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LAST DAY

Windsor Fair defies elements

Despite scorching heat, fear of a hurricane and then rain, the fair proves popular once again

By Matthew Stone mstone@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

WINDSOR -- It was the year the hot weather kept crowds away from much of the Windsor Fair.

click image to enlarge

People consume ice cream and fried clams Monday on the midway at the Windsor Fair. Crowds of people lined up for rides, to watch events and bet on horse races on the final day.

Staff photo by Andy Molloy

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That's how the 122nd rendition of the annual agricultural festival was going to go down in the history books.

Then came a weakened Hurricane Earl, some cooling rains, and a record day for the fair on Sunday, said Tom Foster, the fair president. At least 23,000 people walked through the fair gates that day, he said.

"People were in line in all directions to get in here," Foster said Monday. "It's a good problem to have."

The nine-day affair this year didn't set any attendance records as a whole, Foster said. But "all in all, we had a pretty good year."

It was a year for Kayla Vachon to keep a family tradition going, and to introduce it to a new family member.

Vachon, of Winthrop, has brought her four-and-a-half year-old daughter to the fair ever since she was born. This year, her nine-week-old got a taste of the fair's scents, sounds and flavors.

"They'll go on some rides, but it's mostly the animals," Vachon said of the attractions for Lucy, Abe and Eliza.

Vachon said she held off on attending the fair until Monday due to the hot weather and hurricane threat.

"Today really is the ideal day," she said.

Ray and Hope French, of China, agreed. Monday was their pick for enjoying horse pulling, crafts and fried dough -- the attractions that keep fair goers coming each year.

"It stays about the same," Ray French said.

And perhaps that's part of the appeal.

The animals were the main draw for Ashley Knowlton's two kids. And for Knowlton, of Hartland, it was the Windsor Fair's feel.

"It seems friendlier," she said as she toted seven-month-old K.K. and two-year-old Caleb around the fairgrounds. "I think the other (fairs) are just too crowded."

With crowds light at the beginning of the fair, business for the Windsor Fair vendors got a similarly slow start.

"It depends on the weather," said Anita Kerdkosum, who was serving Thai cuisine at Vicky's Thai Food booth for the second year. "If it's too hot, nobody comes out.

"Last year was perfect," she added.

Alexsa Briggs, who was manning a booth for airbrush tattoos and sunglasses, said business had started to pick up during the fair's last days after a slow start.

"We always do well at Windsor," said Briggs, of Old Orchard Beach. "It's a great fair."

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.com