100th Annual Prince George Exhibition
Join us to celebrate 100 years of the Fair!
August 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th 2012
99th Prince George Exhibition:
Another successful Fair wraps up!
A successful 99th Prince George Exhibition wrapped up on Sunday August 14, at 6pm. The thunderclouds and rain that threatened sporadically throughout the final day of the five day event showed up in full force at 6:03pm, like a giant exclamation point to mark the occasion.
Another attendance record has been set! 46,700 people came through the gates and competitors attended from as far away as Oklahoma. Entry items in Home Arts & Horticulture came from as far away as Vancouver and from throughout northern BC communities such as Fort St. John, Fort St. James and Vanderhoof. We welcomed visitors from Australia, South Africa and Britain and from throughout Canada and the U.S. that were here visiting family and friends or that stayed an extra day or two on their way through to other destinations. We welcomed busloads of kids from McLeod Lake and Fraser Lake and visitors from all over northern BC.
The opening day Trooper concert was at maximum capacity, the Thursday night banquet was over capacity and the lineup for the Sunday morning pancake breakfast was long but worth the wait for a hot breakfast on what started out as a wet and chilly morning. In between, the draft horse pulls saw packed stands as did the “West Coast Lumberjack show”. “Dan the One Man Band” created his own crowd wherever he went and the “Mountain Men” are a PGX favourite. The “Timebenders” shows had folks up dancing and there was not a seat left in the beer garden for the Saturday night bull riding and much of the crowd kicked it up at the subsequent “Bull Rider’s Ball”. The outdoor “Celebration! Community Stage” showcased some amazing talent from Prince George and surrounding communities….from solo singers to entire bands, lone dancers and entire dance troupes. “54” from Vanderhoof was extremely well received and this group is talented! The food court was busy and offered everything from deep fried pickles to perogies, spicy butter chicken and mouthwatering samosas.
The 4-H Auction was well attended and our future farmers are pleased with their sales and the number of buyers that attended. Heritage Lane was busy with performers and the “Art at Work” program in addition to the flag exhibit dedicated to fallen Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. It was sobering and tender to reflect on the people and families behind all of those names, and a reminder to be joyous of the sun on our faces, the wind in our hair, the laughter and the company of others as fairgoers enjoyed the Exhibition. There was a lot to see and do (events, contests, exhibits, shows….) and it was all done very well!
Without our sponsors and funders, the annual Prince George Exhibition would not have lasted for almost a century and this edition is no different. Local businesses donated everything from equipment, signs, water, feed for the animals and people and media support to t-shirts for volunteers and first aid for the entire fair.
It was the volunteers that ran the fair and at peak periods they numbered upwards of 1,000 strong all over the fairgrounds, busy keeping the grounds clean or distributing water to fellow volunteers, judging and running errands, chairing competitions and entire events, updating this website or caring for the animals. Dozens of partner organizations and chair people in Heritage Lane, Agriculture Alley and in Home Arts (REAPS, David Douglas Botanical Garden Society, Enhance PG, PG Beekeepers Assoc., Huble Homestead etc.) are proof of the vast and diverse number of successful PGX partnerships at work!
When you meet the President and members of the Board of Directors around town and in their places of employment and business, please shake their hand and thank them. The 99th PGX began long before August 10 and does not end on August 14 for this hard working and invested team of people: Nancy Loreth, Cheryl Levesque, Lucia Fendelet, Ken Johnson, Della Bondarchuk, John Baragar, Heather Carter, William Bruens, Wayne Reed, Lynn Wildi and Tim Yule. The same goes for the crew in the office and on the maintenance team: Donna Maskell, Kait Greer, Danielle Faulkner, Hilary Booth, Todd Barclay, Michelle Townsend and Eric Torres. It was a joy to work with such a hardworking and fun bunch; many are back to their studies in September and bound for Toronto (Kait) and Vancouver (Danielle and Hilary). I hope your memories are fond ones and that you return for the centennial in the summer of 2012!
We welcomed competitors, exhibitors, vendors and concessionaires from near and far and they, coupled with dozens of contractors that could charge us so much more for their professional services (but don’t) all build this fair, year after year. Of course, it would not be possible without YOU, our fairgoers! YOU are the primary supporter and end user and this is YOUR exhibition…..and without YOU it would not be necessary or possible.
A Silver Stetson Salute to Y’all!
From the Desk of the General Manager
Terri McConnachie