There’s a fairly good chance that even if you’re one of the thousands of people who have visited the fair, you’ve missed out on something.
The 117th annual Interior Provincial Exhibition and Stampede wraps up with its final day Sunday, opening at 7:30 a.m. and running all day, with halls closing at 9 and 10 p.m. And there’s Bushels of Fun For Everyone, as the IPE theme suggests.
The fair has drawn thousands through its gates, in fact Wednesday and Thursday alone saw 40,901 people flock to the fair. There were 22,574 people Thursday compared to 21,938 during the same day last year.
“We are feeling really good about things,” said Yvonne Paulson, general manager, who has been meeting with visitors as she wanders around the fairgrounds.
“I am hearing this is the best fair ever,” she said. “I have talked to a couple of people who are new to the fair and they thought it was awesome.”
The primary attraction, Paulson added, is the agricultural focus, including the livestock and the exhibits.
And the rain doesn’t seem to be deterring many people.
“I’m not too worried about it. People know it rains at this time of the year,” she said. “People dress for it and they still come out.”
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It’s an event people look forward to year after year.
Like Enderby resident Rene Miedema.
“I’m a dairy farmer and grew up doing 4H, so I have been to every fair for the last 35 years and now I bring my family,” he said referring to his wife Jessica and sons Jonah, four-years-old, and Micah, two.
In total, the event anticipates to have entertained approximately 160,000 people. That’s quite the stretch from 12-15 years ago, when the fair attracted 20,000 (as IPE staff member Terry Hannah recalls).
But it’s no small feat to pull it all off.
“There are 11,000 volunteer hours that are invested in the IPE every year,” said Yvonne Paulson, IPE general manager. “The amount of passion the volunteers have is amazing.”
And while many people are tasked with certain aspects, there are an array of jobs that need dealing with at the fair.
“One minute Thys (Haambuckers, IPE vice president) might be looking at a budget line and the next minute he’s looking at the butt of a cow.”
Considering all the work that goes into the fair, Haambuckers says Labour Day is always a sad day as everything is packed up, cleaned up and the fairgrounds are left empty.
Therefore everyone is urged to take in the action while they can.
One highlight which the IPE is putting more of a focus on is the Parade of Champions – where the top livestock will be paraded through the grounds at 3 p.m. Sunday
“If you don’t watch any of the events, this is the one to watch,” said Haambuckers.
The CPRA Rodeo Wrangler Tour finals get underway Sunday at 8 p.m.
“We rate really high with the rodeo contestants too,” said Ted Fitchett, IPE president, of the time of year, location and prizes. But mostly: “It is the atmosphere.”
As much as goes into the IPE, the event also gives back tremendously. There is an $8.8 million economic spinoff from the fair annually, which stretches beyond Armstrong.
“That (study) was four years ago so it could have grown since then,” said Paulson.
Plus, the IPE gives back in a major way to a host of non-profit organizations.
“We have 48 different organizations,” said Paulson of groups ranging from cadets and high schools to churches, Rotary groups, Kinsmen and more. “This is their biggest fundraiser of the year.”
This year’s IPE Charity of Choice is the North Okanagan Neurological Association, which benefits from the daily 50/50 draws and Sunday’s Best Seats in the House auction (which quite often generates $1,000).
The IPE is also taking the environment into account and has partnered with Spa Hills to compost food waste from the vendors. Between the fresh-squeezed lemonade, Haystack leftovers and the other multitude of vendors, Paulson hopes to turn 10 to 11,000 lbs of waste into compost.
