A fair (archaic: faire or fayre ) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of goods, products, and services, and often include competitions, exhibitions, and educational activities. Fairs can be thematic, focusing on specific industries or interests.
24-647: The Western Fair is a fair held annually in London, Ontario , Canada in early September. The first Western Fair was held in September 1868 in downtown London, northeast of the current location of Victoria Park. Organizers had hoped to use the Crystal Palace Barracks as the main exhibition area. Livestock shows took place on the parade grounds outside the Crystal Palace. In 1887, when
48-633: A $ 15 million staff budget. The Western Fair Museum and Archives began with the efforts of Inge Sanmyia, who was working on her PhD in history at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario in 1997. Her three-month summer research project soon became the foundations for the Western Fair Museum and Archives. Since 1997 she has designed historical displays for the Fair and written its history: A Celebration of Excellence: The history of
72-669: A heavy emphasis on competition. Later additions included the midway and booked entertainment acts. A seasonal harness racetrack was opened in 1961, with simulcast betting added later. The racetrack was later separated from the fair proper. The only 24-hour food vendor at the Western Fair, St. Anne's Church, served meals at the Western Fair from 1947 until 2015, with the proceeds going to local charities and to fund church activities. In 2016, St. Anne's Church did not renew its contract after new regulations restricted its operations to fair open hours only, which would have forced it to operate at
96-492: A loss. The Western Fairgrounds are open 12 months a year. In addition to the fair itself, the fairgrounds are also home to the horse racing Western Fair Raceway, the OLG casino slot machines , an agricultural complex, and several large buildings which are frequently rented out for events. It also used to be home to the former Western Fair Museum and Archives and the former IMAX theatre, both of which closed in 2005. The IMAX theatre
120-664: A major collaborative online initiative to allow Canadian museums and heritage organizations to connect with online visitors. In February 2014, the Government of Canada announced its intention to transfer the VMC and the Online Works of Reference to the Canadian Museum of History (CMH). Bill C-31, an Act to implement certain provisions of the budget and other measures , soon after received royal assent confirming that
144-459: Is featured in E. B. White's Charlotte's Web . Virtual Museum of Canada Digital Museums Canada ( DMC ; French : Musées numériques Canada , MNC ) is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity. Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) with the financial support of
168-627: Is one of the largest fairs in India, where more than 60 million people gathered in January 2001, making it the largest gathering anywhere in the world. Kumbha means a pitcher and Mela means fair in Sanskrit. In the United States, fairs draw in as many as 150 million people each summer. Children's competitions at an American fair range from breeding small animals to robotics, whilst
192-515: The Champagne fairs in northern France, which were spread over six towns for a total period of about six weeks, drawing goods and customers from much of Europe. The Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, still the largest trade fair for the publishing industry, began in the 12th century as a fair for manuscript books. Fairs were usually tied to special Christian feast days , such as the day of
216-622: The Government of Canada , DMC provides investments of CA$ 15,000 to $ 250,000 for audience-engaging online projects by Canadian museums and heritage organizations. The Digital Museum of Canada was preceded by the Virtual Museum of Canada ( VMC ), which existed from 2001 to 2021. The VMC was launched by the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) of the Department of Canadian Heritage as
240-614: The CMH would assume responsibility for these two programs. The VMC grew to include virtual exhibits, educational resources for teachers (in both French and English ), and over 900,000 images . Additionally, the VMC Investment Program was created to invest in Canadian museums to create online exhibitions. The Virtual Exhibits Investment Program was geared to medium- to large-sized institutions. The other offerings were
264-588: The Community Memories Program, an investment program designed for smaller Canadian community museums, to allow them to create online exhibits about their history. In 2020, the Digital Museum of Canada was created as a successor to the VMC with a focus on investing in online projects by Canadian museums and heritage organizations rather than offering a public facing online portal like the VMC. Following this new mandate, in 2021, with
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#1732801003267288-640: The Roman provinces of Judea and Syria Palaestina , Jewish rabbis prohibited Jews from participating in fairs in certain towns because the religious nature of the fairs contravened the prescribed practice of Judaism . In the Middle Ages , many fairs developed as temporary markets and were especially important for long-distance and international trade , as wholesale traders travelled, sometimes for many days, to fairs where they could be sure to meet those they needed to buy from or sell to. The most famous were
