The annual, fun-filled Mangrove Mountain & Districts Country Fair returns on Saturday, October 21, with a range of activities for the whole family.
The Fair was started by the local community in 1963 to raise funds for a much-needed Bush Nurse for the area, when there were no doctors or services in the area.
Twenty years later, when NSW Health picked up the ball, the community decided to keep the Fair going and raise money for local community groups and schools.
Celebrating its 60th year, this year’s Fair will see profits go to more than 20 local community groups including the soccer club, Scouts, Guides, pony club, garden club and the children’s centre.
All food and drink stalls are run by local volunteers and much of the fare is donated by local businesses.
There will be about 150 volunteers on hand at the gold-coin-entry family fun day.
There will be three amusement rides for the children, as well as pony rides, circus classes and lots of games and activities to keep even the youngest entertained.
A fascinating assortment of farm animals will include cuddly, furry, feathered, baby and traditional farm animals, with the littlies encouraged to stroke, hold and feed the animals as they learn from local working farmers.
There will also be Clydesdale horses, a small performing pony, a performing donkey and several sheep-shearing demonstrations throughout the day.
The informative “snake man” show will allow close encounters with many different types of native Australian reptiles.
The dark age re-enactors group will take fair-goers back in history with a Viking sword-fighting display and demonstrate how to forge metal and how period shoes, clothing, hand-made utensils and weapons were made.
A highlight of the Fair is the now-famous chicken races – The Great Chicken Run where a group of specially-trained local chickens will chase a remote-controlled toy monster truck (with grain in the back), around a race track constructed for the event.
The Country Fair will also showcase what the mountain district has to offer with locally grown plants and flowers, fruit and vegetable stalls, a cake stall, CWA jams, and arts and crafts stalls.
The arts and crafts competition is on for young and old with details available on the Fair’s social media sites and webpage.
Three different stages will feature many different styles and genres of live entertainment from country music starlets Lucy Parle and the Meagan Jane Band to blues and roots musicians LilG and Mitchi Renegen as well as line dancers, a ukulele extravaganza, school performances and much, much more.
Headline act on the main stage will be the award-winning Bill Chambers and Friends, who will perform for an entire hour.
Hamburgers, sausage sandwiches, pancakes and fruit salad will be available for purchase, along with barista coffee and cold drinks.
For the adults, there will be lots of informative displays and stalls on weed and pest control, solar systems, good garden and farming practices and the latest tools and machinery, a vintage steam farm machinery display, vintage cars and information on fire prevention strategies and emergency communication system for this year’s fire season.
The Fair will take place from 9am-3pm on Saturday, October 21, at the corner of Wisemans Ferry and Waratah Rds, Mangrove Mountain.
Visit www.mangrovemountaincountryfair.org.au or Mangrove Mountain & Districts Country Fair on Facebook for updates.
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Mangrove Mountain & Districts Country Fair