Volunteers key in success of 166th Annual Bolton Fall Fair

When fair ends, Albion Bolton Agricultural Society begins planning for next big event

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Bolton Fall Fair is looked forward to by residents of Caledon and beyond each year. 

The fair, however, would not be possible were it not for the tireless efforts of many volunteers. 

The Albion Bolton Agricultural Society, which puts on the fair — and the annual Bolton Truck and Tractor Pull — has 140 volunteer members who help make these amazing community events happen.

Jeanette Burnside, a volunteer with the society, shared that this year there were over 15,000 people who attended the fair, which ran from September 19 to 22.

In addition to the 140 volunteers from the society, there were 64 youth volunteers helping out at the fair this year. Together, the youth volunteers put in over 350 hours of service, which they can use to complete their volunteer hours required for high school graduation.

The fair ran a food drive on Sunday, September 22, and collected nearly 2,000 pounds of food to donate to The Exchange, Caledon's food bank. 

Burnside noted the Albion Bolton Agricultural Society wanted to extend a sincere thank you to all of the generous volunteers and sponsors who made the fair a success.

The theme of this year's fair was “Corn Cobs and Combines”, and Burnside said it was great to see all the on-theme creations people made for the homecraft competitions. 

She said the theme also was great for agricultural awareness — at the fair, there were different kinds of combines on display. People who don't live on a farm don't usually get to be so close to the machines, learn about how they work, or even know just how expensive they can be. 

Burnside said the society was happy that the weather was great for the fair. She said the rodeo and barn dance, which were both back for the second time, were big successes again. 

“Everyone was excited, they were well-received. We always try to include a lot with the ticket price,” said Burnside.