“Dutch the Farmer“ becomes new mascot for the Manchester Community Fair
“Dutch the Farmer,“ Manchester Fair’s new mascot, has his own publicity photo. He will also be making appearances throughout the community this spring and summer to promote the Manchester Community Fair.
by Marsha Chartrand
The Manchester Fair has a mascot, “Dutch the Farmer,“ and while he’s definitely “new,“ he’s already developed some history in the community.
On December 18, a Facebook post announced that the fair would like to invite a “new member“ and needed the community’s help. Who should be the new mascot? After just a couple of weeks, it was clear that a farmer was the clear winner. And who could blame us, given the community’s rural and agricultural history! On January 2, it was made official — a farmer would be the new mascot — but what would his (or her) name be?
Brooke Gale gets the credit for being the first one to come up with the name “Dutch the Farmer,“ and 85% of the online voters agreed with her.
“We are glad he has gained some popularity amongst the community as this will help promote our fair as well,“ said Lila Harvey, Junior Associate Fair Board member. “Our fair board was looking for new ideas to help promote the fair during the week of the fair, as well as during the off season. One of our junior fair board members brought up the idea of introducing a mascot. Her idea was that it would be a fun new addition to the fair and it would relate to the younger generation of ