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Arnprior Fair

Beavertails, cotton candy, a Ferris wheel, bumper cars and a Crash up Derby. All things I remember from my youth when I attended the fair.

The rain held off long enough for us to attend the Arnprior fair for a few hours on Sunday Aug 12th. Sunday was Family Day which made the admission fee more affordable, charging only $5 instead of the usual $8. I felt like $8 was a bit expensive. It was a small fair, and we were only spending a few hours there at most. $5 on the other hand was more affordable for families. This year the fair board handed over half the proceeds to the local farmers affected by the recent drought.

The free breakfast on Sunday was a pleasant surprise. Pancakes and sausage fueled us for the day ahead. There were a few games set up, and about 10 rides. There were only a few rides set up for older teenagers. Most of the rides seemed to target the younger children. Carter was instantly attracted to the airplane ride. At first I was hesitant to let him on the rides, I thought he was too young, but was assured it was safe for children his age. The carnie assured me he would stop the ride if he wasn’t enjoying himself, and even let him do a test run, where he just sat in the airplane. Soon he was soaring through the air laughing, having a great time.

It cost $1.50 a ticket and most rides took 2 tickets. I felt this was fairly reasonable seeing as the rides were long enough for the kids to enjoy them. Any longer my son would have lost interest. The games were expensive but some ensured you walked away with a prize regardless, which was a nice bonus.

There were a few rides that needed adult supervision. I was willing to take my son on these rides, but didn’t expect to have to pay for myself, seeing as I was only on it to supervise, not to enjoy the ride. What would have been an affordable $3 ride, turned in to an expensive $6 for what was offered

The fair had vendors set up advertising for local artists; homemade crafts, Avon, body products, even a psychic. The kids had school crafts on display that had received awards.

Overall our first experience at the fair was a great one. I would recommend it mainly for younger children (2-6), although there is much more the fair could offer to older kids. Hopefully in the years to come they can offer a bit more variety for the older children.

We look forward to taking Carter to a few more local fairs this season. Next on our radar is the Renfrew fair on Sept 6th to 9th. Come check it out if you can.

 
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Comments (6)

  1. StephanieS Tuesday - 21 / 08 / 2012 Reply
    The first summer we lived in Arnprior (after moving here from Montreal), we went to the fair, and nearly died at how $$$$ it was. $10.00 to get on the grounds, then pay per ride. Needless to say, we've never been back. I find it extremely expensive for my family of four. We really enjoy going to the Shawville Fair in Quebec. I think it's $10.00 for children, $15.00 for adults, and it grants you unlimited access to all the rides. My kids are 13 and 9 so they love to go on all the rides....over and over and over again!
    • Erin
      Twitter:
      Wednesday - 22 / 08 / 2012 Reply
      Do you remember if the Shawville Fair have good rides for little ones around age 2?
      • StephanieS Wednesday - 22 / 08 / 2012 Reply
        Oh geez.....I'm not sure - but there maybe five young kids rides? But like I said, I'm not 100% positive....
  2. Tricia
    Twitter:
    Tuesday - 21 / 08 / 2012 Reply
    You are right, not affordable at all, and especially for what they have to offer. We will have to check out the Shawville fair too, sounds like its better priced.
    • Crystal M Tuesday - 21 / 08 / 2012 Reply
      The pricing for the Shawville fair is awesome if you have kids and/or do rides! Wish Renfrew would go that way too!
  3. StephanieS Friday - 24 / 08 / 2012 Reply
    I don't mean to hijack this thread and make it all about Shawville, but for those interested, on my blog are pictures from last year. http://laurander.blogspot.ca/2011/09/here-are-some-pictures-from-shawville.html

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