The Lloyd Ex Fair days are officially in the rearview mirror.
The 120th fair has come and gone and what a fair it was. The city was packed; the grounds were sprawling with activity and excitement and I have a million bug bites all over me. I should’ve worn some long pants or had bug spray.
Read more: Column: Oat of control love for Lloydminster
I could complain about bugs all day, but today, I’m looking to once again walk down memory lane. In my research for the initial fair article, I found far more than I needed for one column, so I decided to make it two.
There’s a number of interesting things I’ve learned about the fair. The first gathering of people for the purposes of agriculture took place in 1904 before the birth of the now-iconic Lloyd Ex Fair in 1905.
The fair has had many names over its tenure, the Lloydminster Exhibition, the Lloydminster Fair or any combination of the two. It appears in the mid-1980’s, the fair took on a new name, Colonial Days.
How they came to that name I’m not sure, but the name would stick as a constant up until 2020 when it became Lloyd Ex Fair.
There’s been a number of exciting acts and milestones celebrated through the fair. In 1958, Lloydminster celebrated its city status as part of the fair. Just a year prior in 1957, CKSA broadcasted from the colosseum Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday during the fair. Of note, the fair didn’t always run on the same days. Seems like early on it would still happen in July but at different times every year.
The fair had its own style of pageant, a queen contest. This was often kids in late high school. My own opinion is pageants in general are a strange thing that for some reason were immensely popular for a long period of time and still are in some places.
Countless amazing acts have graced the fair grounds. They’d have livestock events, agriculture, animals, magic, breakdancing and music. The list is
endless.
In 1937, a roller-skating act came through town with their gimmick being a straight jacket escape while roller-skating. It may go without saying how impressive it is to escape while still skating. One of my favourite notes I found was from 1948 where a travelling act, Smith and Allan, who were musicians, came to Lloyd. The paper described them in a very interesting way.
“So totally different from anything considered to be an instrument by any musician in his right mind,” read an excerpt from the Lloydminster Times.
Now, I don’t know what instruments they played but I’d like to believe they came in with a fruit of some kind making strange sounds from it. Almost like a hollow watermelon with metal on the inside for them to hit with a spoon.
The constant for the fair, it was always described as gigantic and often regarded as larger than life.
Having now been here for my first full fair, I agree. It brings the community and region together as a whole. Some performers and families even told me they travelled from the U.S. to be here.
Speaking with those running the fair at the Lloydminster Exhibition Association, there’s a clear passion for the fair and everything it offers. I’m sure we’ll continue to see that passion reflected in the amazing entertainment, competitions and events next year.
Read more: Column: A mall of memories
