Rock Creek Fall Fair coming back in September

The Rock Creek Fall Fair is coming back for one day this September, according to general manager Lisa Sims.

There will be carnival fare, live music, a 4-H show and lawnmower races and Can-Can dances after ticket gates open Saturday, Sept. 18, Sims said. The 50/50 cash prize cracked $12,000 Thursday, July 14, she added. Kids and parents can meanwhile look forward to performances by “fair staple” Chris the Clown.

There will be no rides or midway games because the COVID-19 pandemic had earlier forced providers to cancel their 2021 festival season, she said. Sims in April said she was hoping the fair would return in full swing, though hybrid and fully virtual alternatives were then in the works.

A Can-Can dancer takes the stage at the 2019 Rock Creek Fall Fair. Photo: Jensen Edwards

B.C. now permits outdoor festivals of less than 5,000 people, according to Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry’s latest public health order, announced July 7. Sims said the fair will satisfy the order to the letter, with “high touch surfaces” frequently washed and with hand-sanitizing stations dotted throughout the fairgrounds.

“It’s going to be as close to normal as possible,” she told The Times, adding that time and funds are tight.

“What we’d normally do in eight to 10 months, we’re trying to do in a month and a half,” she said, noting that crews are already preparing the site.

This year’s music concert will be headlined by “up-and-coming country sensation,” Ben Klick. Featured performers will include the four-piece bluegrass band, Kentucky Eileen as well as the folk duo, Tiger Moon.

The fair is meanwhile looking for volunteers to help with a host of important jobs, including and especially setting up and taking down the fair. Free fair passes will go to anyone who puts in two hours on the day of, or four hours when tents go up the previous weekend. All volunteers will get a free lunch at the fair’s “Work Bee” orientation from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11.

Online ticket sales open on the fair’s website at rockcreekfallfair.ca on Thursday, July 23, with in-person sales available at the fair office between 8 a.m and noon weekdays, starting Aug. 3.

Volunteers over 16 are asked to contact Sims by phone at 250-446-2465 or by email at rcfair.gm@gmail.com.

@ltritsch1 laurie.tritschler@grandforksgazette.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.