Grand Terrace Gathers to Uphold Annual Country Fair Tradition

A long-standing tradition in the community, the Grand Terrace Country Fair was held over the weekend at the Grand Terrace Lions Community Center. The fair featured a used book sale by The Friends of the Grand Terrace Library, a cooking and baking contest with seven categories, and a large number of community members displaying the fruits of their creative hobbies. At the helm of the event was Ann Petta, vice president of The Grand Terrace Historical and Cultural Activities Committee. Petta shared that the fair began as a way “to showcase the talent that we have in this community,” so the fair started out as a craft show held twice a year. “Then eventually in 1985, two of our members who are no longer with us said, ‘You know, we should make this into a country fair.’ And I think some of us kind of resisted a little bit – you know how change is. But we did, and it’s been going ever since.” The cooking and baking contest was judged by five committee members of different clubs and organizations, such as The Grand Terrace Chamber of Commerce and The Grand Terrace Woman’s Club. The goods were then sold to help offset the costs of the fair. Petta shared that the fair has never been rained out in the past two decades since it began. “I don’t know what it is, because usually the next weekend we get rain or wind,” she said. “But I think once we had a few sprinkles. But other than that, we’ve had good weather.” Petta also shared that she bought two full bags of books from the book sale. “I needed more books in the house,” she said. Around 2:20 p.m., ribbons were given to the contest winners and tickets were raffled off for prizes at the opportunity table, which featured items donated by members of the community. Some of the booths at the fair represented community organizations. Run by Assistant ScoutMaster Tim Justis, The Grand Terrace Boy Scouts booth displayed memorabilia earned by the troop through scouting activities. The Boy Scouts had volunteered to help set up the fair and transfer the books from the library to the community center in the morning. In the afternoon, they returned to bring back the books left over and help take down all the booths. Jane Haines, president of the Grand Terrace Senior Center, represented activities at the Senior Center. One of those activities is the Garden Club, of which she is the chairperson. Fellow member Dottie Pomfret was also at the booth, presenting a book her son, Leonard Pomfret, had written about her life, titled "Nanjing Princess." At the Foundation of Grand Terrace booth, vice president Cindy Grande gave away free marigold seeds and shared information on how to assist with various community projects, from the proposed Veteran’s Memorial to the Dog Park. “[In the Foundation] there’s a lot of subcommittees,” she said. “If someone’s interested in doing the dog park, they don’t have to worry about the Veteran’s Memorial or community days or cleanup days or anything like that. With the economy the way it is, we do need volunteers, and I think everyone has an interest.” The Grand Terrace Woman’s Club sold hamburgers, brownies and a drink to fair visitors at a low price. “[We’ve] been doing a hamburger barbecue fundraiser for many years. I know it’s been more than 30 years,” said president Wendy Curran. “As they started the country fair, we correlate our hamburger barbecue with the country fair so that there’s a good experience here in town and it provides a built-in food court, so to speak.” Why hamburgers? “You know, it started that way and hamburgers are easy to cook outdoors and they’re easy to put together,” she said. Many vendors at the fair were individuals, most of whom are longtime residents of Grand Terrace who simply have a passion for making arts and crafts. JoAnn Robles, whose wares ranged from wind chimes to crocheted scarves, said she sometimes sells at “little mini craft fairs,” and has been coming to the country fair for 17 years, but her crafting was mostly just a hobby. She was also there to support her daughter’s school. “Anything with Grand Terrace Titans colors, [the school] gets 25 percent,” she said. Rose Mary Horner’s table featured several Christmas decorations. “I love holidays, but there’s a few things that are everyday things,” she said of her collection. Horner has been making crafts for well over 40 years and has been selling at the country fair since it began. Graphic designer and photographer Vincent Bartman and his aunt Jean Hall showcased and sold their art together: his digital photography prints and her oil paintings. “I think this is our third year,” he said. Bartman, a Grand Terrace resident, said, “Come on out to the events. That’s what’s gonna keep this place strong.”