From the President

“Come to the Fair – A True Guilford Treasure”

Fair Friends:

The Guilford Fair, and its producers, The Guilford Agricultural Society, have been a mainstay of Guilford life since 1859. Town historian Joel Helander wrote about the Fair as “part of the spirit of old New England”. In that spirit, the theme of the Guilford Fair, and the Fair Parade will be “Guilford Treasures – Old and New” with the Fair itself, and the beautiful fairgrounds skirting Guilford’s Historic District, being treasures both old and new.

The Guilford Fair itself has evolved over the years, with the old fair taking place on the Guilford Green, before moving to the Fairgrounds in 1969. The Guilford Agricultural Society bought the Fairgrounds and thanks to the dedication of the Board, and that of all their volunteers, the agricultural legacy of Guilford as a farming community is preserved and maintained for the benefit of the wider population.

The Guilford Fair celebrates the vibrant agricultural community that still exists in Guilford with the mission of the Agricultural Society being preservation of that legacy for future generations. We are continuously working to maintain and improve the private property that is the Guilford Fairgrounds for the benefit of the local community and beyond, and will be building two new barns to add to the experience and increase our ability to provide education to all who treasure the farming community and what it provides.

While the Fair is an old tradition in Guilford, the Agricultural Society is continuously working on bringing new experiences to the Fairgrounds. The recent addition of a weekly Farmers Market emphasizes the biodiversity of the local agricultural community, and renews the awareness of this unique local resource that the Fairgrounds provide.

And this year, I think the Guilford Fair itself is a “Treasure, Old and New”, and a special added “Treasure” will be the return of Sharpy, the Mammoth donkey. As a Heritage livestock breed, Sharpy is indeed an old treasure to be celebrated, possessing the genetic diversity that can help farmers and others to adapt to new and evolving conditions. Come to the Fair and meet Sharpy.

We are also looking forward to seeing the treasured showcase entries from this year’s Guilford Fair exhibitors.

As we celebrate these “Treasures, Old and New” please come and enjoy the Guilford Fair this September, we all at the Ag Society look forward to seeing your smiling faces.

— John Hammarlund, President