The 151st Union Fair — Maine Wild Blueberry Festival is scheduled this year to move from the third Saturday in August, to Wednesday through Sunday, July 27-31.

Although the agricultural fair will be shortened from eight days to five there still will be eight days of events. From Sunday through Thursday, July 24-28, Harness Racing will occur daily starting at 2 p.m., according to a news release from the Union Fair Trustees.

Union Fair President Matt Elwell has signed a multi-year contract with Smokey’s Greater Shows to bring their midway carnival rides to the fair.

The Union Fair Trustees’ decision to move the fair to July and shorten the dates was based on several factors, including vendors who found it hard to find staff that could work in their booths for eight full days.

Farmers, because of fair scheduling, had to go to several local fairs back to back without a break in dates. The carnival company did not have enough time to break down before setting up for the next fair.

Finally, the fair itself in recent years has had difficulty finding enough volunteers to fully support an eight-day fair, of which three days were on a weekend.

For general information, announcements on entertainment, events, and the fair schedule, go to unionfair.org. Information also can be found on the fair’s Facebook page.

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