Find country fun at the Hillsborough County Agricultural Fair
By Zachary Lewis
[email protected]
The 66th Annual Hillsborough County Agricultural Fair starts on Friday, Sept. 6, and goes on until Sunday, Sept. 8, in New Boston (17 Hilldale Lane). Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children, military members and veterans with ID as well as seniors (65 and older).
“We’re an agriculture-based fair, so most of our activities are based on learning about agriculture,” said Michelle Rowe, the President of the Hillsborough County Fair Board of Directors.
Gates open at noon on Friday and activities commence right away. A stock farm tractor pull will be revving up in the pulling ring, a farm horse and mule competition will take place in the Langdell Arena, and Crickey the Clown will be at the children’s tent and venue area, and that goes until 5 p.m. “It’s definitely very family-oriented,” Rowe said.
At 3 p.m, amusement rides by Fanelli whir to life in the midway section of the fairground, and ride bracelets will be available from 4 to 9 p.m. Occurring for the first time this year, there will be pedal tractor pulling that is open to the public for children 15 and under at the pulling track from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
A 4-H team-building activity titled The Toxic Waste Challenge at the Hinton 4-H Exhibitor Building gets going at 4 and runs till 6 p.m. Meanwhile there’s a flag ceremony as a Battle of the Bands competition gets underway that will rock on until 9 p.m.
Another new event for this year is the new Zero Turn Obstacle Course, which will be open to the public for those 18 and older to test their physical prowess from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
At 6 p.m. is the Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off in the Langdell Arena, presented by the New Hampshire Giant Pumpkin Growers Association.
The pumpkins “can get quite big,” Rowe said. “We don’t get the biggest ones at our fair because they usually take those down to Topsfield in Massachusetts, but last year our first-place winner was 250 pounds … probably about 4 feet tall and probably 4 feet wide. They have to be so careful getting them to the fair.”
New Hampshire grows big pumpkins.
On Saturday,events begin at 9 a.m. and there will be similar activities to the previous day although participants getting inside early will be able to sign in to see the 4-H Dog Show and Farm Tractor Pull.
Beginning at 10 a.m. will be a ham radio demonstration from the Granite State Amateur Radio Association, as well as 4-H rabbit and dairy goat shows in the Langdell Arena. That’s also when the horseshoe tournament begins. The Battle of the Bands winner will perform at noon and the amusement rides begin then as well. The Hi-Jack Band will perform afterward until 4:30 p.m. and then Tina J and the Nuff Said Band will take the main stage until the end of the night, which will wrap up with a fantastic fireworks display.
“The fireworks are always fun,” Rowe said. She was not able to pick a single favorite aspect of the fair. “There’s just so many things to see. … I was in 4-H growing up so I enjoy the animal shows and seeing the kids show their animals. The sheepherding demonstration is actually really cool too.”
There is also a homemade pie auction, a maple syrup tasting contest, and if there is a farmyard animal there will be some sort of demonstration for it through 4-H as well as an Animal Olympics, which is an obstacle course for the fuzzier participants of the fair.
“I enjoy the more agricultural side of it but we also have tractor pulls and truck pulls that really bring in a lot of people and of course the rides are always fun,” Rowe said.
The festivities will continue on Sunday, Sept. 8, at 9 a.m. with the same amount of fun as the days before, but the fair will close at 6 p.m. until next fall when Granite Staters get to do it all over again. “In my opinion it’s the best fair in New Hampshire and I just want to keep it going,” Rowe said.
66th Annual Hillsborough County Agricultural Fair
New Boston
Friday, Sept. 6, through Sunday, Sept. 8
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children, military members/veterans (with ID) as well as seniors (65+). Admission is cash only. Entrance gates can not take credit or debit cards.
Visit hcafair.org.
Featured image: Courtesy photo.