More than a century-and-a-half of tradition will be set aside this year as the Niagara Regional Exhibition becomes a fall fair no more.

Held in September since 1853, the event is scheduled to take place June 7 to 9 this year.

With attendance at the annual fair withering in recent years, Niagara Regional Agricultural Society's new president is hopeful it will start to bloom again in 2019.

In 2018, the society held a Grow to Fair, a warmup event that planted the seed for change at the exhibition grounds at 1100 Niagara St.

The society's new board of directors has decided to focus on only one event this year, moving the exhibition to spring.

Mike Gill, who was sworn in as president in late January, said the "poor turnout" in 2018 was a factor in the decision.

September being a busy month for festivals and carnivals across Ontario also played a role.

"It was getting to the point that it's not possible to have a midway in September," Gill said.

Governance issues and a shakeup on the society's board almost caused a hiatus in 2017.

Unable to provide information on what the annual budget to host the fair is, as well as information on how many people visited in 2018, Gill would only say the organization's coffers are in good shape.

"We've been holding our own just fine financially," he said.

Gill said the smaller crowds may be the result of negative public perception.

"The fair has had a reputation in the last decade and a half of not being very exciting," said Gill.

In the past five years, there has been a nearly complete turnover of board members at the agricultural society, the hosts of the 167-year-old fair.

"That's a great leader for change," he said.

Welland County Fair was founded by the agricultural society at Port Robinson in 1853 before it moved to Denistoun Street four years later.

In 1970 the name of the fair was changed to The Niagara Regional Exhibition. Its Niagara Street location opened in 1975.

Traditionally, it has been centred on horticulture, agriculture and farming. It has involved fruit and vegetable growing contests that start early in the summer leading up to weigh-ins and judging at the September fair. The objectives of the agricultural society, according to its website, are "to encourage interest, promote improvements in and advance the standards of agriculture and rural life."

Gill said some of this has been scaled down, but a lot will continue even with the event now being held before harvest season, as most of the products grown for the fair are started in greenhouses.

A popular contest between participants attempting to grow the largest pumpkin has been taken off the agenda. A majority of the flowers normally part of the show will be those that bloom in the spring.

Livestock shows will also remain an important component, according to Gill. Tractor pulls, a demolition derby, and more will continue to be a part of the event.

Asked about the importance of ensuring the fair keeps the identity upon which it was founded, Gill said this is a direction the current board will be working on leading up to June.

"With renewed enthusiasm, we're going to be doing a big push toward agricultural education at the fair this year," he said.

A petting zoo is also expected to return to the schedule, he said. A rib festival and plant sale will be held in May, as well as other events throughout the season.

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The Welland Rose Festival will kick off the same week with its annual coronation ball on Thursday, June 6, as well as a night at the races hosted by Welland County Motorcycle Club.

Something Gill said the society was "aware of," he believes the fair won't be impacted by Rose Festival events being held simultaneously and that the June 7 to 9 schedule was solidified due to a lack of choices when it came to booking ride and game operators.

"Our weekend was basically dictated to us by the availability of a midway," said Gill.

He also said there is no reason both events can't be held separately, but in harmony.

"If anything, it will have people out and about finding out what to do in town rather than going elsewhere," he said.

Sandy Mocsan, Welland Rose Festival's new president, said communication with the exhibition organizers was non-existent.

"They didn't approach us in any shape or form," she said.

Despite both major events running in tandem, Mocsan said the weekend of the fair is the least busy time on the festival's agenda with only the coronation ball and motorcycle night planned for June 6 and 7.

"I don't think it's going to affect us," she said.

Penny Morningstar, curator of Welland Museum, said with the rise in costs of hosting fairs, fewer volunteers signing up to help out, and decreasing attendance, sometimes rebranding is necessary.

It's not always a bad thing, she said in an interview.

"I think one of the worst things an organization can do is not change," she said. The longtime Welland resident says she remembers visiting the fair in her teen years about three decades ago, also pointing out that local schools would plan half-day trips to the fair for students.

She said the farming flavour of the event has decreased from its earliest days more than 160 years ago but is confident it will still be preserved in some way.

"I think there's still a strong presence of people in the community that want to keep the agricultural component of the fair alive and well," she said.

"I don't think you'll ever see that go away. The essence of how it started, you'll still see that," added Morningstar.