312-549: The Western Fair . During its existence, the WFA Museum and Archives accumulated material from the Western Fair, members of the public and historians, and catalogued the Western Fair Archives list of photographs. Through the acquisition of these materials, the museum put on regular short and long-term displays as well as distinct displays during each fall fair. For example: In its efforts to record and catalogue
336-566: The fair gained legal status through the Provincial Charter and Act of Incorporation, it moved to 900 King Street in east London, where the fairgrounds remain today. The present fairgrounds were purchased for $ 65,000. Except for an eight-year period between 1939 and 1947 when the Canadian Department of National Defence occupied the grounds and 2020–2021, the Western Fair has operated on the new site. John Huse Saunders
360-531: The fairground. These courts were called a pye powder court (from Old French pieds pouldres , literally "dusty feet", meaning an itinerant trader, from Medieval Latin pedes pulverosi ). The chaotic nature of the Stagshaw Bank Fair with masses of people and animals and stalls inspired the Newcastle colloquialism "like a Stagey Bank Fair" to describe a general mess. The American county fair
384-441: The material it had acquired, an extensive systems of records and labelling was set up and a Finding Aid was designed and installed in the in-house computer system for easy access. The Museum was affiliated with: Canadian Museums Association , Canadian Heritage Information Network , and Virtual Museum of Canada . Examples of Headings Examples of Series codes by Box Examples of Archival Box Contents An IMAX film theatre
408-453: The organizations National FFA Organization & 4-H have become the traditional associations. The Sirsi Marikamba Devi Fair of the deity is held every alternate year in the month of March and taken through the city Sirsi, Karnataka . It is attended by a very large number of devotees. It is also most famous and biggest fair (Jaatre) of the India. Devotees from all around the state participate in this enormous event indulging themselves in
432-414: The presence of a bishop, sheriff or governor. Later various benefits were granted to specific fairs, such as the granting of a holiday status to a fair or protections against arrest for specific laws for the duration of the fair. Officials were authorised to mete out justice to those who attended their fair; this led to even the smallest fair having a court to adjudicate on offences and disputes arising within
456-459: The procession. Amusements for children, circuses, variety of shops, dramas and plays and many such things are set up for the people. It depicts the story of the goddess killing Mahishasura . Fairs attracted great numbers of people and they often resulted in public order issues and sometimes riots. The holding of fairs was, therefore, granted by royal charter . Initially they were only allowed in towns and places where order could be maintained due to
480-481: The reality that the grounds and building facilities had expanded beyond a 9-day fair to year-round activities. With 2020 & 2021's cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the 145th was deferred to 2021. The Western Fair runs during the second full week of September, starting on Friday and ending on Sunday. The original basis for the Western Fair was agricultural displays, arts and crafts, and vendors , with
504-491: The saint of the local church. Stagshaw in England, is documented to have held annual fairs as early as 1293 consisting of the sales of animals. Along with the main fair held on 4 July, the city also hosted smaller fairs throughout the year where specific types of animals were sold, such as one for horses, one for lambs, and one for ewes. The Kumbh Mela , held every twelve years, at Allahabad , Haridwar , Nashik , and Ujjain
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#1732801003267528-600: Was President of the Western Fair Association (WFA) for 22 years. He devoted more than 50 years to the Western Fair and was known throughout North America as a poultry breeder. After receiving Honorary Presidential status the WFA changed the by-laws and limited the term to three years. In 2011, the former Western Fair Association re-branded itself as the Western Fair District, to better represent
552-932: Was situated at the Western Fair site for nine years, closing on September 30, 2005, due to low attendance ( an average of only 100,000 patrons per year ). After the IMAX equipment was removed, the theatre was leased and renovated by Dale Henderson, a retired engineer and former leader of the Stardust Orchestra, who opened the London City Music Theatre in October 2007. Other Canadian annual and/or agricultural fairs 42°59′20″N 81°13′09″W / 42.9889°N 81.2191°W / 42.9889; -81.2191 Fair Variations of fairs include: The Roman fairs were holidays on which work and business such as law courts were suspended. In
576-542: Was taken over by London Musical Theatre Productions in 2007. London's primary standardbred horse racing facility is the Western Fair Raceway . A slot machine facility on the site was opened to the public on September 28, 1999, as authorised by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation . As of April 2008, the facility contained 750 slot machines and has seen 9.4 million people, supported by
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