Thrills of the fair return to Neepawa
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- Published on Thursday, May 26, 2016
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
The excitement of carnival games and midway rides returns to the region this weekend, thanks to the Neepawa and District Chamber of Commerce. For the third straight year, the Chamber has partnered with Saturn Shows for the Neepawa Fair. The 2016 edition is scheduled from May 27-29 at the Agricultural Fairgrounds.
Chamber president Troy Mutch said they are very pleased to be partnering with Saturn to bring the thrills of the fair so close to home. He added that along with the midway, there will be several new and expanded attractions across the community for people to take in.
鈥淸The Chamber is] very excited to bring the fair back to town. But it鈥檚 not just what鈥檚 going on at the fairgrounds. Along with the midway, we鈥檙e going to have several other events as well. This year, we鈥檝e organized a parade, which a lot of people are looking forward to. We鈥檙e expanding the town wide garage sale, which proved to be very popular last year. We鈥檙e adding a map to show where those yard sales are happening,鈥� said Mutch. 鈥淎s well, we鈥檝e organized a [baseball] tournament again. It鈥檚 bigger than last year. We have 14 teams involved, including one from Saskatchewan. There鈥檚 a beer gardens set for Saturday, car club show and shine and a whole lot more. There鈥檚 really going to be something for everyone.鈥�
As for local support, Mutch said that many area businesses did notice an increase in customer traffic on the weekend of the fair, which has generated much more enthusiasm and support for this year鈥檚 edition.
鈥淢any businesses have stated that there was a very noticeable increase in foot traffic to their stores. The restaurants were constantly busy and several of the retail shops were also busy, especially on the Friday [of the fair weekend]. That has definitely helped to generate a lot of business support this year. [The business sector] is seeing the value the fair can bring and getting behind it in a big way,鈥� stressed Mutch, who added that it鈥檚 that type of local involvement that will ensure the Neepawa Fair becomes an ongoing tradition on the spring calendar.
