Fun in the mud at Burford Fall Fair

Luke Punt got stuck in the mud at the Burford Fall Fair on Saturday.

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But the Jarvis resident was far from upset about his ordeal.

Beneath his helmet, beard and a couple of layers of mud, Punt was all smiles when approached by an Expositor reporter.

“I’d love to see a photo,” Punt said.

The photo captured Punt trying to drive his ATV out of the mud at the fair’s mud bog. The event is a kind of off-road drag race featuring competitors driving ATVs through a straight water and muddy track as fast as possible.

Some drivers make it through without getting stuck. Others aren’t so fortunate.

But everyone has a good time and for Punt it’s something that both he and his son Bryceson enjoy.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Bryceson said. “You get to get muddy.”

Father and son are members of the Rez Muttz – an off-road ATV group that, according to its website, organizes events that benefit the community.

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Bryceson said he and his dad spend a lot of weekends at various events such as the Mud Bog at the Burford fair.

The mud bog attracted an appreciative audience that applauded the efforts of all competitors. The largest applause was given to those who helped pull ATVs out of the mud to make way for the next rider.

The event was just one of many that brought people to the Burford fairgrounds on the weekend.

Sponsored by the Burford Agricultural Society, the fair began Saturday morning and continued throughout the weekend.

“We are trying to strike a balance,” Gayle Barker, the agricultural society’s first vice-president, said. “We want to maintain our traditions but we also want to change with the times.

“We want to have activities and events that appeal to everyone especially families.”

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The fair this year included a craft beer tent as well as the always popular tractor pull sponsored by the Southwestern Ontario Tractor Pullers Association. It also featured a horse competition that included an obstacle course for participants.

Other activities included a baby show, a show by professional horse trainers Jason and Bronwyn Irwin, a kids roping competition, toilet bowl races and a chainsaw competition.

On Saturday night, the fair featured live entertainment by Dennis Napper & Junkyard Delight in the craft beer tent.

The fair is fortunate to have a lot of sponsors, and a team of volunteers who make sure everything runs smoothly, Barker said.

One of the busiest people at the fair over the weekend was Evelynn Hodge.

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The daughter of Kevin and Deb, Hodge is a student at Paris District High School and was the fair’s ambassador.

She spent the weekend greeting guests and speaking to them about the fair.

But on Monday, she took on different roles.

She took off her sash, put on safety equipment, including gloves, face mask, ear protection and steel-toed boots to participate in the fair’s chainsaw competition.

After getting some instructions from organizer Mike Scott, Hodge gamely took hold of a chainsaw and cut through a thick log in just over 19 seconds.

“That was a lot of fun,” Hodge said after finishing.

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