High school seniors and/or college students can be awarded up to $20,000 total in scholarship money by the Erie County Agricultural Society (ECAS) and Hamburg Casino.

Applications are being accepted now through April 13, 2012. To qualify for an ECAS scholarship, students must be enrolling or already enrolled in an accredited college or university pursuing studies in any, but not limited to the following fields: Agriculture, Agri-Business, Business/Liberal Arts, Ecology and Environmental Technology, Family & Consumer Sciences, Flora-culture, Home Economics/ Industrial Arts, Horticulture, Forestry & Natural Resources, or Veterinary Medicine and Veterinary Technology.

Hamburg Casino is offering scholarships to students who are pursuing other fields of education and that have shown participation during the Erie County Fair. Fair participation can be obtained by entering in one of the many competitive exhibits and by participating in the Erie County Fair Marching Band as well as through various types of employment or activities.

Applications are available in the Guidance Office of all area high schools, at various college Financial Aid Offices, online, as well as at the Cornell University Cooperative Extension 4-H Office located at 21 South Grove Street in East Aurora. If you have any questions regarding the scholarship program, contact Russell L. Marquart, CFE at the Fair Office at 716-649-3900 ext. 403.

The Erie County “Friends of the Fair” is a dependable group of men and women from all walks of life that numbers approximately 225 members.  The group is comprised of people who truly love the Fair and willingly contribute their time to make the Fair experience better for all.

 All of us are volunteers who can make a difference.  A positive attitude, from the time someone walks through a gate, stops at an Information Booth or walks into one of our many buildings will determine how our guests perceive their day at the Fair. 

 Our goal is to provide reliable people for support in the various departments during Fair.  Each department has established reasonable expectations for each job.  In all cases, willingness to accept direction, timeliness, and reliability are paramount to accomplishing any task.

 The Friends of the Fair, founded in 1987, is always looking for new volunteers who believe as we do. Each prospective “Friend” is interviewed by a group coordinator in the spring prior to the Fair season. New volunteers are expected to attend an orientation meeting in June and a site tour/credentials distribution session in August.

 All Friends of the Fair are required to commit to twenty hours or service during the twelve days of the Fair. Each volunteer receives a 12 day credential, parking on work days, meal vouchers, and a volunteer uniform. Each October, all volunteers who meet the minimum requirements are invited to an appreciation banquet sponsored by the Erie County Agricultural Society. For more information please feel free to contact the Supervisor of Volunteer Services, Warren Schmidt @ 716-492-3812 or by e-mail at : warreng1244@gmail.com

We would like to congratulate Dawn Schultz of West Seneca for winning the “People’s Choice” with her penguin light bulb ornament at the Fairgrounds Festival of Lights Tree Ornament Competition.

 There were 33 exhibitors that entered handmade ornaments into the Fairgrounds Festival of Lights Tree Ornament Competition at the Fairgrounds in Hamburg.  There were over 600 votes from visitors to the festival.  The winner of the people’s choice award, by a  landslide, for the Tree Ornament Competition was Dawn Schultz of West Seneca, New York with her penguin light bulb ornament.

Click here to check out a photo of the winning ornament.

34 exhibitors entered their delicious cookies into the Fairgrounds Festival of Lights Holiday Cookie Competition on Sunday at the Fairgrounds in Hamburg.  Below is a list of the winners.  Congratulations to the winners!

 UNDECORATED COOKIE WINNERS:

1^st Place – Rita Gabel of Lawtons with her Fudge Tartlets

2^nd Place – Jeannette Pawlak of Buffalo with her Venetians/Neapolitans

3^rd Place – Kim Solly of Orchard Park with her Candy Cane Sandwich Cookies

 DECORATED COOKIE WINNERS:

1^st Place- Christine Enser of Springville with her Cream Cheese Christmas Cookies

2^nd Place- Debra Vertoske of Lancaster with her Mini Gingerbread Birdhouse Recipe

3^rd Place- Dawn Fleming of Orchard Park with her Christmas Cutout Cookies

The Erie County Fair is a proud recipient of seven prestigious first place awards from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE) in the areas of Communications, Agriculture and Competitive Exhibits.  The IAFE is headquartered in Springfield, MO. 

 Award of Distinction for Communications – there are a total of twenty one award categories for the Communication Awards.

•    2011 Erie County Fair Website (www.ecfair.org)

Awards of Distinction for Agriculture – there are a total of thirteen award categories for Agriculture

•   Special or Specific Agricultural Educational Event, Exhibit or Program for the Fairgoing Public – Daily Calf Feeding in Ag-Sperience
•   Non-Fair Agricultural Event or Program – Farm 2 Table

Awards of Distinction for Competitive Exhibits – there are a total of nine award categories for Competitive Exhibits

•     Use of Fair’s Theme Throughout Competitive Exhibits
•     Interactive Competitive Exhibit – Watermelon Carving Contest
•     Competitive Exhibit Display Photo

·         Competitive Exhibit Display Photo Series

Additionally, the Erie County Fair was awarded the ‘Competitive Exhibits Supreme Champion’; this awarded to the fair with the highest number of points awarded in all categories.

 Fifty seven Fairs in three countries compete and the entries are evaluated and judged by a team of industry leaders.  These individuals are selected from the membership of International Association of Fairs and Expositions, which has over 3,000 members from around the globe.  The Erie County Fair is seated in the top division (Division 5) based on the 1,053,150 attendance from the 2011 Fair.

