Markham Fair


Markham Fair is one of Canada's oldest country fairs, an annual event established in 1844 and hosted by the Markham, Ontario and East York agricultural society. With over 700 volunteers working on more than 70 committees, Markham Fair is the largest community-based volunteer organization in Canada. The fair and fairgrounds are owned by the Markham and East York Agricultural Society.
The fair occurs annually on the weekend before Canadian Thanksgiving, and hosts upwards of 80,000 attendees. Approximately 3,000 exhibitors enter more than 12,000 items, which are judged and put on display during the fair. Promoting excellence through competition in this way makes fairs unique in comparison to other events.
Agricultural societies used to meet on a regular basis to discuss various concepts of agricultural improvement such as livestock development and increased grain yields. Often the society would collectively purchase a bull or seed grain, which would be made available to members only. The fall fair would then be an opportunity for the farmers to compete by showing off the fruits of their labour.
Due to increased technology and rapid communication, agricultural societies no longer find it necessary to provide this service, but the Markham Fair continues to create the forum known as the fall fair, providing the community with a showcase for talents and products in a friendly competitive spirit.
As well as the competitive displays, the community is further brought together to enjoy various forms of entertainment such as horse pull, demolition derby, tractor pull, midway rides and displays of farm animals.
The 2020 Markham Fair has been cancelled due to safety concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fairgrounds

The fairgrounds are located in northern Markham at the northeast corner of McCowan Road and Elgin Mills Road and sits on of former farm land and Stuart and Trevor Watson.
The site has several buildings used to house trade shows and other events. A 1/2-mile track and 4 wood stables are used to store animals. To the east of the fairgrounds is Little Rouge Creek.
The original fairground was located at the present day Markham Village Library at southeast corner of Markham Road and Highway 7. The fair moved to the current site in 1977, as the original fairground area grew less agricultural.
The current library building was built to mimic the shape of the old Agricultural Hall that once stood at the site. A fire in 1916 burned down the new hall, ice rink and other buildings. Only the rink was rebuilt on the site and currently part of the Markham Village Community Centre. The area where the track once sat are now homes with Reeves Park along Highway 48.

Events

Many shows and events are showcased throughout the duration of the fair. In previous years these shows have included:
A number of local events use the fairgrounds outside of the fair days including home shows, trade shows and warehouse sales.

Midway

runs the midway located at the West Gate of the fairgrounds.

History

The earliest recorded fair held in Markham was in 1857 at the fairgrounds then located on the South East corner of the junction of Highways 7 and 48. Prior to that, fairs were held in Unionville, Ontario in 1855 and also in Markham.
In 1865 Captain William Armstrong granted of his land for the fairgrounds to build several buildings including a single floor agricultural hall. A new two floor hall, ticket office and rink was planned in 1894 and in 1916 a fire destroyed those buildings and were later replaced with a larger Agricultural Hall to house the fair. The massive brick by rink would serve as an early recreation centre.
In 1963 the fair buildings were demolished to make way for the Markham Village Cenotaph and Community Centre. In 1977 the Fair relocated to its current site where the four-day fair is held annually on the weekend preceding Canadian Thanksgiving. The Markham Village Library was built in 1980-1981 now occupies the site of the old fairgrounds and mimics the barrel vault design of the old Agricultural Hall.

Board of directors

The society is an Ontario corporation that owns and operates the fair and its properties. It is governed by a board of 24 directors, who are elected at each annual meeting for a three-year period, and six junior directors who are elected annually for a one-year period. All directors are elected by members of the society who attend the annual meeting. From among the directors, the President and two vice-presidents are elected following the annual meeting, along with a Treasurer, General Manager, and Secretary.

Mission

The mission of the society is to encourage an awareness of agriculture and to promote improvements in the quality of life of persons living in an agricultural community by:
In addition, there are over 750 volunteers involved with the operations, which fill the board seats and form some 75 committees, which share administrative duties and the Fair operating procedures.