Making the Sandwich Fair go 'round

SANDWICH — Bryan Peaslee grew up tagging along with his father, Dan Peaslee, during setup of the Sandwich Fair. It was a great training ground, although as a child Bryan Peaslee wasn’t there to learn how to run the big October fair. Rather, it was simply fun to hang around his dad, who was president of the board of directors of the Sandwich Fair, and to watch the tractors and vendors and midway setting up for the three-day event.

These days, Bryan has taken over the reins from his father, a man who was beloved with Sandwich residents and anyone connected with the fair. The Sandwich Fair takes place over Columbus Day weekend each year on the Sandwich Fairgrounds. This year it will be Oct. 8-10.

As president of the board of the Sandwich Fair, Bryan Peaslee was appointed to the job in April. Dan Peaslee had died just a month prior, in March, and Bryan was the logical person to step into the position.

“I’ve been watching my dad handle the fair for the last 23 years,” Peaslee says. “I did whatever my dad was doing and over the years I spent a lot of time with him.”

He stresses that the week before Sandwich Fair means a lot of things are on the schedule to be done. When the items kept in storage during the year are pulled out for use, the board of directors and others who help set up inspect everything and are tasked with repairs or replacements. They do everything from moving sawdust to the ox barn to getting the fair vendors in place, to name but a few things that must be done.

“My role is to support and work out things when problems arise,” Peaslee explains. A lot of the job was made smoother thanks to Dan Peaslee, who made streamlining the process much easier.

“He was definitely boots on the ground,” Bryan Peaslee remembers. “His No. 1 goal was seeing to it that every facet of the fair be brought to the board of directors.” This meant those on the board would know where everything fair-related was kept, and how things were run. For example, when a department chair left, Dan Peaslee recognized that department leader would need to be replaced. That was not always easy to do, and the former chair might have been the only person who knew everything about their department. Dan Peaslee knew this was a potential problem and worked to change the dynamic. He made sure that when someone left their position, the board knew where everything was and how to run that portion of Sandwich Fair.

“Dad also color-coded and mapped everything,” Bryan Peaslee says. “He knew about everything from the electrical to the water lines on the fairgrounds. He made yearly calendars so the board would know what needed to be done each year on a certain month, such as when to get permits for the fair’s parade. It was a volunteer position, and my dad loved it.”

Dan Peaslee owned a contracting business, R.N. Peaslee and Sons Inc., and when his sons, Bryan and Adam, took over, it left him time to dedicate to the Sandwich Fair.

“This would have been his 12th fair as president. He started as chairman of the tractor pull and he and I co-chaired that together for a while,” Bryan Peaslee says.

With seven generations of Peaslee family residing in Sandwich, Bryan’s grandfather was among the chairmen of the board of directors of the fair at one time. It is certain that Dan Peaslee will be missed as a mover and shaker of the Sandwich Fair, but this year the event is in good hands with Bryan Peaslee at the helm. He is helped by his wife, Cayla, who jumps in and volunteers wherever she is needed, such as managing the concession area.

Along with overseeing the Sandwich Fair, Peaslee wants to make sure the property is well used by people at other times during the year. He is passionate about maintaining and using the 90-acre property year round, offering it for private and public events.

“I share my father’s goal that the 90 acres of fairgrounds should be open to the public year round. He wanted it to be used more than the three days of the fair. We have kids learning to ride their bikes on the property, for example. Others walk their dogs here and use the land to walk and exercise. We want the town residents to know we care about the community and are part of the town.”

Peaslee has made it a mission to bolster commercial vendors at Sandwich Fair. By bringing in vendors who display and sell four-wheelers, tractors, generators and pools, for example, the fair will remain competitive with other area fairs. It is this vision of growth for the future that make Bryan Peaslee the right person for the job of fair president.

In some ways, the mindset of putting on the best fair possible each year, along with keeping it a family-friendly, local event has not changed since the first Sandwich Fair was held in 1910.

“It was a way for people to get together and show off in the areas of agriculture, vegetables, growing things and having a good competing in things like ox pulling,” Peaslee says. (The Sandwich Fair has been held every year except for 2020 during COVID and 1919 when the Spanish Flu caused the event to cease for a year.)

“We are the last New Hampshire fair each year and I think part of the reason people come is because in October, the weather is usually good and the foliage is great,” Peaslee adds.

This year the fair will offer the popular midway, agriculture, food, and arts and crafts, among many other things. Always looking for something new to please the attendees, this year the fair will offer a corn hole tournament. It is run by Humble Grunt Work, a Moultonborough group that does nonprofit fundraisers to benefit veterans.

The years of tagging along with his dad during Sandwich Fair set up was a great training ground for Bryan Peaslee. As the fair opens this year, Dan Peaslee won’t be far from Bryan’s mind. All that training will lead to another successful Sandwich Fair.

For a schedule of events, visit thesandwichfair.com.