Agnes Clark has been a frequent visitor to the Rockton World's Fair for seven decades. But this year, something is different.
The 95-year-old from Cambridge started losing her vision due to macular degeneration two years ago. Now, she has difficulty deciphering things that are too close, and instead relies on her peripheral vision.
That, however, doesn't stop her from enjoying the festivities at the fairgrounds on a sunny Sunday.
"I can still hear things. I can still smell things very well," she said, as her friend John Clare pushed her wheelchair down the narrow aisles of the poultry building, navigating through the display of award-winning chickens and the crowd of curious children.
Agnes Clark feeds a chicken at Rockton World's Fair. The 95-year-old has been visiting the fair since the early 1940s. (Sunnie Huang/CBC)
As Clare read aloud the names and origins of each chicken to Clark, she took her time studying each breed and feeding them. The two quickly went through a cup of poultry feed they bought.
Now in its 162nd year, the country fellowship fair offers plenty to see, smell, hear and touch. Taking place from Oct. 10 to 13 over the Thanksgiving long weekend, this year's fair features a poultry, pigeon and rabbit show, sheep shearing and cow milking demonstration, as well as an education tent from Little Ray's Reptiles.
For activities that don't involve getting up and close with a feathery or slimy animal, the fair also offers amusement rides, agriculture display, music performances and food vendors. Helicopter rides, illusion shows and trampoline performances are among the many activities.
The family-friendly event, aimed to entertain and educate, attracts more than 50,000 people each year, organizers say.
Since she first visited the fair in the early 1940s, much has changed, Clark said.
"It's a lot bigger than it used to be and [there are] a lot more different varieties of animals," Clark recalled, adding that parking near the fair is also easier to find these days.
But what brings Clark back almost every year is her optimism, said Clare. His 96-year-old aunt is Clark's best friend.
"Rather than complaining about not being able to see things when she comes, she's just really glad to come and see what she can," Clare said. "It makes your life a lot happier if you can appreciate what you can do and not regret the things you can't. And Agnes is like that."
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