Community fairs
A town or neighbourhood fair or "days" celebration run by a community group, a service club or the municipality rather than an agricultural society: a parade, stages, food, often a few rides.
A community fair is a town or neighbourhood celebration, a fair or a “days”, run by a community group, a service club or the municipality rather than an agricultural society. Expect a parade, a stage, food, local vendors and often a few rides. Trail’s Silver City Days has run this way since 1964.
What it is
Community fairs are the most local thing in the directory: a weekend organized by volunteers for their own town, with a pancake breakfast, a parade, kids’ games, a beer garden, vendor tables and, when the budget allows, a midway.
History, era by era
- 1810s
- The fair as a community gathering in North America grew from farm shows such as Watson’s Pittsfield cattle show of 1810.1
- 1890s
- Street fairs and town carnivals spread after the 1893 Chicago fair, as travelling shows brought the Midway to towns.2
- 1964
- Trail, BC, launched Silver City Days in 1964 to celebrate the city’s heritage and identity.3
- Today
- Towns across the West book midways for their days: Lethbridge’s Whoop-Up Days is one stop on a BC midway company’s route.4
The midway connection
A community fair is the promenade at its friendliest: neighbours selling crafts, a church pie table, a few rides for the kids. Silver City Days runs midway rides beside its food fairs and parades.3
Wherever people walk a row of booths, the midway is there in some form: the full kind, with rides, games of skill and food joints, or the quieter kind, with craft tables, home baking and a booth like ours. That walk, with family and friends and something to look at every few steps, is what this directory is about.
One fact worth knowing
- Local businesses, performers, volunteers and organizations all take part in Silver City Days, by the city’s own description.3
Questions people ask
Who runs a community fair?
Usually a community group, a service club or the town itself; Trail’s Silver City Days is listed by the City of Trail.3
Do community fairs have midways?
Many do. Midway companies route through town celebrations such as Lethbridge’s Whoop-Up Days.4
Sources
- New York State Library: Watson, Elkanah Papers. Read on · government
- South End Historical Society: The Origins of the American Traveling Carnival. Read on · reference
- City of Trail: Trail Silver City Days. Read on · government
- West Coast Amusements: Lethbridge Whoop-Up Days. Read on · official
Short listings from the census
Checked and sourced, but without a full page yet. Each one links to its row on its province or state page.
The Midway Mailbag
New fairs, festivals, midways and attractions as we add them to the directory. About twice a month in fair season, less in winter.
Running a fair, a booth or a fundraiser?
Bring the Machine to your event: sell printed reading tickets, or run the machine on a screen facing the crowd. Reading codes for booths and fundraisers.
All kinds of fairs · Midway Directory
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