Town readies for Hay Day this weekend

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FARMINGTON — This weekend, thousands of people are expected to descend onto downtown Farmington for the annual Hay Day celebration.The 34th annual event is taking place from Friday, Aug. 21 through Sunday, Aug. 23, and will have a Candy Land theme.

“Hay Day is a staple for the community, something that people look forward to each year,” said Parks and Recreation Department Director Rick Conway.He estimated that this year’s turnout should be in the ballpark of 2,500 to 3,000 participants, including citizens of Farmington and other local New Hampshire communities.

Farmington’s Hay Day tradition dates back to 1981, when it was started by a group of local volunteers who ran the event for years. It was only recently that the town’s recreation department took the reigns and began organizing the festivities.Annually, it has been a chance for the community to gather in the downtown, allowing community-run organizations and small business owners to connect with local residents.Conway noted that the celebration brings the community together, and allows “those people who live on the outskirts, (and those) who own home businesses, an outlet to showcase (their products).”

Since its beginnings more than three decades ago, Hay Day has grown and evolved with Farmington and its residents. While the weekend-long event has always promised entertainment for the whole family, the recreation department has made efforts to listen to community feedback in recent years, and adapt the celebration to fit the population.For instance, this year the department will not be hiring an outside vendor to set up carnival rides.Conway stated that the feedback about the rides, “in the past couple years doesn’t fit the population that comes down, and the price of the rides isn’t a good fit for what we’re aiming to do.”

Instead, in an effort to become even more family friendly, Farmington’s 500 Club — a nonprofit organization that runs every town sport — and the Football Booster Club will be running family activities and games.Attendees to this year’s Hay Day can look forward to some annual favorites.Friday night kicks off the celebration with the traditional firework show, which Conway said is one of the biggest attractions of the weekend. Weather permitting, he expects an audience upwards of 1,500.

On Saturday, Main and Central streets will be closed to traffic starting at 8 a.m., and the vendors will open at 9 a.m. The Farmington 500 Club and the Football Booster Club will be running their events in the Peaslee Funeral Home parking lot.Saturday’s main event will be the famous bed race, which has been a big hit in the past. This year, it is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. on Main Street.“The bed race is huge,” Conway stated, adding, “the Police Department, Fire Department, all kinds of public officials shooting down on homemade contraptions — everything else stops and shuts down during the race, and everyone comes to watch for the 30 to 40 minutes it takes.”

To close out the weekend, the Fireman’s Relief Association pancake breakfast and the recreation department’s annual 5k road race will be held on Sunday. This year’s race will be run on a new route off of Main Street, allowing the street to remain open to traffic. Conway explained that the road race is an important part of Hay Day, as its proceeds help offset some of the costs of the weekend.

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