142nd Strong Fall Fair 2026: Almaguin Highlands Tradition

A car show, horse pull, and parade in Sundridge, Ontario, since 1885

📍 Get Directions Full Schedule

The Strong Agricultural Society has run this fair since 1885, and the 142nd edition keeps the format that’s defined it for generations: a Friday night car show and horse pull, a Saturday parade, and an exhibit hall packed with log sawing, homecraft, and antique competitions at the SSJ Arena.

🚗 Car show & horse pull 🎪 Saturday parade 🪵 Log sawing & nail driving 🏛️ Pioneer Home & Heritage Building

💡 The fair traditionally closes with a non-denominational community church service on the Sunday morning after — this year at 2:00 pm on September 20 at the SSJ Arena.

Why Go Schedule Essentials History Getting There Tips FAQ

✨ Why This Fair Is Worth the Trip

Sundridge sits in the Almaguin Highlands of Parry Sound District, and the Strong Fall Fair has been the community’s autumn gathering point since 1885 — a genuinely old tradition for a township first settled only a decade earlier. The fair is entirely volunteer-run by the Strong Agricultural Society, right down to a co-president model currently shared by Mackenzie Sinclair and Jennifer Thompson, and it shows in the details: a Fall Fair Poster Competition where the winning entry becomes next year’s prize book cover, a “Best Decorated Driveway” contest with a sunflower theme, and a John Hornibrook Memorial Award for the exhibitor under 20 with the most entries.

The competitions themselves lean into old rural skills that don’t get much airtime anymore — log sawing and nail driving across men’s, women’s, and teen divisions, a scarecrow contest judged by age group, and a “Three Sisters” garden display honouring the traditional Indigenous companion-planting method of corn, beans, and squash. It’s the kind of programming that only survives at fairs old enough to have never let these traditions lapse.

On top of the classic exhibit categories, the fair runs a Friday car show and horse pull, a Saturday parade, and the Pioneer Home and Heritage Building — a standing exhibit of historic treasures that gives the fair a genuine local-history dimension beyond the usual livestock and homecraft categories.

📅 The 2026 Schedule

Exhibit drop-off runs Thursday, September 17 from 4:30 to 8:30 pm at the SSJ Arena, with judging beginning Friday morning at 9:00 am sharp (arena floor closed to the public during judging).

The fair traditionally closes with a community church service — this year Sunday, September 20 at 2:00 pm, upstairs at the SSJ Arena.

🎟️ Admission & Fair Essentials

General gate admission for 2026 hadn’t been published on the Society’s site at the time of writing. What is confirmed: the Friday Car Show runs with prizes and a food booth, and Farmer John’s BBQ opens separately at 5:00 pm for dinner ahead of the Horse Pull.

Exhibitors need to submit entry forms individually (no family forms), attach a signed waiver, and tag every item before drop-off — the Society strongly encourages getting forms in before September 11, 2026, since tags need to be prepared in advance and picked up by the exhibitor. No entries are accepted Friday morning, so Thursday evening drop-off is the only window.

Vendors are welcome and the Society is actively promoting a bigger vendor presence for 2026 — anyone interested in a table should contact the Society directly ahead of the fair. The Society also runs a weekly Summer Market and Yard Sale every Saturday from the May long weekend through fair day, in the poultry building at the fairgrounds, which is worth knowing about if you’re in the area before September.

📜 140+ Years in the Almaguin Highlands

The Strong Agricultural Society traces its roots to 1885, not long after the Township of Strong itself was first settled in the 1870s following the Free Grants and Homestead Act of 1868. That makes the fair almost as old as organized settlement in the area — a fair that’s grown up alongside the community it serves rather than arriving after the fact.

The Society is organized under the Agricultural and Horticultural Act and remains affiliated with the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies, holding regular meetings on the first Thursday of most months upstairs at the SSJ Arena — the same building that hosts the fair itself. Honour Roll members Grace Donnelly, Stewart Donnelly, and John Hornibrook are recognized for their contributions to the Society’s history, and the John Hornibrook Memorial Award, given each year to the youngest top exhibitor, keeps that legacy visibly connected to the fair.

The Pioneer Home and Heritage Building adds another layer of history to the fair weekend — a standing collection of historic treasures from the region, open during fair hours for anyone who wants a deeper look at Strong Township’s past beyond the competitions and midway atmosphere.

🚗 Getting There

The fair runs at the SSJ Arena, 14 Albert St N, in Sundridge — accessible via Highway 11 or Highway 124 through the Township of Strong in the Almaguin Highlands region of Parry Sound District.

Parking: Specific fair-day parking details weren’t published at the time of writing. As a community arena and adjacent fairgrounds, expect on-site parking to be available.

💡 A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Go

🚗 Come Friday evening for the car show and horse pull. It’s a different atmosphere from Saturday’s daytime parade and fair, and worth treating as its own outing.

🍔 Grab dinner at Farmer John’s BBQ. It opens at 5:00 pm Friday, ahead of the 7:00 pm Horse Pull — a good way to make an evening of it.

🏛️ Don’t skip the Pioneer Home and Heritage Building. It’s open Saturday 9 am to 3:30 pm and offers a genuinely different experience from the competitions and midway.

📱 Check the Society’s Facebook or website closer to the date. With gate admission not yet published, it’s worth a quick check before you go.

⛪ Stay through Sunday if you can. The community church service at 2:00 pm is a quieter, reflective close to the weekend for those who want it.

❓ Common Questions