The Cannon Grange executive board has been working through the spring and summer to plan for the 88th Anniversary Agricultural Fair on Aug. 30, 2020. The Grange members had to rethink how to hold the fair when they realized that they would not be able to have the public on the grounds of the Grange as has been the tradition over the past 40-plus years. Trying to recreate as much of the original idea of exhibiting the fruits of the local community’s labor, the Grange has come up with a model of both virtual and in-person judging for most of the exhibit departments, and which the public can still participate in virtually.
Anyone ages 7-years-old and up can enter items in the fair. Neither membership to the Grange nor Wilton residency is required-everyone is invited and welcomed to exhibit.
Virtual exhibits include Crafts and Collections, Sewing and Needlework, Poultry and Fowl, Rabbits, Livestock, Eggs, Water Coloring Painting, Photography, and COVID-19 inspired art. Specific categories within these departments can be found in the 2020 Cannon Grange Agricultural Fair and Exposition Book. Hard copies of the book can be picked up at the Village Market, Wilton Hardware, and the Wilton Farmers Market. A pdf version of the 2020 Fair Book is available online, in addition to the online entry form for virtual exhibits.
Registration for the virtual exhibits closes on August 20.
The virtual exhibits will be judged the week of Aug. 24 and all entries and the winners will be posted on the Grange website and youTube channel on Aug. 30 by 10 a.m.
Fruits, vegetables, and flowers will be judged on Aug. 30 in the historic Cannon Grange Hall. Dropoff of these items will be on Saturday, Aug. 29 from 1-4 p.m. at the Cannon Grange Hall (25 Cannon Rd.). Grange officials will also accept fruits, vegetables, and flowers on Sunday, Aug. 30 from 7:30-8:30 a.m. Judging will begin at 9 a.m. and the exhibits and results will be live-streamed on the Cannon Grange Facebook page at 11:30 a.m.
Refer to the fair book and the Grange’s website for more details about the fair.
