Posted : September 17, 2013
Our blog is chock full of great ideas for fun things to see and do in York Durham and Headwaters. We are always adding new content and updating old posts, but sometimes you might stumble upon something from our vault. If this article has inspired you to hit the road, be sure to double-check that the featured stops in this post are still welcoming visitors.
Holy moly! That is what I was thinking after I got off the shuttle bus from the parking lot and walked into the Orono Fairgrounds. This is a big one! The rides were far off in the distance and in between was a fairground filled with things to do and see. I stared down at the schedule for the day and didn’t know how I was going to get it all in! It was a 4 day fair running from September 5-8 and each day was filled with things to do and see.
I made my way to the horse jumping ring, where riders were warming up their horses for the horse jumping competition. I have to admit I’ve never seen one of these live. So I had to sit down in the grandstands and watch. Each horse and rider was called one at a time and entered the ring. Some horses were a bit jittery about making the jump and others flowed through the course with ease. You could hear the audience gasp when a horse bucked up in front of the wooden fence it was supposed to jump over. Riders calmly turned the horse around and made their way back and the horse jumped into the air and over the bar. Total suspense! I was riveted!
After the competition I started walking through the vendor area towards the petting zoo. For just a looney you could get an ice cream cone filled with food for the various animals. Horses, cattle and sheep were all sticking their heads out of the gates trying to get some grub. It was a huge draw for the kids as they got to pet the animals and feed them. It was great for the animals too who were really good at just grabbing the whole cone of food out of an unexpected child’s hands! Just a few steps away I happened to see a animals you would not expect at a Fall Fair in Ontario! A big elephant and camel who were happy to give their adoring fans a ride around a ring!
I walked through the display of large farm equipment and tractors and towards a very excited and loud crowd. OMG so cute! I was now witnessing the Orono Pee-Wee tractor pull! Small children each got on the bicycle tractor and made their way across the track! The crowd cheered them on and the announcer offered a play by play of the short run! Even the trailer hitched to the back of the tractor moved forward as it does in a tractor pull. Everyone was a winner enjoying and ice cold freezie!
The Orono fair featured a lot of great fair food. Like many of the other fairs there was cotton candy and many food trucks offering burgers, french fries and ice cream. However, the one that caught my eye was the Beavertails truck! They had beavertails topped with every flavour you could imagine and I have to say it took every ounce of willpower to walk away! I didn’t get far before I happened to be in front of a truck specializing in deep fried mars bars and brownies.
After a walk through the midway I made my way through the exhibits to check out the contest winners. There was a Scarecrow completion with some really cute scarecrows on display. I saw some of the biggest pumpkins I’ve ever seen and even visited with some prize winning Roosters. Outside the barns the sheep sheering competition was wrapping up, with farmers displaying their freshly trimmed sheep for judging.
I didn’t stay for the main event scheduled for later that day, but I did get to see the cars arriving for the demolition derby. The perfect way to end the Orono Fair with a Demolition Derby as the main event in the large grandstand area!
I had a fantastic time at the Orono Fair. It was a huge celebration of the town and its people and fun for the whole family.
Sharon M is a travel blogger and writer at DreamTravelMagazine.com an online travel blog based in Thornhill, Ontario.
