The recent cancellation of the Kinsmen Fair after an unexpected cancellation by its midway supplier has prompted a local event planner to step up to help fill the gap for this year.
“Seeing that a 75-year-old event that has held so much tradition and life in Chatham-Kent just wasn’t going to happen was definitely a motivator for me,” said Chris Glassford, owner of Summit Shows Canada.
After learning last week the Kinsmen were canceling the fair after being unable to secure a company to provide a midway, he spent the weekend with his team to see “what we could comfortably do,” Glassford said.
As organizer of the Chatham Ribfest, he reached out to the carnival company he works with – Family Time Amusements out of Wallaceburg – to see if they could possibly set something up.
“They were very thrilled to do it,” Glassford said, bot all the pieces still need to come together.
He noted Family Time Amusements is a smaller operation, so the plan is to mix some elements of festival, fair and circus to create a family-oriented event.
The fair portion will include midway rides, games and carnival-type events, Glassford said.
On the festival side, he said there will be a lot of entertainment and a wide vendor base.
For the circus aspect, Glassford said he’s “looking at bringing in performers in different categories that haven’t been at the fair, like your jugglers and magicians.”
He added they are also looking to bring in shows geared to children to keep them engaged.
“We’re looking to bring in a lot of cool stuff for everybody,” Glassford said.
He said talks have gone well with the Municipality of Chatham-Kent’s parks and recreation department about the use of a Memorial Arena and surrounding grounds where the Kinsmen Fair is traditionally held.
He added some details still need to be finalized, but the plan is to hold the event from June 8 to June 11.
Glassford said plans also include honoring the Kinsmen Club for all that they’ve done over decades to provide financial support to a lot of community groups.
“Our hope is if we can draw a significant amount of support and funding, we will give back to Kinsmen as well.”
Glassford said more details will be coming.