HARMONY – Labor Day in Somerset County means the annual Harmony Labor Day Free Fair, which will be celebrating its 61st year this weekend.

From Friday, Aug. 29 to Monday, Sept. 1, at the local fairgrounds, visitors may attend animal events including horse and oxen pulls, a demolition derby, leather carving demonstrations, a fiber tent, antique vehicle displays, a cribbage tournament and a talent show. There will also be an animal barn and a living history exhibit of pioneer-era Maine life.

The fair opens at 3 p.m. Friday with a full midway. The cribbage tournament begins at 4 p.m. A truck show and the talent show are set for 5 p.m. Bracelets for midway rides are $5 on Friday and $10 each other day.

On Saturday the children’s area opens at 9 a.m. with a music workshop at 10 a.m. The demolition derby begins at noon and morning events include a 9:30 a.m. co-ed volleyball tournament and a 10 a.m. barrel racing competition. The local contest for the Maine Department of Agriculture’s best two-crust apple pie is also set for Saturday.

Musicians Bob Elston and the Road Rangers will perform three times Saturday at 1:30, 3 and 5 p.m. Bobby Lewis will provide a trip down memory lane with golden oldies at 6 and 7 p.m.

Sunday’s events include draft horse demonstrations and crafts in the children’s area at 10 a.m. The Hillbilly Band will perform at 1 and 2 p.m. Also slated for Sunday are frog-jumping, a pig-scramble and fireworks.

A parade is set for 9:30 a.m. Monday, followed by a horse show at 11 a.m. and a buffet at noon in the Harmony Elementary School, across the street from the fairgrounds. The Miles to Go Band will provide entertainment at noon, 1 and 3 p.m. Also scheduled for Monday is a woodsman competition and a horseshoe tournament.

The fair is sponsored each year by The Harmony Patriarchs Club, which was formed in 1947 to build a new gymnasium. One of the fundraisers for the gym was a free fair, which was so popular that it has been held every year since and provides free admission and parking. Over the years, the Patriarchs Club has contributed to the town’s first firetruck, construction of a recreation park and acquisition of the town’s first and second ambulances.

For more information about either the club or the fair schedule, call Jeff Chadbourne at 683-5873, or go to www.harmonyfreefair.org.

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