Agricultural society not in charge of grandstand at Connaught Park, Kincardine

To the Editor:
RE: “Kincardine should fix up the grandstand in Connaught Park, says reader”

The Kincardine Agricultural Society is not involved with the maintenance or removal of the grandstand at Connaught Park, Kincardine. The only building in the park we manage (on behalf of the Municipality of Kincardine) is the Connaught Park Pavilion. 

From our understanding, the grandstand is used only for a few baseball spectators and it is no longer structurally safe. The decision to remove it was made solely by the municipality.

We would also like to address the statement regarding the midway at the annual Kincardine Fall Fair. Chantal Lorentz’s “facts” are far from the truth.

Over the years, we have heard many false statements as to why the Kincardine Fall Fair does not have a midway, including the liability insurance being too high, not being able to afford it, or simply not wanting a midway.

The agricultural society volunteers would love to have a midway as part of our fair but the reality is there are fewer midways operating and they choose to go to larger fairs on Labour Day weekend where they can walk away with a larger profit. Our volunteers have contacted each midway company in Ontario in hopes of bringing one to the fair.

As with most other not-for-profit organizations, the fall fair is organized and run by volunteers. Many years ago, Kincardine had a much larger agricultural base in the surrounding townships, but as time went on, the farms disappeared, along with the farm families that were huge contributors to the operation of the fair.

The volunteers currently involved in the fall fair, are amazing and very hard-working, with many having been involved for decades. We would invite Ms. Lorentz and her family and anyone else interested, to get involved with the fair as we work each year to improve and continue the wonderful agricultural family event it is.

Sincerely,
Shirley Hartwick, president
Lindsay Dykeman, director and past-president
Kincardine Agricultural Society