Celebrating the western spirit of Cochrane with family-friendly fun, a scaled-back version of the Cochrane Fair is coming to town on Aug. 21.
Cochrane and District Ag Society general manager Molly Sapergia said it has been exciting planning for the ninth annual Cochrane Fair, and a full-day of entertainment is planned for the community.
The events begin at 11 a.m. on Aug. 21 and include a series of activities for the entire family.
The President's Choice Super Dogs will be hosting four great shows at the Fair, along with other children’s performance troupes set to entertain. Sapergia added there will also be tons of animals on hand for the show, including the reptile show and other exotic animals.
Popular fan favourites, the Mini Chuckwagons and mutton busting, will also be returning to the arena.
One of the more exciting aspects of this year's Fair will be the Junior Firefighters Challenge and Safety Demonstrations. During the Junior Firefighters Challenge, young people can try on youth-size firefighter suits and participate in some of the different drills a firefighter would likely undertake while on the job.
“I don’t think it will be as strenuous as a real firefighter,” Sapergia said with a laugh. “It gives them a chance to experience it. Some kids are really enthralled with firemen.”
Because of the fires ravaging the country this year, Sapergia said an impetus has been placed on sharing fire safety tips and tricks during the Fair, including demonstrations on how to use a fire extinguisher properly.
An especially exciting aspect of the 2021 Cochrane Fair, she added, is the 20th anniversary of the Cochrane Classic Bull Riding. Bullfighters will be hitting the dirt on the evening of Aug. 21.
“That’s a pretty exciting milestone for them,” Sapergia said.
As long as COVID-19 public health measures allow, she said, organizers are especially excited to bring a community barn dance to the event with the Chris Le Blanc Band at the Ag Society Barn. A beer garden will also be on-site.
“You can take your kids home for the evening and then come and enjoy the dance or go to the bull riding,” Sapergia said. “It’s going to be an authentic barn dance this year. We’re actually going to have it inside the barn.”
Extreme Cowboy Alberta will also be on hand, racing around the newly designed course on the grounds all weekend.
“They have a whole fantastic new course, it’s probably the biggest one in North America and they tell me it’s one of the best in the world,” Sapergia said, adding she is looking forward to seeing young families in town attending the fair and offering activities they can participate in.
When they started planning for the 2021 fair, Sapergia said the organizers started with the idea of hosting small shows with about 200 people on the grounds at a time. But this idea has been able to grow as COVID-19 public health measures in the community have been lifted.
Starting small and adding events has proven to be an effective way to plan for the 2021 fair, Sapergia added.
“Now it looks like we can just be open,” she said.
It has been challenging preparing to host the fair, because there is still some fear they may face increased health measures before the event takes place, Sapergia said. She added they are working with Alberta Health Services to ensure the event can go off without a hitch.
The organizer noted there will be no midway or marketplace at the 2021 Cochrane Fair due to concerns and planning around COVID-19.
“Planning has been quite challenging because of COVID,” she said, but added the fair organizers were able to learn lessons from Calgary Stampede to find success with the event.
For more information on the 2021 Cochrane Fair, visit cochranefair.com. For more information on Cochrane Classic Bull Riding, visit cochraneclassic.com
