WIIKWEMKOONG – The Wiikwemkoong Fall Fair is always a highly anticipated celebration of the harvest season and the community had much to be celebrating earlier this month as the main events on Saturday took place with warm temperatures under clear blue skies.
The fall fair began on Friday, September 20 with a Who’s Crafty family craft event, followed by a 2k and 5k fun run, country music movie double bill and topped with a family street dance at Pontiac School.
Saturday, the day’s events began with a stellar procession of floats in the annual parade with the theme of Country Before Country Was Cool—the GK Farms (Gerry Kaboni) float took top honours this year, the first time they have entered.
Then it was on to a tour of the exhibition hall before heading down to a full slate of events at Thunderbird Park that included music by Elijah Manitowabi followed by an open mic, bouncy castles and bull riding from It’s Not a Party Without Us, horseshoes, a bike rodeo (including a newspaper tossing event sponsored by The Expositor), a star look alike contest at the mainstage and plenty of fall fair games all day—complimented by the great food vendors on hand.
The day was topped off by the horse pull, ably emceed by the inimitable Eugene Manitowabi.
In the Heavy Weight horse pull division Kevin Gilbert of Purple Valley coaxed his horses Paint and Sam, weighing 3,646 lbs, to haul 7,000 pounds 11 feet, six inches to take first prize in the horse pull. Preston Webkamigad with Tim and Roy, weighing 3,760 lbs, took second an inch short at 11 feet, five inches and Stan Osawamick with his mules Henry and George, weighing 3,646 lbs, took third pulling three feet, nine inches. Jerrold Webkamigad and his horses Britt and Frank, weighing 3,356 lbs, took the Light Weight division pulling 5,500 lbs 17 feet. The Roy Family Award for Best Teamster went to Katie Cyr.
