Celebrate Together: The Western Fair is Turning 150!

Save the date: September 10–19, 2027 

The gates have closed on another Western Fair, but we already have something special to look forward to. 

Next September, the Western Fair celebrates its 150th edition. 

For 150 Fairs, generations of families and friends have come together here. They've experienced the rides, visited the animals, entered competitions, cheered from the Grandstand, eaten their favourite Fair food and made the kind of memories that get retold years later. 

In 2027, we're celebrating all of it, and everyone who has been part of the story. 

The New Theme for this Milestone Year 

The theme for our 150th is simple: Celebrate Together. 

Because the Fair has never really been something you just watch. It's something you do together. 

You come with your kids. Your grandparents. Your best friend. Your first date. Your classmates. Maybe you bring someone who's never been before and show them the things you can't leave without doing. 

For generations, people from southwestern Ontario have made the Western Fair their own. The 150th belongs to all of us. 

And to mark the countdown, we're unveiling a special anniversary logo, inspired by quilting: a longstanding Fair tradition. 

Just as individual pieces of fabric come together to create something bigger, our Fair has been shaped by generations of people, traditions, cultures and memories coming together. It's a reminder that the Western Fair is part of the fabric of our community. 

150 Fairs, 160 Years 

Here's a bit of Fair trivia you might not know. 

The first Western Fair was held in 1868, which means the 150th Fair arrives 160 years later. 

Why the difference? 

Ten Fairs were cancelled over our history: eight during the Second World War and two during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

During those times, the grounds served the community in other ways including becoming an army training depot during the Second World War and later serving as the site of a field hospital and mass vaccination clinic during the pandemic. 

It's one of the reasons Celebrate Together means so much. 

Gathering at the Fair is something generations before us have done, and something worth celebrating as we look toward the generations still to come. 

Your memories are part of our history 

Maybe you remember riding the Zyclon roller coaster. 

Maybe your family has entered Creative Arts for generations. 

Maybe you never miss the animals, the Grandstand, the midway or that one Fair food you wait all year to eat. 

Or maybe your Western Fair tradition is just beginning. 

As we count down to the 150th, we want to hear your Fair stories. 

We're building a community archive, and we're looking for old photographs, ribbons, programs, ticket stubs, midway wristbands and other Western Fair memorabilia — along with the stories behind them. 

Dig through those photo albums, boxes and basements and send us a digital photo or scan, along with your story, at 150@westernfairdistrict.com. 

We'll be sharing memories throughout the countdown to September 2027. 

So save the date - September 10–19, 2027. 

Ten days. 150 Fairs. Generations of memories. 

Let's Celebrate Together!