FINCH, Ontario – The number of people crushing through the main gates at the International Plowing Match in Finch could reach six figures.
Officials said Friday the number of people who have visited the Mecca of agricultural fairs in North America could eclipse the 100,000 mark by the end of the day Saturday.
“It would not surprise me one bit,” said IPM chair Jim Brownell, whose army of volunteers have turned the Kagi farm just outside Finch into all things plowing, growing and planting. “The numbers have been incredible.”
How incredible?
Organizers had to add an extra helicopter to the field for the popular rides that give IPM-goers a bird’s eye view of the action below. The added attraction of things like a combine demolition derby and an auctioneer competition (two firsts for the longtime festival sponsored by the Ontario Plowman’s Association) saw more young people crowding the grandstands at the massive expanse of activity than before.
“I have been blown away every day when they come to me with the numbers,” said Brownell Friday.
Local MPP Jim McDonell, who has been at the IPM all week, said officials have advised him that the 100,000 mark will be breached.
“There’s over 1,000 people in the RV park,” he said. “They will be over 100,000 and that’s a bit more than the average.”
No kidding. Typically an IPM draws about 70,000 people.
McDonell said all the exposure for SD and G will pay dividends down the road.
“It’s bringing people from all over the province to see our region,” he said.
Like Amelia Moore-Crispin and Chloe Maxwell, a pair of teenaged friends from Carleton Place who were taking in the rodeo Friday afternoon.
“It’s really cool,” enthused Moore-Crispin.
Maxwell said her family visited the IPM a few years ago, and when it was announced that the event would be hosted in eastern Ontario her father Mark decided they would make the trek to Finch.
“He grew up on a farm, so he wanted us all to see this,” she said. “It’s great.”
Crysler’s Jeremy Landry said his family was blown away by the spectacle.
“It’s huge,” he laughed. “It reminds me of a massive farming show.”
Perhaps a farming show on steroids would better describe the event for the layman. The IPM is laid out over a huge open expanse of farmland, complete with street signs, its own power grid and a myriad of tents and stages for vendors, performers and displays.
The IPM wraps up Saturday and organizers are expecting another onslaught of visitors, many of whom had to work all week but want to see the event before it wraps up.
