The Estevan Fair proved to be an oasis among the tumult for a number of residents last week.
Despite poor weather and ongoing concerns due to flooding in the area, almost 7,000 people strolled through the turnstiles during the three-day event.
Estevan Exhibition Association president Dallas Spencer said with so much going on in the community, they were very happy with the attendance.
"The first night, even though it was raining from the time the gates opened to the time they closed, we had just about 1,100 through the gate so we were pretty impressed with that," said Spencer who took over the president's job from Rodney Dukart earlier this year.
"The second night we had 2,800 through the gate and the last night we had 3,300. That is a little down average wise from previous years, but we are still pretty happy."
Aside from poor weather over the first two days of the fair, Spencer said things ran smoothly. For the second straight year, the midway was staged in the parking lot of the Souris Valley Aquatic and Leisure Centre, a move that was popular with fair-goers. Estevan Idol returned for another year and continued to draw a number of fans and there were none of the security issues that arose at the 2009 fair.
"The police were really good all week being there for us," Spencer said, "especially with what they were doing and dealing with in town, that was quite good."
Spencer said another highlight was the lifestyles exhibits that were located in the Exhibition Hall. The number of exhibits has been dwindling over the past few years but Spencer said they enjoyed a resurgence in 2011.
"The entries were way up," he said. "It was nice to walk into that building and see it full from one side to the other with displays."
A local company also stepped up to make sure children impacted by the flood had the chance to enjoy the fair as Penn West Exploration purchased day passes for 120 kids.
Although they were able to work around the weather for the fair, the Exhibition Association was forced into postponing another event due to the excessive moisture the area has received this spring.
The annual Estevan CCA Rodeo and light horse show has been moved from early July to Sept. 9 and 10. The exhibition parade has also been moved to Sept. 9. The popular Ranchers' Rodeo will run Sept. 11.
"Everything is just too wet. We can't get equipment in there, we can't get trucks and trailers in there, so hopefully it will be dry and we'll get a nice weekend in September," Spencer said.
"There are lots of events running into the same problem, so hopefully we'll still get the cowboys to come to town."
Looking to the future, Spencer said the Exhibition Association is looking at the possibility of building a gravel pad, with drainage, on their grounds that would be used to host the midway in future years.
