In 1915, Brooklin members of the South Ontario County Agricultural Association (SCOAA) formed the Brooklin Spring Fair Association. Thomas Hall was the first president and Frank Batty was vice president. Subsequent directors of the fair have included many prominent families in the community such as William Ormiston, William Dryden, Heber Down, and John and Myron Vipond.
As the fair grew, it was relocated to Meadowcrest Farm (present-day Meadowcrest sub-division), which was owned by John Vipond. Considered a temporary location, the fair was held here from 1915 until 1922. The fee to rent the land for the fair was $40 in 1915 and 1916. In 1916, the Fair Board announced that they would be donating all fair proceeds to the Red Cross to support Canadian soldiers fighting in the First World War (1914-1918). While we can’t always know small details about the Brooklin Spring Fair in these early years, it is possible to piece together some information. For example, conditions at the fair must have been pretty muddy in 1917, as due to poor weather, the rent was only $25. The 1922 fair saw the first public performance of the Whitby Citizens’ Band, which received a very favourable review in the Whitby Gazette and Chronicle on the Thursday after the fair.
As the fair became more established, it was decided that a more permanent location was necessary. At a Brooklin Spring Fair Association board meeting in 1921, discussions took place to relocate the Brooklin Spring Fair to the newly proposed athletic park. In June of that year, the Board agreed to donate $200 to help buy the land for the athletic and community field. With the establishment of the Grounds Committee in 1922, the Fair Board agreed to give more money, supplies, and labour to prepare the new community park to be the official fairgrounds in 1923. On February 22, 1923, the board moved to hold the 1923 Fair on the athletics grounds. Community Park remains the location of the Brooklin Spring Fair to this day. Fittingly, the adjacent arena that now hosts some of the modern-day fair activities is the Luther Vipond Memorial Arena which was named after a member of one of the families that helped bring the Brooklin Spring Fair to life.
