The Sandwich Fair is an annual event held on

Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492. ...

weekend in

Sandwich, New Hampshire Sandwich is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. Its population was 1,466 at the 2020 census. Sandwich includes the villages of Center Sandwich and North Sandwich. Part of the White Mountain National Forest is in the north, a ...

. The midway is open the three days of the fair and the Friday night prior to the fair's start. Two parades are part of the fair: an antique auto parade on Saturday and then the "Grand Street Parade" on Sunday, including marching bands from Inter-Lakes High School and Moultonborough Academy.

History

The fair was first held on Sunday October 10, 1909 as a

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

fair. The fair celebrated its centennial in 2010, with 35,000 people attending. 5,000 attended in 1921, and some sporting events were cancelled because of rain that day. The fair was a three-day event for the first time in 1988 and is now held annually on Columbus Day Weekend. The fair is held on the fairgrounds near the Samuel Wentworth Library and the tennis courts and the field after the fire station. The Fair is managed by the Sandwich Fair Association, which owns the fairgrounds. The Gillette Shows company of Pittsfield, Massachusetts manages the midway attractions. There was no fair in 1917–18, 1942–44 nor 2020. Friday night has been the midway preview for several years. A bracelet can be purchased granting unlimited ride access from 4 pm until 9 pm. Admission is free. Exhibit halls are closed on Friday night. Saturday has been "kids" day with a ride special bracelet which grants unlimited ride access from 9 am - 2 pm. Exhibit halls open at 9 am and the animal shows start on Saturday also. Sunday has always featured the "Grand Street Parade" and is still a major feature of the day along with all of the open animal shows. Horse and oxen pulling have always been very well attended. An original

Abbot-Downing Company Abbot-Downing Company was a coach and carriage builder in Concord, New Hampshire, which became known throughout the United States for its products — in particular the Concord coach. The business's roots went back to 1813, and it persisted in s ...

Concord coach The Concord coach is a type of horse-drawn Coach (carriage), coach, often used as stagecoaches, mailcoaches, and hotel coaches. The term was first used for the coaches built by coach-builder J. Stephen Abbot and wheelwright Lewis Downing of the A ...

leads the annual parade. Monday is "Senior" day, on which seniors age 65 and up get a discount admission price, and is also the day to see all of the "4-H" animal shows.

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.thesandwichfair.com Agricultural shows in the United States Sandwich, New Hampshire Festivals in New Hampshire Fairs in the United States Tourist attractions in Carroll County, New Hampshire National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry Festivals established in 1909