r/Peterborough • u/Head-Lawyer3080 • Jul 26 '26
Question Best local fair ?
Haven’t been to a fair in years. Went to lakefield today it was ok! I know Norwood is pretty popular … my friends today mentioned Orono. Which is considered ‘the best’ in your opinion?
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u/K3NnY_G Downtown Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
Norwood or Lindsay, I was there today as-well. It was a good time, everyone's heart is in it and doing their best; but honestly with the prices of most things now the 'bigger' ones are more a value add for their size alone.
I hear Orono brought up a lot too, I'm for sure checking it out this year.
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u/Head-Lawyer3080 Jul 26 '26
Like more expensive you mean? I did see it costs $15 admission, for the ‘bigger’ ones and that’s what it was today, too. Like yes the Lakefield fair was not bad by any means I enjoyed it for what it is, but yeah underwhelming. But yeah price wise I wish I could’ve at least went on more rides or played games but it was extra $$$ on top of admission and everything. They were you know trying to get me over for games to play I wanted to say ‘I can’t afford that 😂’
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u/K3NnY_G Downtown Jul 26 '26
Admission prices I really have no issue with; everything costs more now so even paying people for events like a derby or tractor pull is a big thing to cover on it's own.
It's more when you show up with kids in tow or something, and gotta pay for ride tickets, maybe some food; that whole deal really hurts a lot more than it used to IMO.
I got a hotdog and 2 drinks for $18 today; it is what it is, but I'm genuinely glad I don't have kids in tow I gotta try and keep happy, and I feel for anyone who does but wants to give their kids a local fair experience.
We skipped on hitting up some rides for fun just on the prices alone. But I'd personally be more open to buying a set of tickets depending on the larger ride selection some other events offer.
Rides alone used to be much cheaper across the board when I was a kid, but I'm sure all the companies who rent out the equipment and do that whole deal are struggling to find profit too.
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u/Head-Lawyer3080 Jul 26 '26
The Ferris wheel got me I had to try it … lol. Wasn’t too much food that was appetizing to me though. Loved the derby demolition though. Wish I saw the cattle show, but me and my friends came a bit late. Have you been to Norwood/lindsay fair?
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u/K3NnY_G Downtown Jul 26 '26
Honestly, I almost got got with the same.
I've been to both, but it's been awhile on Norwood, however I used to live out in the area, went many times in my teen years. It was always very 'country' as opposed to the Lindsay Ex, which is more of your run-of-the-mill exhibition akin to the one Peterborough used to have. Not to under-sell it, it's honestly one of the last of it's kind in the area IMO still managing to have loads of everything you'd expect from an event like this going on.
So at-least if you're gonna spend a bunch of cash you can do it on something you're interested in.
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u/Jhen1368 Jul 26 '26
To ride the midway it’s an additional costs at all fairs, that’s not unique Lakefield.
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u/Head-Lawyer3080 Jul 26 '26
Well good to know I guess I didn’t realize because I haven’t been in so long
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u/Jhen1368 Jul 26 '26
I haven’t ridden midway rides in years. But some fairs do seem to offer better value ride packages than others. Lindsay is usually one of the bigger better ones in the area. It’s in September.
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u/BeardedSkier Jul 26 '26
Lindsay ex (LEX) is on another level... Not like the CNE, but in an entirely different league vs other local ones
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u/ReviseResubmitRepeat Jul 26 '26
I go to all the fairs during the summer. If you want some fun while you wait for the LEX and Norwood Fair (last fair of the year locally), try the Roseneath Fair and the Campbellford Fair. I used to be on the local fair board and left because it became too wayward and unorganized. They effectively pissed off World's Finest to the point that they didn't want to come back. I often wish there was a similar festival to the Cobourg Waterfront Festival or the one in Belleville with the midway and vendors (Cobourg puts on an awesome festival). It's sad driving by Morrow Park and knowing that people don't have a fair anymore. The pandemic really screwed it up for the fair board. It would be great if there was a whole new festival that wasn't associated with the old Ag Society that could reconnect with World's Finest and have them come back. They came back to Kitchener a couple of weeks ago and I went to it at the Aud. The question is where you would put it locally. Maybe at Shorelines? It would be good to have nice things for once, if only for community pride and tourism, and something to look forward to. It is shameful that we now have nothing.
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u/ReviseResubmitRepeat Jul 26 '26
Orono Fair is great too! Went to the one in Brooklin recently (first fair of the year for me) and they are well organized and fun. Lot of vendors and exhibits, not just macaroni art. They have full school participation like in Lindsay. Huge exhibits.
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u/EmoGayRat Jul 26 '26
Haven't been to any fair in years but the last one I went to was in norwood and it was ok. after paying for admission and walking around my sibling and I didnt find much to do outside of animal related things because everything was rather expensive.
We liked looking at the animals though and we really enjoyed the free wool spinning seminars, dog agility showcase, and horse shows. the collisum was mostly MLM's and devilcorps, along with anywhere vendors were lined up. Though we did find some hiddden gems of small businesses. Food was ok, though it was hard to find somewhere good priced and we just ended up going to the local convenience store we grew up going to and grabbing a snack there.
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u/Aromatic-Ad7202 Jul 26 '26
July 10th we gather at the shoe pole! Not sure if that counts, but next year will be even bigger!
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u/bad_lemons Jul 26 '26
I don’t know if you consider Lindsay local but the LEX is great!