A Sunny Weekend And

50 Years Of Tradition

By Shannon Hicks

BRIDGEWATER — Somebody over in Bridgewater must have been owed a few big favors coming last weekend. Evidently, they were all called in.

Fifty years of tradition at Bridgewater’s Fairgrounds looked like they were going to be washed out when the weather reports started rolling in during the week concerning the stretch of August 17 through 19. Meteorologists across the state were predicting heavy, steady rains for both Friday and Sunday, which would have dampened the golden anniversary celebration.

The fair would not have been cancelled because of rain, of course, but steady rain all weekend could have made the event less of a success than it turned out to be. The only year since 1952 that the fair has not been presented, in fact, was during the Great Flood of 1955.

Instead, there were two brief thundershowers late Friday afternoon and even those could not detract from the enjoyment of what turned into a gorgeous weekend of celebration in the center of Bridgewater. Saturday was as beautiful as had been forecast, and Sunday turned out to be a hot but fully sunny day, a far cry from the gloomy predictions that had been announced.

 “We had a great weekend,” fair secretary Cathi Sullivan reported this week. “It was actually the second-best turnout we’ve ever had.” Last year’s attendance set a record for Bridgewater Fair, and this year’s attendance was just under that figure, Ms Sullivan said.

“We had our best Saturday ever,” she continued. “I think so many people came out on Saturday because of what was still being forecast for Sunday.”

The 50th Annual Bridgewater Fair opened at 4 pm Friday, August 17, and the fireman’s parade started right on time, two rain showers and nearly three hours later, at 6:45.

The first firemen’s parades in Bridgewater, according to 28-year veteran parade chairman Dave Lathrop, consisted of just eight or nine departments. Last Friday more than 750 people were expected to participate in the fireman’s parade. That figure represented 50 local fire departments, including all five of Newtown’s companies (not to mention all 13 of Danbury’s companies), plus 15 marching bands of varying sizes.

The average number of companies participating in the parade now numbers about 30, but this year’s anniversary prompted a larger-than-usual turnout, Mr Lathrop has surmised.

Of the 50 participating companies on Friday, Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Co pulled a repeat win, bringing home Best Overall Company honors again this year. (A list of prizes that were announced for visiting firemen, as well as the fair’s other competitions, will be printed in next week’s issue of The Newtown Bee.)

The parade opened with the arrival of Bill Stuart, Bridgewater’s first selectman and this year’s parade marshal, and fair chairman Neil Cable. Bridgewater Volunteer Fire Department was in the lead position for fire companies, and was accompanied by the Connecticut Fireman’s Pipe Band, a group composed of firemen from across the state.

Inside the gates of the fairground, business was tradition-as-usual, from the midway of carousel rides and assorted vendor tents to the baa-ing from the sheep tent, the barnyard noises of the poultry and rabbit tent, and even the sounds of engines being pushed to their limits during the tractor pull in the South Ring.

There were weekend-long vegetable, fruit, and flower exhibits, art and photograph exhibits, wool exhibits, and industrial and agricultural exhibits. These agricultural aspects of the fair date right back to the fair’s original presentations. Competitions in lumberjacking and hay bale throwing also recall the fair’s original intents.

Food and refreshment stands were open all weekend too, with hundreds of people returning for one of the largest draws of the fair, the legendary roast beef sandwiches. The food tents served as shelter from the rain for a little while on Friday, but for the rest of the fair’s run the hundreds of people who were volunteering their time in those tents served up pizza, sausage and meatball grinders, fried dough, rotisserie-cooked chicken, burgers and hot dogs, cotton candy, sno-cones and ice cream, fresh lemonade, locally made fudge, and everything else that would fit into a country fair setting.

The special exhibition tent wrapped up 50 years of memories in one small section of the fairgrounds last weekend. Inside, visitors were able to enjoy ongoing slide and video presentations, collections of memorabilia including old photographs, newspaper clippings, ticket stubs, programs, and even fair workers’ T-shirts. Children of the Burnham School, which abuts the fairgrounds, also participated in the exhibition tent, drawing their interpretations of what the Bridgewater Fair means to them.

Proceeds from Bridgewater Fair go right back to the organization that puts the weekend-long event together: Bridgewater Volunteer Fire Department. Bridgewater’s is the only self-supporting fire company and ambulance service in the state and that mark of distinction is due primarily in part to the major fundraiser – its country fair – presented the third weekend of every August.