Fall Fair proves popular

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This article was published 06/09/2021 (1660 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The last time MJ Lavineway was at a fair, the terms “COVID-19” and “social distancing” were unfamiliar to her.

On Monday, as she wound through lines and held her kids’ hands at the Red River Exhibition Association’s Fall Fair, things were almost normal, even if it is September, not June, and it’s called the Fall Fair and not The Ex.

“This is the most… people I’ve been around since the whole pandemic,” MJ said. “It’s nice to go back to normal… after a really long, long, almost two years of trying to stay inside as much as possible.”

Her 10-year-old son Austin eyed the bumper cars and the merry-go-round, both bustling with people. His sister Mia clutched a pink llama, beaming at her water gun-shooting game win.

“I really missed (this),” Austin said.

Children’s screams sounded through the air as a pirate ship swung back and forth. A ferris wheel kept its gentle rotation. Live music, ride music and chatter intermingled with the smells of hotdogs and mini doughnuts, bringing to life a park that’s largely sat empty for the past year and a half.

The Fall Fair had around 120,000 visitors, without including ticket sales from city shops such as Safeway and Circle K. The event ran from Aug. 27 to Monday.

The Ex, which happens in June and was cancelled due to COVID-19 for two years, typically draws around 200,000.

“It’s good,” said Rex Beniza, who came with his family Monday. “You know you’re kind of safe around everyone else.”

People had to show proof of double vaccination to enter. Kids who aren’t eligible to be vaccinated had to come with an adult who was.

Some attendees sported masks, while others chose to arrive without.

Youths raced up stairs and down on carpets at Bryan’s Super Slide. The ride’s namesake, Bryan Viallet, said not much has changed since pre-pandemic — he’s cleaning the slide as usual, and customers are enjoying, as usual.

“A slide’s a slide,” he said before congratulating a facepaint-clad child on their descent. “It’s been a blast to have kids come out (again).”

Canuck Amusements and Select Shows, two Manitoban midway companies, provided the Fall Fair’s 41 rides. The Ex in June offers around 50 options, according to a spokesperson from the Red River Exhibition Association.

“It’s nostalgic for us,” said Lynda Meichsner, who’s frequented the Ex since the 1980s. “It’s basically all the same thing as it was 30, 35 years ago.”

She, her husband Ed and their two daughters came for the food and the animals. There was a petting zoo and a dog show.

“(It’s) still got the… great food smell, and all the sounds,” Ed said. “Still the same paint job on some of these trailers (from decades before), which is pretty cool.”

However, it was a brand new experience for some, including four-year-old Jenson Reimer. He bolted past games and shops with balloon sword in hand, a prize from a ball-toss booth.

Reimer excitedly waved his toy around, and, when asked what he’d do with it, loudly exclaimed “pop it.”

“It feels really good to get out,” his dad Brendan said.

People can expect a June fair in 2022, according to Oscar Rodriguez, the Red River Exhibition Association’s marketing and communications co-ordinator.

“We are planning to come back bigger and better than ever,” he said in an email.

Next year will feature a 200-acre theme park with a racetrack, Rodriguez said. The fair is held on the exhibition grounds at 3977 Portage Ave.

gabrielle.piche@freepress.mb.ca