The Durham Fair, held in

Durham, Connecticut Durham is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Durham is a former farming village on the Coginchaug River in central Connecticut. The population was 7,152 at the 2020 census. Every autumn, the town hosts the Durham Fair, th ...

, is one of the largest agricultural fairs in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

and was first held in 1916. The four-day event takes place during the last full weekend of September. Activities include

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

and competitive exhibits, pulling contests, craft and commercial tents, various forms of entertainment and a carnival midway. The fairgrounds accommodate both permanent buildings for commercial and agricultural exhibits and space for tents and other non-permanent structures to be brought in each year. Past entertainers on the main stage have included

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, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Blues Traveler, and KC and the Sunshine Band. The Durham Fair is staffed entirely by volunteers; in fact, it is the second largest fair in North America without paid management or employees. In addition to the members of the Durham Agricultural Fair Association and other volunteers, local organizations such as schools, churches, clubs, civic groups, and more, participate in the fair to help raise funds for their organizations. There was no fair in 1917–18, 1942–45 & 2020.

Pulling contests

Pulling contests are events that involve the use of oxen,

draft horse A draft horse (US), draught horse (UK) or dray horse (from the Old English ''dragan'' meaning "to draw or haul"; compare Dutch ''dragen'' and German ''tragen'' meaning "to carry" and Danish ''drage'' meaning "to draw" or "to fare"), less oft ...

s and

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...

s to pull

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

weights to determine the best contestant in each event. They are well received as a show of strength between farmers who believe that their oxen, horses or tractors are the strongest in terms of pulling weight. Monetary awards provide additional motivation for all competitors.

Use of Durham Fairgrounds

The Durham Fairgrounds have been used for several other festivals including B.O.M.B. Fest 2010.http://www.bombfest.com In May 2012, the fairgrounds hosted the 1st annual Construction Pro RODEO featuring an EXPO, careers in construction day for high school kids and a skills competition.

References

External links

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Construction Pro RODEO
{{tourism-stub Durham, Connecticut Tourist attractions in Middlesex County, Connecticut Festivals in Connecticut