The following was a speech written and presented at school and also at a fair board meeting by 12 year old Schomberg Fair junior member Andrew.
Andrew’s Speech – The Fair
Cotton candy, shows, games, rides….. yes if you guessed fairs you’re right. Honourable judges, teachers, boy and girls I’m here to talk to you about fairs.
I’m not there to go on rides, see shows, play games or even to eat cotton candy, I’m there to help set up and help things run smoothly. Every May I volunteer for the Schomberg Fair and have been doing this for 3 years now. My Aunt Beth was the one that asked me to help 3 years ago and I really enjoy it. A lot of my aunts, uncles and cousins also volunteer.
It all starts Friday night with the smash up derby. I get to take the day off school so that I can help out with getting the smash up derby ready by helping to put up the fence and making sure the area is smooth.
Saturday morning I’m up at the crack of dawn to help set the route for the parade. The best part is my Uncle is a volunteer firefighter so I get to ride on the fire truck during the parade. After the parade we have to get ready for the ATV pull in the early afternoon. We have to put up fencing and get the sandbags ready for the pull.
Finally it lunchtime and we go off to the clubhouse where the ladies make lunch. Lunch usually is chili, bread, sandwiches and for dessert there is always a nice big cake. Once lunch is done, I spend the rest of the afternoon with my cousins judging events or running errands.
Last year Owen helped out at the fair as well and it was a wet and really really muddy weekend. It was so muddy that I had to hit my work boots with a hammer to get all the dry mud off. On the Saturday night there was an awful storm and it felt like the club house was going to fly away. It was so bad that a bumper from the crash up derby was flying in the air. Owen and I got soaked because we were coming back to the club house from the far end of the fairground in the gator.
Sunday morning I help my cousin take fencing down from the ATV pull. Once this is done I help my aunt set up the audio equipment for the Schomberg Idol show. On Sunday there is a the horse pull so I also help set up for this event by smoothing out the area. The rest of the afternoon is spent getting everything cleaned up and put away for anther year.
Although I work really hard during the weekend, volunteering has some perks. I get to go on as many rides as I want for free, we get free meals from the club house, I can watch any event I want and I can run around a bit with friends who have come to the fair. I also get to play the games and eat cotton candy and drink slushies. I look forward to volunteering each May and being a part of our community.
So the next time you are at a fair eating cotton candy, watching the shows, going on rides and playing games, remember all the hard work done by volunteers that makes the Fair so much fun.
