| SEPTEMBER 11, 2004 -- Wapping Fair aficionados would be denied no more.
Delayed one day because of wet and windy weather forced its cancellation Thursday, the 112-year-old fair got off to a screaming start Friday at Rye Street Park.
Scores patiently waited in line at the food tent for the promise of hamburgers and hot dogs, while happy screams echoed from the brightly lit amusement rides in the background.
The first Wapping Fair was held in 1892, sponsored by the Wapping Grange, with proceeds funding the Wapping District School. The fair was held every other year, until 1932, when Depression-era economic hardships forced the event to be discontinued.
But after World War II, in 1945, the fair was resurrected, as South Windsor prepared to celebrate its centennial celebration. It's been an annual favorite since.
The South Windsor Jaycees, a local civic organization, took control over the fair four years ago.
Paul Petrillo, the fair's chairman, said Friday that the real test of success for the fair would be today, "Attendance will be light tonight, but it's expected to be light," he said Friday. "Saturday is the biggest night."
The fair is operated as a community fund-raiser -- some $10,000 has been raised in the last four years -- and 50 percent of the profits are placed in a community capital fund.
This year, My Friend's Place, a local group committed to building playgrounds for children, will operate the children's tent. Proceeds will go towards construction of a playground in town. The remaining proceeds will be used to fund Jaycee programs.
Darby Long, who came to the fair with her young daughter, said that the event has just been getting better and better over the last couple of years.
"I am a long-time resident of South Windsor, and I come because of my daughter," she said. "It's been better these last couple of years."
One of the most popular venues at the fair is Robinson's Racing Pigs, in which more than six pigs race around a track and through an obstacle course before being rewarded with cookies.
The fair also hosts a wide array of musicians. A jazz quartet, a local brother-sister duo, and a South American band, Inkas Wasi Peru, perform today and Sunday. A selection of livestock, including rabbits, goats, sheep, and cows will also be exhibited. Judged contests will also take place for quilting, baked goods, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables.
This year's fair features more than 50 vendors and 700 exhibits, and support from more than 100 business sponsors.
Admission to the fair is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors, and free for children 11 and under. Gates open at 10 a.m. today and Sunday, and close at 11 p.m. tonight, and 6 p.m. Sunday.
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