From Monday, July 2, to Wednesday, July 4, the Weyburn Ag Society will be holding their 99th annual Weyburn Fair.

"Years ago the Weyburn Fair used to be a huge event, but as the years go by people are getting busy with other events, but we still get between 9,000 to 10,000 people. It brings in a lot of people and hopefully that will help with the local economy," said Ag Society manager Sandy Bell.

Gates to the Fair will open at 7 a.m. daily and the midway will open at 2 p.m. on Monday, July 2, and at noon on Tuesday and Wednesday. The exhibit displays will be open at noon and close at 10 p.m. daily at the Sports Arena. The displays will include home products, junior work, school work, household arts, agricultural products and photography. Each day, starting at 9 p.m., is the karaoke superstar party as well.

Children's entertainer "Prairie Dog Doug" will be performing "Songs from the Silly Side of Saskatchewan" at 1, 3 and 4 p.m. on all three days. Other children's activities taking place daily include balloon sculpting and face painting by entertainer Keegan Duck at 4 p.m., a magic show at 6 p.m. and the children's peddle tractor pull at 2 p.m.

A big draw each year is the pony chariot and chuckwagon races. The chariot races will be at 3 p.m. and the chuckwagons will run at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 2, and Tuesday, July 3. This year there are a guaranteed 24-30 entries for the chariot and chuckwagon races.

A Youth Talent Search will be taking place with the junior (age seven to 12) performers on Monday, July 2, at 8 p.m. On Tuesday, July 3, at 8 p.m. will be the senior (13-21 years of age) performers.

"We are giving the young people a chance to advance with their singing and performing with the Youth Talent Search," said Bell.

This is an opportunity for contestants to win prizes and the winners can advance to the Saskatchewan Youth Talent Search at the Saskatoon Exhibition on Sunday, Aug. 12. The winners will receive $150 towards expenses if they choose to advance.

On Monday, July 2, the weighing of the 4-H steers will take place at 8 a.m. with the 4-H judging at 10 a.m. The 4-H team grooming will begin at 11 a.m. as well as the heavy horse show.

The 4-H showmanship will begin at noon and the cloverbud competition will take place at 3:30 p.m. At 4:30 p.m. will be the jackpot calf show and jackpot heifer show.

On Tuesday, July 3, the 4-H fed calf show will begin at 9 a.m. and the heavy horse show will be at 11 a.m. with miniature horses filling in between classes. The 4-H activities for Tuesday will wrap up with the jackpot steer show at 4:30 p.m.

The 4-H female show will be on Wednesday, July 4, at 8 a.m. with the public judging of commercial pens at 10 a.m. and official judging of commercial pens at 1 p.m. The 4-H awards presentation will be at 1:30 p.m. and the calf sale will take place at 2:30 p.m.

"The 4-H events are a big part of our fair," said Bell.

Clean-up teams from the Weyburn Skating Club, Weyburn Gymnastics Club and Weyburn Synchro Stars will be on hand to clean the exhibition grounds during and after the Fair. The clean-up teams are sponsored by the Saskatchewan Association of Ag Societies and Exhibitions and SaskPower.

"The clean-up teams have really been helpful in keeping our grounds clean," said Bell.

Admission to the fair for adults is $8 daily or $16 for a three-day pass, students (ages 13-18) is $5 daily or $10 for a three-day pass, children (ages six to 12) is $3 daily and $6 for a three-day pass and children under six years are free.

A family pass consisting of two adult passes and three students or three children or a combination are $35. Family passes are available by advance sale only and can be purchased until 8 p.m. on Sunday, July 1.

Coupon prices are 75 cents for singles, $7 for sheets of 10, $13 for sheets of 20 and $24 for sheets of 40. An one-day price wristband costs $30 per person per day.

The Weyburn Chamber of Commerce will be holding their annual Fair parade on Tuesday, July 3, with the floats lining up at 9:30 a.m. along Fifth Avenue N.E. and the parade beginning at 10:30.

The parade will run south on Fifth Street before turning west on First Avenue. It will then turn south at Second Street, west on Prairie Avenue and south towards downtown on Third Street.

At Railway Avenue, the parade will turn and go north on Second Street and turn west on Bison Avenue. It will turn north on Government Road and west on First Avenue where it will head towards the Tatagwa View Care Home. The parade will end at the Souris Valley grounds.

"Some of the things we are going to have are miniature horses, the Shriners, a sailboat and a few surprises," said Chamber manager Jeff Richards.

Anyone interested in entering into the parade can phone, fax or stop by the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce. The deadline to get entries in is Friday, June 29.