OHSWEKEN – The Six Nations Fair, or, Fall Fair, has been held in late August for the past few years and some community members are hoping to see it moved back to it’s original dates—the first week of September.
A delegation from the Six Nations Agricultural Society, the organization that hosts the fair, came to the Six Nations Elected Council’s (SNEC) general meeting last night on March 14 to introduce some of their newest members and to ask if elected council would considering changing the dates in a few weeks after further deliberation.
“We want to know if the dates for the fair can be amended to its original times,” said Michelle Bomberry, from the society. “Ideally it would run from September 7 to September 11, starting on a Thursday.”
Community turnout for the fair has been decreasing for the past several years and some think that it is partly due to the fair being held during a month that is still considered ‘summer’. Many other fairs, like Pumpkinfest in Waterford, Ont., take place in late September or even early October.
District Two Councillor Carl Hill said that the fair has been losing interest within the community before its dates were switched to August, yet said that he may reconsider after spending more time looking into the pros and cons of switching the dates.
“I’ve spoken with a lot of people who would not want to see the fair moved to September,” said Hill.
The society also asked SNEC if they would be willing to forgive a loan they took out with SNEC for $35,000 several years ago. They plan on fundraising $10,000 on their own to help with costs for the fair.
“We want to be able to start the year off fresh,” said Bomberry. “Forgiveness on the loan would let us be able to do that.”
SNEC received the presentation as information and will make a decision at a later date. District Four Councillor Helen Miller reminded everyone that the Agricultural Society has always been at an “arms length” with SNEC and thereby doesn’t need council’s permission to change the dates of the fair.
