(Napanee, Ontario, Canada)
As some of you know, we will soon be departing on a road trip…the arrangements have all been made but I’ll keep the actual destinations a secret. As a warm-up, we decided to spend a day in the nearby town of Napanee and visit its annual agricultural fair.
Somehow, I don’t think I’ve ever been to any of the local fairs. I visited the provincial Ploughing Match in Joyceville as part of a Grade 4 field trip and might have stopped by the Kingston Exhibition once…but that’s about it. Being seriously allergic to horses (which was confirmed by accidentally encountering horses at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto about 25 years ago), as well as a lingering minor allergies to cats and feathers, has made me reluctant to spend much time around farm animals.
Anyway, I thought it was time to see a local fair…and to see whether my horse allergies had abated in the intervening years.
We started with the exhibition barns. I felt kind of scratchy in the poultry barn and in the “rare animal barn” (which contained some ponies) but was fine around the cattle and in the goat/sheep arena. Quite apart from the allergies, I was reminded of how far removed suburban living can be from rural living and how little we think about where our food comes from. It was strange to see the cute young alpacas…and remember how much I enjoyed alpaca steak in Peru.
After looking at the craft and food exhibits, we moved on to the midway (see photo at the top of this post). We weren’t interested in any of the rides but we did wonder about the demanding lifestyle of those who work on “the fair circuit”. While it is largely limited to the summer months and early autumn, the days are very long and the workers are always living in cramped portable accommodations in between moves from one fair to the next.
After the fair, we thought that we’d visit downtown Napanee and see how much it had changed. We haven’t been in Napanee much recently, but recalled how its downtown was reeling from the arrival of big box stores (including a Walmart) near the 401 highway. The last time we were there, it seemed like the downtown consisted mainly of “dollar stores” and empty storefronts.
I am pleased to report that the Napanee downtown appears to have turned the corner. While some areas are still somewhat patchy, there are plenty of new and unique businesses that offer an alternative to the more generic retailers near the highway. Many of them were closed for the day by the time we arrived but we both found stores that we want to check out on a future visit. There were even some interesting new (and independent) dining options downtown.
This is what we’re hoping to see more of on our upcoming road trip. We’re staying in some historic and characterful places and will try to choose shops and restaurants that aren’t found in every other Ontario town. This sometimes takes a little more work but the research has been enjoyable.
Stay tuned to see where we end up!