Ever since it’s inception in 1947, the Navan Fair has been at the heartbeat of the village, drawing in people from miles around. It is the first event on the rural fair calendar in Eastern Ontario and it is the biggest single event in the east end of Ottawa, attracting over 10,000 people every year.

The 49th edition of the Navan Fair gets underway this Thursday morning with judging in the Ayrshire, Holstein and Jersey Cattle Shows as the Purebred Heavy Horses. Both events are closed to the public which must wait until 4 p.m. for the grand opening with one exception – for the first time ever the Fair’s organizers, in partnership with Robertson Amusements, will be offering an accessibility hour from 2-3 p.m., during which persons with disabilities and their support persons can enjoy the midway rides without all the lights and sounds.

Anyone wishing to take advantage of the accessibility hour had until Tuesday, Aug. 4 to pre-register.

When the gates do open to the general public at 4 p.m., visitors will have access to the entire midway, which will once again be offering a Toonie Thursday discount in which you can go on any ride for just one ticket. The tickets can only be purchased on site in packets of four or 16 at $2 a ticket plus HST. The Beer Garden under the Domes will also open at 4 p.m.

The official opening ceremony of the Fair will take place at 7 p.m. on the second floor of the Navan Memorial Arena,

Thursday’s main event starts at 7 p.m. in the demolition derby arena where massive “car”-nage will take place as six-cylinder vehicles go bumper-to-bumper to determine a champion.

After the demolition derby, fair-goers can head over to the Domes to see Eastbound of Bytown and DeeJay Nash who will be performing from 9-11 p.m.

Activities then pick up on Saturday morning with a special presentation by the Meet the Keepers Rescue Center in the Navan Curling Club at 10:30 a.m. Additional presentations will be held at 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

The ever popular Ultimutts Animal Actors Show will take place at 11:30 a.m., 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. in front of the Navan Fair Pavilion.

The midway will open at 11 a.m. featuring a pay-one-price option costing $45 plus HST which will be good for the entire day.

Horse fans will be able to catch the Heavy Horse judging at 3:30 p.m. in the Navan Memorial Arena which will include a perfor-mance by the Capital Cowgirls Drill Team.

The main event on Friday night is the return of the demolition derby with the child-ren’s PowerWheels, and full-size car events followed by The Derringers and Signal Hill performing under the Domes from 9 p.m. which costs an extra $15 over the price of general admission to the Fair.

On Saturday, things kick off with a special pancake breakfast in St Mary’s Hall at 1171 Smith Road starting at 8 a.m.

The fairgrounds will open at 9:30 a.m. which is also when the Prettiest Petal Farms Display will open in the Pavilion. The Navan Fair Parade will then take place along Colonial Road starting at 10:45 a.m. followed by the return of the Bed Races.

Other events on Saturday include a Corn-hole Tournament beginning at noon in the beverage garden, the Zucchini-500 Car Race under the Pavilion at 1 p.m., and the Truck Pull at 4 p.m. Saturday’s headline act under the Domes are The Road Hammers.

The Fair will wrap up on Sunday with one hour of complimentary rides on the midway from 10-11 a.m., the Heavy Horse and Tractor Pulls at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. and The RockPhiles and Double Back under the Domes at 1 p.m.

For more information about this year’s Navan Fair including a full schedule and pricing visit navanfair.ca.