Get ready for a patriotic Williamstown Fair

Get ready for a patriotic Williamstown Fair
Tractor lover Keegan Kyer

CORNWALL, Ontario – The 204th edition of the Williamstown Fair is celebrating the anniversary of Canada’s Maple Leaf flag with Duncan Matheson, the son of one of its creators.

The special guest will help kick off the four-day event during its official opening ceremony at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday (August 8).

Duncan’s father, John Ross Matheson – an MP for Leeds-Grenville in the 1960s, was asked by then-Prime Minister Lester Pearson to sit on the committee that worked on creating a new flag for Canada. The Matheson family’s strong Glengarry connection reaches back to Sir John Johnson.

To focus attention on the 50th anniversary, Canadian flags have been installed on HydroOne and Bell poles along the north side of John Street from the high school to the fair entrance. 

The Williamstown Fair Board supplied the Maple Leaf banners, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #544 in Lancaster provided the aluminum poles and mounting hardware, and the Township of South Glengarry handled installation. The flags will remain until after the fair.

Visitors can expect plenty of family fun steeped in agriculture with a kids’ tractor pull, extreme cowboy race, Highland dance competition, K-9 agility competition, home and garden competition, 4-H demo, horse show, petting zoo, and livestock on display.

Live entertainment will be played on center stage all weekend, including local talents Roxanne Delage, Bang on the Ear, Jesse Ferguson, and Nancy Beaudette.

The Williamstown Fair begins at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday (August 6) and wraps up Sunday (August 9). Day passes: $10. Weekend passes: $20. Children 12 and under get in free.

For more information, visit williamstownfair.ca.

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