| AUGUST 14, 2010 -- On Aug. 27 and 28, a local tradition that has been going on for more than 40 years will take place in a room at the Cherry Brook Grange.
The agricultural fair at the Grange may have shrunk in size over the years, but many Connecticut residents with gardens in their backyards still partake in the event.
Growers are invited to submit their best vegetables, fruits, baked goods, flowers, canned goods and quilts for judging at the fair. First, second and third place winners will receive a small monetary prize.
Though prizes could be $2 or $3, those who attend always enjoy the recognition, and even put the prize money to good use.
"We have had people that say with the money they make at the fair they use it to buy their seeds for the next year," said Cora Mutch, the master and secretary of Cherry Brook Grange and co-chair of the fair.
Mutch remembers when she used to submit her mother's goods to the fair as a child. Quilts and needlework hung everywhere.
"It used to have a dinner but as members have gotten older and passed away, we haven't done dinner in long time, but it does bring the community together because there are organizations and businesses in town that make a donation to our fair which helps with prize money," Mutch said.
"It is more for agricultural side to see what people do."
The fair is small, and for the small home grower, not large farms. The entire competition takes place in a room, and there are no outdoor booths.
Though the fair is small, the variety of what people bring varies every year.
"My favorite part is seeing what people have grown in their gardens and the flower arrangements that they have. It's neat to see all the things that people have thought of to enter," Mutch said. "There are some people that have come every year and they seem to enter the same kind of things so you're able to judge different types of zinnias or marigolds or tomato or squash."
The fair is usually held in September, but because of a wedding at the Grange it will be held in August this year.
Entries will be received on Aug. 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. and Aug. 28 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. It will reopen at 1 p.m. on Aug. 28 once the judging has been completed.
The fair takes place at the Grange Hall, located at 534 Cherry Brook Road, North Canton. For information, call Cora Mutch at (860) 693-0015.
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