuvenate this fair.

We can't let it go that easily."

It pumped new life into the fair, and it has been going well since.

♪♪♪ [moooo] [moooo] Jim Dempsey: Fairs are a form of advertising for our farm and for everybody's farm.

♪♪♪ Jim: It's a way to compare our cattle against other people's cattle and--but it's--there's a limit to the seriousness you can--you need to take with it.

♪♪♪ Jim: Like, small country fairs like this is good.

It's more camaraderie than too serious, heh-heh.

Angus: For the most part, I think that the local agricultural fairs have become more of a pastime than actually a business decision.

There are fewer exhibitors at the fair now 'cause we have fewer farmers in the area.

Farms are larger and less time to run to the fair, so we try and encourage farmers to still come to the fair because we still have a role, I think, to play in educating the public on agriculture in general.

Tricia: The fair is really, really focused on our youth and our youth members, and a lot of them come up through the 4-H.

The dairy booth is a big, fundraiser for the 4-H.

The fair and the 4-H work hand in hand.

Having them involved in our fair is very, very important for our longevity.

♪♪♪ [horse neighs] ♪♪♪ Jennifer: Saturday, all day, is very busy.

A lot of families come in on Saturday to enjoy the midway but also just family activity with the kids.

female: Ahhh, he-he-he-he.

Jennifer: The 4-H draws in a nice crowd, and the cattle show as well.

Angus: And then there's the grandstand that people go and sit down to relax either in the shade or to see what's going on in the horse ring whether it be Gymkhana events.

There are a lot of the kids' games that they have.

They have the costume classes, barrel racing, or flag events.

male: Go, go.

male: Way to go, Angus and Jack Barrel.

Pretty good for a dairy farmer.

Jennifer: We always have plenty of horses.

Draft horses, they are enjoyed by especially the seniors.

They love to come in and see the draft horses.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Allan George: My name is Allan George.

We're from Bishopton, Quebec.

Our farm name is George's Clydesdales.

My father was a horseman all his life.

He started when he was five years old.

Back then, everybody worked with horses.

I've been coming to Ayer's Cliff Fair for around 45 years, and we come here to compete in the heavy horse classes, and we go in about 15 classes during the weekend.

♪♪♪ female: To the left of the stage, your winner of the entry of George's Clydesdales with Jason Taylor and Kylie George.

male: Yeah.

Peter McHarg: Yeah, I like to watch all the horses, you know?

Of course, when the race horses come in, I love to watch the races as well.

If it wasn't for the Ayer's Cliff Fair boys working so hard, we wouldn't have had races at the fair.

We sponsored it ourselves, and, to me, that was really important because horse racing was one of the primary reasons they started the fair.

[crowd cheering] Angus: We have the longest running racetrack in the province.

At one point in time, we were the only ones who had the license to run a race in Quebec, but we held onto it and kept it as a tradition.

[rooster crowing] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Angus: The Ayer's Cliff Fair motto is "Where the city meets the country."

That motto came into effect probably 20 years ago.

Lyle: It's good for our young people to see, you know, the livestock and the horticulture and the handiwork and everything.

Angus: There's now a void between the urban dweller and the farmer or country person providing the food for the people in the city.

A lot of times, you'll ask young people, "Where does milk come?"

They'll say, "It's from the store."

They don't realize what all goes into it.

So, hopefully, the Ayer's Cliff Fair can help bridge that gap.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Peter: The fair is still a real country fair, and, you know, we still have all the same activities that we had back then.

male: And now we have Libby Mill Alpacas.

Angus: We ask all exhibitors to come out to the animal parade, and that usually plays to a great crowd of enthusiasts.

male: The sheep, they'll be followed by the goats, then we have miniature horses, and we have the beef cattle, dairy cattle, and light horses.

"My name is Flora Guswain.

My Blue Andalusian chicken is Pirate.

Pirate won Grand Champion in 4-H Poultry."

This is King.

He's been showing in the parade here for 12 years.

He weighs 2,400 pounds.

♪ --public education.

♪ ♪ Blame smoke on the fire.

♪ ♪ Blame fire on the smoke.

♪ ♪ Blame the fight on the bouncer that couldn't take a joke, ♪ ♪ but it ain't my fault.

♪ ♪ I got my hands up.

♪ ♪ I need an alibi.

♪ ♪ Find me a witness who can testify.

♪ ♪ You made a mistake.

♪ ♪ You got the wrong guy.

♪ ♪ I'm only guilty of a damn good time.

♪ ♪ No it ain't my fault.

♪ Jennifer: The only thing that I stop and I end my Sunday is for the truck pulls.

I really enjoy the truck pulls.

[male announcing] [engine running] [engine buzzing] Jennifer: I don't know.

I think it's the noise.

I think it's these--the smoke from the trucks.

It's probably the breakdowns that people enjoy when a truck is broken down.

[engine whirring] [male announcing] [engine whirring] Jennifer: But it's just an intense activity that I enjoy, and it seems to fill the grandstand on Sunday nights.

male: We'll put a couple bales of hay before we-- Angus: You know, we're glad when the fair comes, and we're glad when it finishes too because we're all exhausted from the weekend, however, we start thinking about next year's fair, the day after, and what can we change what can we improve.

Tricia: You know, there's a lot of fairs that have, you know, died, and we're still going, but things have changed a lot.

Angus: We started a small change now with different new directors that have come on, who are from the French community, living in Ayer's Cliff, and they're very attached to Ayer's Cliff and very attached to Ayer's Cliff Fair and realize the importance of tradition.

Johanne: [speaking French] Lyle: You've got a sense of pride, you know?

You might even get a little touch emotional now and again that, "Hey, this is really workin'.

All of the hard work we went through has paid off for us."

Peter: You know, we all have different personalities.

We all have different things that we think should be done, and as a fair board, we get it all together, and it comes out to be one beautiful show.

Mildred: It was--Ayer's Cliff Fair is special.

Always has been--hopefully, always will be.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [baaaa] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