173rd Sunderland Fall Fair 2026: Holy Cow, It’s Fair Time

Durham Region’s oldest fair, running since 1851, two days of livestock shows, a demolition derby, and family fun

📍 Get Directions Full Schedule

Sunderland has been running this fair since 1851, making it the oldest in Durham Region, and it’s stayed true to its roots as a mid-week, kid-focused event — the two local elementary schools still lead the parade with their own “School Cheers,” and the high school band provides the music.

🐄 Beef, 4-H & horse shows 💥 Demolition derby 🎪 Adventure Village inflatables 🚜 Antique tractor & car show

💡 The fair runs on separate daily admission — Tuesday is $10, Wednesday is $15 — but a two-day pass at $20 covers both if you’re planning to come both days.

Why Go Schedule Essentials History Getting There Tips FAQ

✨ Why This Fair Is Worth the Trip

There’s a real weight to being the oldest fair in Durham Region — 175 years of continuous history sitting behind a two-day event in a small village northeast of Toronto. The Sunderland Agricultural Society has kept the fair’s original character intact: it started life as the Sunderland Rural Fair with the very first day set aside for children, and that youth focus is still obvious today, right down to the two elementary schools leading the parade with their own School Cheers and the high school band providing the music.

The program itself covers an impressive range for a mid-week fair: Beef and 4-H shows, Light and Heavy Horse classes, a Carriage Derby, and a Dairy demo sit alongside an antique tractor and car show, the Durham West 4-H Tractor Pullers at the grandstand, and Adventure Village’s Larry Potter Inflatables for the kids. The exhibit side is just as deep, with entries across baking, flowers, vegetables, quilts, art, photography, and antiques — the traditional agricultural society categories that have anchored the fair since 1851.

And then there’s the send-off: like a lot of Durham-area fairs, Sunderland closes with a demolition derby on Wednesday night, run in partnership with Edge Motorsports. It’s the loud, crowd-pleasing bookend to two days that otherwise run at a genuinely small-town pace.

📅 The 2026 Schedule

Two days, with the second day carrying most of the livestock shows and the marquee evening events.

🎟️ Admission & Fair Essentials

Exhibitor entries for adult classes are filled out in the 2026 Fair Book, with online entries also available through the society’s website; entries span baking, flowers, vegetables, quilts, art, photography, antiques, and more. An annual Sunderland Agricultural Society membership costs $15 and carries the privilege of exhibiting at the fair — worth it if you’re planning to enter more than a class or two.

Local and surrounding-area vendors set up throughout the grounds, with vendor and food vendor forms available through the society’s website ahead of the fair. Sponsorship opportunities also run through the society directly if you’re a local business looking to support Durham Region’s longest-running fair.

📜 The Oldest Fair in Durham Region

The Sunderland Fall Fair traces its roots to 1851, when it began as the Sunderland Rural Fair — and even then, the first day of the fair was set aside specifically for children, a detail the Sunderland Agricultural Society still points to as central to the fair’s identity 175 years later. The society’s stated objectives haven’t changed much since: celebrating the community’s agricultural heritage, encouraging environmental awareness, educating the public about farming practices old and new, and recognizing the achievements of local youth.

The society itself runs the way agricultural societies have always run — a Board of Directors and executive elected each November at the Annual Meeting, monthly meetings on the fourth Monday at the Sunderland Town Hall, and a network of committees handling everything from the antique tractor show to home craft judging. It’s a genuinely volunteer-driven organization, one where a $15 annual membership is enough to get involved and start exhibiting.

What’s stayed constant through 173 editions is the fair’s identity as a mid-week, youth-centred event rather than a big commercial weekend festival — a rarer format among Ontario fall fairs, and one that gives Sunderland its particular character.

🚗 Getting There

The fairgrounds sit at 20 Park Street in Sunderland, in the northwest corner of the village, directly north of the Town Hall and Cenotaph — an easy landmark to navigate by if your GPS gets confused on the smaller village roads.

Parking: Specific fair-day parking details weren’t published on the official site at the time of writing — with the fairgrounds in the village centre, expect a mix of on-site and nearby street parking, and check the Sunderland Fall Fair Facebook page for any updates closer to the date.

💡 A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Go

🎫 Weigh the two-day pass. At $20 versus $25 for both single-day tickets combined, the pass pays for itself if you’re planning to come both days.

💥 Arrive early for the demolition derby. It’s the fair’s traditional closing event and a big draw — get to the grandstand ahead of the 7:30 pm start on Wednesday for a good seat.

👨‍👩‍👧 Elementary kids get in free. A great reason to bring the whole family, especially on Wednesday when the schools take part in the parade.

🎡 Adventure Village hours differ by day. The inflatables run 4–8 pm Tuesday but 10 am–7 pm Wednesday — plan accordingly if the kids are counting on it.

🚜 Catch the 6 pm tractor pull before the derby. The Durham West 4-H Tractor Pullers run right before the demolition derby, making a solid back-to-back evening at the grandstand.

❓ Common Questions