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130 years of Cloverdale’s country fair

Cloverdale’s first community fair was held in September, 1888

The Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair quietly celebrated a big anniversary this weekend — the country fair turned 130-years-old.

The first Fall Fair was held on Friday, September 28, 1888, by the District of Surrey Agricultural Association in Surrey Centre. It was the place to be for everyone in the surrounding communities. Fair entrants would compete to see who had the best livestock, garden, honey, canned goods, fruit and flowers, and much more.

In 1938, when the Municipal Hall moved from Surrey Centre to the Cloverdale Fairgrounds, the fair moved with it. Over the decades, the fair changed. It was no longer a public holiday, and it became more commercialized as the Surrey grew larger.

In 1996, the fall fair was incorporated into the Cloverdale Rodeo, which, in some respects, ended the 109-year-old “fall” fair.

Today, revelers enjoy carnival rides, a food fest, country music, the West Fine Art Show, the World Round-Up Freestyle Skateboarding Championships, and a small agricultural component at the Agri-Fair during the annual Country Fair.

—with files from Sue Bryant, Cloverdale Reporter columnist



editor@cloverdalereporter.com

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