As the rising cost of fuel and food hits Canadians across the country, fair grounds are also feeling the pinch. At the Vankleek Hill Fair in eastern Ontario, organizers say they had to raise their entry prices by $5 a ticket in the face of increased prices for gas and rising midway costs. “There’s always the challenge of expenses,” said Amanda Cowan, president of the 182-year-old fair. “Everything costs money. It costs money to have all this. It costs money to bring all this in.” For some families who enjoy the classic summertime event, fairs like these can stretch the wallet thin. Rebecca Cairns says her family of four decided to opt out of buying full weekend passes this year because of the cost. “It just didn’t work for us to come for the full weekend. All four of us,” she said. “We approached it in more of a cost-effective way.” Cairns says it would normally run each member of the family $260 for the full weekend, so they opted to purchase two full festival passes and two day passes to save money. “It just didn’t work to do the whole weekend for all of us. Next year, that’ll probably be our scenario with the two-year-old being older and being able to do more rides.” Pierre Martin regularly attends the fair and says he noticed the increase. “I know last year is $25, this year’s $30. So, it is going up,” he said. “For a family of four, it adds up,” All the midway rides at the fair are included in the entry cost to help keep costs down for families. Cowan says they also allow people to bring in food and have water stations to refill reusable water bottles. “We try to make it as affordable as we can, given the rising costs of everything,” Cowan said. Isabelle Walsh says a weekend at the fair is still the most cost-effective family trip her large family can make. “We’ve got an 11-year-old down to a 3-year-old now, and so everyone’s got good a opportunity to play,” she said. “We get the most bang for our buck out here.” As costs continue to go up for other community events, Cairns says it can add up for some families. “I get it,” she said of the rising costs. “It just makes it hard for a family in the community to be able to afford the fun things for the kids.”
