The 2026 Guilford Fair is Dedicated to Barbara Hammarlund

Barbara Hammarlund has been involved with the Guilford Agricultural Society and the Guilford Fair for over 50 years since she was a child growing up in Guilford. She has family farming roots going back to her great grandparents and regularly participated in the Guilford Fair Parade, firstly on The Guilford Grange float, and later with the Guilford High School Band as Captain of the Color Guard from 1973 to 1976.

Barbara became a member of the Agricultural Society in the 1980’s, showing rabbits and goats, and was Department Chair of the Rabbit Department. In the 1990’s she began showing cows and became Assistant Secretary and then Secretary of the Ag Society, getting involved in the promotion of the Fair and its contribution to supporting Guilford’s agricultural heritage.

But Barbara does not just support the Guilford Fair. She has been a leader in local 4H groups for over 25 years supporting agricultural innovation and promoting youth involvement in farming. She is the secretary of the American Lineback Cattle Registry, a heritage breed, advocating to keep these important animals as part of America’s agricultural heritage. In her 4H role she has organized an annual Community Ag Day at the Fairgrounds, gathering support from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture and other official organizations, to support 4H and other youth groups to promote agriculture and bring the next generation into farming.

Barbara met John Hammarlund in 1996 when he was Chair of the horse pulls, and they got engaged in 1998, and married on the Fairgrounds in 1999. When John became President of the Agricultural Society, Barbara became, and remains, the First Lady of the Guilford Fair. In that role, as well as that of Assistant Secretary, she plays a pivotal role in helping to coordinate Department Heads and volunteers in organizing exhibits, prizes and awards, publicity and more. She is also an exhibitor showing cows at the Guilford Fair as well as at other Connecticut Fairs in Durham, Haddam Neck and Chester to name a few.

Barbara Hammarlund epitomizes the spirit of the volunteers who keep the Guilford Agricultural Society, and the Guilford Fairgrounds as an important legacy to Guilford’s agricultural heritage.

Thank you Barbara for everything that you do.