180th Plympton-Wyoming Fall Fair 2026: Lambton County’s Oldest

A barn dance, horse shows, and a foam party in Wyoming, Ontario, since 1846

📍 Get Directions Full Schedule

Founded in 1846, the Plympton-Wyoming Fall Fair is Lambton County’s oldest fair — and the 180th edition keeps that tradition alive with a Friday barn dance, a full weekend of livestock shows, and new additions like a Saturday magic show and Sunday foam party.

🐴 Light & heavy horse shows 💃 Barn dance with Dirt Country 🐕 Crowned Canines Dog Show 🎉 Foam party Sunday

💡 It’s the Society’s 180th year — a limited run of commemorative shirts, hats, and sweaters is available online through the HD Design Shop if you want a keepsake.

Why Go Schedule Essentials History Getting There Tips FAQ

✨ Why This Fair Is Worth the Trip

Being Lambton County’s oldest fair is a real distinction — founded in 1846, the Plympton Wyoming Agricultural Society has been running this event for 180 years, a run that predates Canadian Confederation by more than two decades. The fair’s own historian, Maxine Gray, has documented its past in loving detail, right down to the long-demolished “Crystal Palace” exhibit hall that anchored the grounds for nearly a century before its 1993 demolition.

The 2026 program balances that deep history with genuinely fun modern additions. Friday night’s barn dance with Dirt Country runs until 1 am alongside a live pie auction and the Ambassador and Junior Ambassador programs. Saturday and Sunday bring a full slate of livestock competitions — light and heavy horse shows, beef and dairy shows, a sheep show — plus a strolling magic show, a Crowned Canines Dog Show, and kids’ pedal tractor pulls running multiple times each day.

And then there’s the stuff that only a fair confident in its own traditions would try: a 4-H Cow Patty Bingo, an Antique Tractor Pull, and — new for 2026 — a full foam party on Sunday afternoon. It’s the kind of programming that comes from 180 years of knowing exactly what your community wants.

📅 The 2026 Schedule

Exhibits can be dropped off Thursday, September 17 and Friday, September 18, both 3 to 8 pm. Displays, the Petting Zoo, Kids Zone, midway, and Commercial Building vendors run all weekend.

🎟️ Admission & Fair Essentials

Main gate admission is a straightforward $10 for adults and high school students, with elementary students getting in free — one of the simpler pricing structures among Ontario’s fall fairs, with no separate daily rates or weekend passes to track.

The fair also runs a 50/50 raffle for its 180th anniversary year, with tickets available online and the final draw on Sunday, September 20. If you’d like a keepsake beyond the raffle, the Society is selling commemorative 180th-anniversary shirts, hats, and sweaters through an online shop.

If you’re interested in entering an exhibit, the Society welcomes baking, flowers, vegetables, and photography entries among many other classes — contact the relevant division organizer using the fair book, and note that exhibits can be dropped off Thursday or Friday afternoon before the fair opens. The Society also holds monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of the month at 7:30 pm for anyone interested in volunteering.

📜 180 Years, and a Crystal Palace That Isn’t There Anymore

The Plympton Wyoming Agricultural Society was founded in 1846, giving Lambton County its oldest fair by a wide margin. For nearly a century, the heart of the fairgrounds was a building known as “The Crystal Palace” — the only structure on the grounds until 1973, used as a fair office, entry point, and display room where handmade quilts hung so high that daylight was visible through gaps in the roof on rainy days.

The Crystal Palace hosted far more than the fair itself over the decades: 4-H swine auctions, the annual St. Andrew’s Suppers (a Ladies Aid tradition dating to at least 1929, complete with a haggis procession and bagpipes), local ice carnivals with pickup hockey games, and even Wyoming Rifle Club target practice starting in the 1940s. In 1962, Ontario Premier John Robarts attended the building’s water-service opening ceremonies, and Burns Masonic Lodge celebrated its centennial there the same year.

The Crystal Palace was finally demolished in July 1993, and while a replacement building was planned for the same footprint, the site’s cement floor — laid by volunteers in the 1940s using an army truck to straighten a storm-damaged wall — remains part of the fairgrounds’ living history. As the Society’s own historian puts it: “Let the show go on.”

🚗 Getting There

The fair runs at the Wyoming Fair Grounds, 595 Main St, in Wyoming, part of the Municipality of Plympton-Wyoming in Lambton County — a short drive from Sarnia, Petrolia, and Camlachie.

Parking: On-site parking is available at the fairgrounds; past visitors note it’s well-organized with friendly staff directing traffic.

💡 A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Go

💃 Stay for the barn dance. Friday’s dance with Dirt Country runs until 1 am — a late night by fall fair standards, and worth planning around if you want the full experience.

💧 Bring a change of clothes Sunday. The 2 pm Foam Party is new this year and will get kids (and probably some adults) genuinely soaked.

🥧 Catch the live pie auction Friday. It runs alongside the opening ceremonies at 7 pm — a nice window into the fair’s homecraft side before the dance takes over.

🎟️ Grab a 50/50 ticket online. The anniversary raffle draws Sunday, September 20 — tickets are available ahead of time if you don’t want to queue at the fair.

🐄 Don’t skip 4-H Cow Patty Bingo. It’s exactly what it sounds like, and it’s one of those only-at-a-fall-fair experiences worth catching once.

❓ Common Questions