Hang onto your hat, the Interior Provincial Exhibition is back for five full days of family fun.
More than 10,000 people are expected to come to the fairgrounds in Armstrong, B.C., for the 124th annual agricultural fair.
“We have four barns, three arenas, two stages, three food courts, three dances and five rodeo performances, so we are full,” said Heather King, IPE general manager.
The IPE gives visitors the opportunity to meet animals they may never meet otherwise. This year, Minnie Mouse, a yak calf, is making her debut, representing the herd at Black Yak Catle Ranch in Spallumcheen with her canine companion, Ferdinand.
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“Ferdinand has always wanted a pet yak,” said Logan Nichol, a ranch hand at Black Yak Cattle Co.
“We adopted (Minnie Mouse), bottle-fed her and now she is a month old and she is really healthy.”
Every year, the theme changes to focus on one of the divisions that make up the IPE and stampede; this year’s theme is The Hobbiest Place on Earth, highlighting hobbies, like baking, and the 4H.
“If you look around, there are hobbies everywhere between cows, painting, corn and large carrots,” King said.
Minie Mouse and Ferdinand are two of the thousands of animals being shown at the IPE and every night there is a full rodeo until Sunday, when the professional bull riders close out the 124th annual IPE.
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