The Durham Fair, held in Durham, Connecticut

Durham, Connecticut

Durham is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Durham is a former farming village on the Coginchaug River in central Connecticut. The population was 6,627 at the 2000 census. Every autumn, the town hosts the Durham Fair, the largest volunteer agricultural fair in New...

, is one of the largest agricultural fair

Fair

A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...

s in New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 and was first held in 1916. The three-day event takes place during the last full weekend of September. Activities include livestock

Livestock

Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

 and competitive exhibits, pulling contests, craft and commercial tents, various forms of entertainment and a carnival midway. The fairgrounds accommodate both permanent buildings for commercial and agricultural exhibits and space for tents and other non-permanent structures to be brought in each year. Past entertainers on the main stage have included George Jones

George Jones

George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....

, SHeDAISY

SHeDAISY

SHeDAISY is an American country music group founded in the late 1980s by sisters Kristyn Robyn Osborn , Kelsi Marie Osborn , and Kassidy Lorraine Osborn from Magna, Utah...

, Bill Monroe

Bill Monroe

William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...

, Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...

, .38 Special

.38 Special

The .38 Smith & Wesson Special is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson. It is most commonly used in revolvers, although some semi-automatic pistols and carbines also use this round...

, Charlie Daniels

Charlie Daniels

Charles Edward "Charlie" Daniels is an American musician known for his contributions to country and southern rock music. He is known primarily for his number one country hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and multiple other songs he has performed and written. Daniels has been active as a singer...

, Phil Vassar

Phil Vassar

Phil Vassar is an American country music artist. Vassar made his debut on the country music scene in the late 1990s, co-writing singles for several country artists, including Tim McGraw , Jo Dee Messina , Collin Raye , and Alan Jackson Phil Vassar (born May 28, 1964 in Lynchburg, Virginia) is an...

 and The Guess Who

The Guess Who

The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Initially gaining recognition in Canada, they also found international success from the late 1960s through the mid-1970s with numerous hit singles, including "American Woman", "These Eyes" and "Share the Land"...

.

The Durham Fair is staffed entirely by volunteers; in fact, it is the second largest fair in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 without paid management or employees. In addition to the members of the Durham Agricultural Fair Association and other volunteers, local organizations such as schools, churches, clubs, civic groups, and more, participate in the fair to help raise funds for their organizations.

Pulling contests

Pulling contests are events that involve the use of oxen, draft horse

Draft horse

A draft horse , draught horse or dray horse , less often called a work horse or heavy horse, is a large horse bred for hard, heavy tasks such as ploughing and farm labour...

s and tractor

Tractor

A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...

s to pull concrete

Concrete

Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...

 weights to determine the best contestant in each event. They are well received as a show of strength between farmers who believe that their oxen, horses or tractors are the strongest in terms of pulling weight. Monetary awards provide additional motivation for all competitors.

Use of Durham Fairgrounds

The Durham Fairgrounds have been used for several other festivals including B.O.M.B. Fest 2010

B.O.M.B. Fest

B.O.M.B. Fest is an annual music festival held for charity at various locations. "B.O.M.B." is an acronym for "Bring Our Music Back". 70% of all the show's proceeds go to the Connecticut Children's Medical Center and the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.-History:...

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External links

• Durham Fair website