Niagara Regional Exhibition readies for next weekend
The Niagara Regional Exhibition is almost completely ready to go for next weekend.
Ray Ravazzolo, president of the Niagara Regional Agricultural Society, which runs the exhibition, said planning has gone smoothly this year.
That’s especially in comparison to last year when some conflicts within the agricultural society caused the group to announce around the end of July there would be no exhibition. Ultimately, the group ended up pulling an exhibition together for 2016. This year, there were no such conflicts.
“We had to work on ironing out lots of kinks. I just wanted a fresh start,” Ravazollo said.
“I want to bring people together. I want people to have a good time.”
This year, orchestrating that good time has also included making sure Canada is represented in its sesquicentennial year. Ravazollo said the NRE is celebrating by incorporating as many Canadian elements as it can into the Sept. 15, 16 and 17 weekend.
It’s a bit smaller scale in terms of celebration than Ravazollo had initially hinted at last year when he had said they would be preparing for the Canada’s “one-five-oh,” but having Canadian businesses, featuring Canadian sports and including a breed of horses exclusive to Canada are just a few things on the list.
He said Thursday there were a few other ideas he had in mind, too, but didn’t want to discuss
them because they hadn’t been finalized.
One pretty bigs change this year is there will be no rides. He said ride companies were booked up for the date, but he anticipates them being back next year.
In their stead, there will be inflatables from Niagara Inflatables and Games and he said there will also be plenty of animals for the kids to see, too.
New this year is an indoor volleyball tournament on Saturday and batting cages for people to try out.
The truck and tractor pull, which Ravazzolo said was really popular last year, is back, starting at 5 p.m. on Saturday. There are separate tickets for that,s which are $10 each. The demolition derby is back too on Sunday, with separate tickets that are also $10 each.
Also back are the baby and pet shows on Saturday.
Live music is also on the schedule, including bands each night and an open mic session on Sunday. Artists interested in participating in the open mic are asked to get in touch ahead of time to make sure the spots aren’t filled up. He said they can reach out by contacting info@niagaraex.com.
Overall, Ravazzolo said the agricultural society is excited for this year’s exhibition. The group is looking for more volunteers though and said people can email info@niagaraex.com or call 905-735-6413 to find out how to get involved.