Famed eastern Ontario South Mountain Fair a success despite rainy weekend

One of the longest running fairs in Ontario wrapped up on Sunday, and by all accounts it was another success for the South Mountain Fair.

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"It's actually gone great," said Taylor Ace, the chair of the South Mountain Fair.

"We've had great crowds, despite the rain that we've gotten."

The festival met for its 132nd time on Sunday. The annual fair takes place the third weekend of August in the community of South Mountain, located approximately 75 kilometres south of Ottawa.

A few agricultural events were delayed because of the weather, but according to Ace, it could have been worse.

"We've been pretty lucky," she said.

For South Mountain locals, the fair is their favourite time of year.

"A lot of family volunteers here, a lot of friends volunteer here," said Dan Norris.

Norris, a South Mountain resident resident, comes to the fair every year, but 2024 marked a first as he was accompanied by his eight-month-old daughter.

"It's good to bring everybody together like this and have an end result as good as this," he said.

On Sunday, the hot ticket was a rodeo, which had such a large crowd and could have been considered a standalone event.

The rodeo track at the 132nd South Mountain Fair. Aug. 18, 2024. (Jack Richardson/CTV News Ottawa).

"It's very family oriented. Everybody here, everybody's grown up together," said bull rider Dustin McMullen.

"It's just one big group of great friends travelling down the rodeo doing what we love."