It’s the time of year when adults ride amusements and children manage livestock.

The 165th annual Topsham Fair is is winding down after its eight-day run, including the popular Pig Scramble. Over three days, divisions of 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds stirred up dust in the fairground’s Pulling Ring in pursuit of 20-pound, or heavier, ungulates. More than 100 kids participated in the scramble this year in several heats per division.

The outcome was notable, according to event organizer Dick Brown of D&S Farm in Richmond. Each child who catches a pig is given the choice of selling it back to Brown for $30 or taking it home. Brown said a higher than average number of winners – 15 out of 24 children – opted to keep their pigs this year.

Usually, the number is far fewer than 50 percent, he said. Asked why, Brown surmised that “maybe it wasn’t city slickers who caught them.”


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