By Mike Anderson
Although the Sutton Fair and Horse Show is cancelled for 2021, you can still have some fun at the fairgrounds this summer, as Thursday marked the return of the midway for the first time since 2019.
World’s Finest Shows, billed as Ontario’s premiere midway provider, was able to rent the fairgrounds after its run in London, Ontario, was cancelled last week.
The scaled-down midway is called “Sutton’s Summer Mini Carnival” and features 12 rides, eight games and food concessions.
Admission to the Mini Carnival is free. Ride coupons are available on-site; each ride requires 2-3 coupons per person. A wristband is $25 but is only valid from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The midway runs this weekend, August 5 to 8, from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. And next weekend, August 12 to 15, most days from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. — the last Sunday will be from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The midway operator had hoped to be open during the week, from August 9 to 11, but a Town bylaw prohibits it from operating for more than four consecutive days. And, although there were last-minute discussions, the Town, in the end, was not willing to temporarily suspend the bylaw.
But, despite the red tape and bureaucratic hiccups, Patrick Jamieson, World’s Finest Shows’ general manager, is just happy to be on the road again.
“We’ve been off the road since October 2019. So, I couldn’t be happier,” said Jamieson, whose first show was in St. Thomas, Ontario, in late July.
“During COVID, we weren’t off work, we were in our shop doing maintenance, but we were not entertaining people. And that’s what this is all about.”
“We’re just tickled pink to get back to work and have fun.”
Jamieson says they usually would have two full-scale midways travelling to 50 towns across the province.
But with this year’s late start, the midway operator has only one scaled-down version on the road, with plans to visit just seven towns, including Sutton.
“We only have 12 rides here versus 18 during the fair. But we have our showpiece, the Ferris wheel. It’s what everybody wants to ride. And we have a new grand carousel we just purchased two years ago,” he said.
World’s Finest Shows hasn’t done much promotion; there’s just one post on the Sutton Fair and Horse Show Facebook page, so Jamieson is hoping word will spread.
“We don’t really know how many people are going to come because it was kind of a last-minute thing for us to get in here,” he said.
“Being in a cottage country area, we hope word of mouth gets out there.”
“We’re also going to do a bicycle raffle for kids under 12. They’ll get a draw ticket when they buy their coupons.”
While it took just a couple of days to set up the midway, Jamieson stresses that it complies with the COVID-19 restrictions outlined by the province and public health units.
Under Step 3 of the province’s reopening plan, capacity limits for outdoor amusement parks, fairs and rural exhibitions have been raised to 75 per cent, which Jamieson says allows between 3,000 to 3,500 people at a time.
He says signage at the midway promotes social distancing, hand sanitizer will be available at every ride and game, and staff will be masked.
Midway patrons are also be encouraged to wear a mask when social distancing is not possible.
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