 The awards were presented during the Awards Reception on November 30, 2011, during the 121^St annual IAFE Convention held in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Erie County Fair takes great pride in being selected for this prestigious honor.

 The purpose of these competitions is to encourage fair members to share methods, ideas, in an effort to improve and enhance communications and programs at fairs.

 The Agricultural Fair and Expo Industry is not only very important to rural and urban economies globally, but also is steeped in tradition and has a tremendously positive impact on the social well being of our rural and urban society.

 The 2012 Erie County Fair dates will be August 8^th – 19^th, and the theme will be “Wild About The Fair.”

The annual ‘Community Giving Project” at the Erie County Fair collected  hundreds of handmade items.   This year the Erie County Fair proudly donated the 235 items (hats, scarves, mittens, & blankets) to the Friends of the Night People of Buffalo on behalf of those generous guests. 

 Friends of the Night People is a charitable organization that helps the poor, homeless and destitute in Buffalo, New York. They provide food, clothing, medical care, counseling and hope to those in need. All services are provided free of charge without a sliding income scale. They rely on the generosity of volunteers and contributors.

This project was created in 2009 in an effort to help provide some cold weather accessories to the less fortunate.   The items were donated to the Friends of the Night People on November 15^th.  Joe Heary, Executive Director of the Friends of Night People, offered sincere gratitude on behalf of the organization.  In the past the Erie County Fair has donated items to the St. Vincent DePaul Society and The Buffalo City Missions. With this year’s donation to the Friends of the Night People just over 1,000 items have been collected and donated.

For the ninth year, the Dodge and Jeep Dealers of Western New York (WNY) are matching dollar for dollar, up to $15,000, the amount of money raised at the Kids Escaping Drugs (KED) prize wheel from the Erie County Fair. This year, the total amount raised at the fair was an outstanding $17,730, which brings the grand total to $32,730.

  “Dodge and Jeep’s commitment to our charity and the WNY community is so important,” states JoAnne Hudecki, the Executive Director for KED, “because of our partnership, Dodge and Jeep are helping our local teenagers lead sober, healthy lives and putting families back together, and for that, our organization is extremely grateful.”

 For more information or for pictures, contact the KED office at (716) 827-9462 or log on to the Kids Escaping Drugs’ new website at www.makeachangewny.org.

We have broken last years attendance record this year with a total of 1,053,150 people coming through our gates  and we hope that each and everyone of them had a great time.

Our 12 day event opened with a sold out Grandstand for Big Time Rush and closed with the Fair tradition of the World’s Largest Demolition Derby and we had a ton of fun in between. We hope everyone enjoyed themselves, ate their fill of Fair food and are already counting down the days to next year! We are.

“Fair”well until next year and we hope to see you Opening Day 2012 on August 8th!

Thanks Again!

2011 Firefighter’s Day Parade Results

Marching Units

Best Appearing Fire Co. 5-10

1. Hutchinson Hose
2. Colden
3. Sloan
4. West Falls

 Best Appearing Fire Co. 11-20

1.      Orchard Park
2.      Colden
3.      Sloan
4.      West Falls

Best Appearing Fire Co. 21 and over

1. Sheridan Park
2. Hillcrest
3. Ellwood
4. Newton Abbott

 Most Firefighters in a Line

1. Depew

 Best Appearing Fire Fighters Color Guards (attached)

1. Big Tree
2. Hamburg
3. Arcade
4. Marilla

 Best Appearing Fire Co. Auxiliary 5-15

1.  Lake Erie Beach
2. Vigilant

 Best Appearing Fire Co. Auxiliary Color Guards (attached)

1. Ellwood
2. Lake Erie Beach

 Musical Units

Senior Drum Corps

1. Pine Hill Drum Corp.

 Senior Bands

1. Marilla Fire Department

 School Age Bands (no member over 21 years of age)

1. Erie County Fair Pepsi Band

 Continental Units (Bagpipes, Bugle and Fife)

1. Caledonia Pipe Band
2. Erie County Sheriff

 Cadence Units, Fire Dept. Class A (With Bells and Drums Min. 4 pieces)

1. Lancaster Fire Department
2. Lake Shore Fire Department
3. Bowmansville Fire Department

 Cadence Units (Non-Firematic) (With Bells and Drums Min. 4 pieces)

1. Renegades

Marching Units
Best Appearing Fire Co. Jr’s or Explorer Units

1. Lake Erie Beach
2. Hamburg

 Best Appearing Color Guards (All other marching units)

1. Renegades

 Best Appearing Men and Women Marching Units (Outside the Country or USA)

1.      Machias

2.   Arcade

 Longest Distance

1. Machias

 Motorized

1. Alden Fire Co.
2. Millgrove Fire Co.
3. West Valley

 Hand Drawn

1. Alden Hose Co.
2. Machias

Here is your chance! JM Productions and the Erie County Fair are looking for participants for this year’s World’s Largest Demolition Derby!

 We are looking for fearless drivers who want to crash their cars for prize money and the glory of being crowned CHAMPION!

If you want to partake in automobile mayhem and compete until only one remains then call JM Productions at (716) 648-5100 for more details.

We hope to see you at this years World’s Largest Demolition Derby!