The fair is going from strength to strength with organisers saying gate numbers have increased steadily over recent years.

Its not often you’ll hear the people of Stock praise a spell without rain, however fair organisers could not have been more stoked with Sunday’s sunny weather.

Village Fair committee member Mardi Corby said weeks of consistent rain in the lead-up to the event had organisers worried, in particular about whether the horse events could run, however with a few good days prior to Sunday, the Rec Ground was in great shape come fair day.

“It was a fabulous day, the event is just gaining momentum each year,” Mrs Corby said.

The committee tries to add something new to the fair each year as well as build on the traditional events such as the gymkhana, cycle race, market stalls, rides and games.

This year they introduced the ‘velcro wall’ and ‘sling shot’ rides, aimed at children 12 years and over.

“They were both a hit,” Mrs Corby said.

Both the gymkhana and cycle race are growing in popularity with close to 100 cyclists taking part in the race and dozens of riders saddling up for the gymkhana.

Mrs Corby said they were happy with the number of market stalls and stallholders reported good trade.

One of the most popular aspects of the Stock Fair is the wood raffle, where a huge load of cut and split firewood is raffled and proceeds go to the Stockinbingal Public School P and C.

In a record for the P and C, more than $6500 was raised from Sunday’s raffle, which will go along way to providing great things for the students at Stock.

The raffle is the major fundraiser for the P and C each year.

Amazingly the Stock Village Fair has run consecutively for its 30 year lifespan. Mrs Corby recalls one year about 11 years ago that the event had to be called off midway through the day because of rain, however most years the village has been fairly lucky with the weather.

There is something about the community of Stockinbingal that means they are able to coordinate one of the most popular events on the shire calendar each year.

A few years ago, when the region was gripped by drought and the prospects of farmers were not nearly as positive as they are today, Mrs Corby said they saw gate numbers start to dwindle and the committee wondered how much life was left in the fair.

“We thought we would get through to the 30th year and then see how we were looking,” Mrs Corby said.

However as the fortunes in terms of the weather turned around, so did the mood of farmers and the entire community and the fair once again sprang to life. In recent year, the committee has not looked back and is keen to see 30 more good years of the Stockinbingal Village Fair.

A ball the weekend prior to the fair, held in the village, was a great lead-up to the event and certainly got the community into the swing of things.

“The whole town has just been buzzing,” Mrs Corby said.

There are certainly some unsung heroes of the village fair with the CADAS Kids having a long affiliation with the event and barely a child seen roaming the ground without his or her face painted by the skilful hands of the CADAS Kids. The Stock Tennis Club did the barbecue and CanAssist held their sandwiches, sweets and coffee stall.

The Cootamundra Girl Scouts had doughnuts and Bill and Pat Teale of Cootamundra were there with their homemade ice cream, so no one went hungry on the day.

A fashion parade, featuring local ‘models’ was a hit and Stockinbingal Public School captains Matilda McPherson and Georgia Tate kept tradition going by officially opening the fair.

Meanwhile, the dedicated band of committee members and organisers did a tremendous job of keeping everything running smoothly.