CALEB NICKERSON
The Pontiac Agricultural Society (PAS) is looking to spruce up the entrances to the Shawville Fair with a little friendly competition amongst the . . .
board’s directors.
New this year, the directors of the PAS will be splitting into teams and competing to have the best-looking gate.
“This is something new this year,” explained director Mavis Hanna. “The fair board divided themselves up into three teams because we have three gates and each team is responsible for decorating an eye-catching, welcoming gate for our visitors.”
The board was divided into three teams, junior, intermediate and senior, with about 10 to 12 members each. Hanna added that the decorations will be up by Saturday, Aug. 24, and that a secret judge would be assessing the gates on numerous criteria.
“We do beautification of the grounds every year, to make it welcoming, but usually it’s just one or two people that are responsible for it,” she said. “This way, it involves everybody on our fair board and it also creates a sense of pride for the directors. They are immediately involved.”
This year, Hanna will be acting as one of the co-directors for concessions, a humungous task, along with Brad Tubman and Tyler McCann. She said that they are busy throughout the year booking and plotting out the locations for the dozens of vendors that come every year.
“We try to get some variety through the locations, but I do know that people always like to see the same [vendors] in the same spot every year,” she said. “They want to know where to get that slice of pizza or that hamburger or that special thing that they like.”
She said that for many of the visitors, the numerous food options are one of the most memorable attractions on the fairgrounds.
“It’s really great when you come to something like a fair, because the first thing that really grabs you at the gate is the smell of the food,” she said.
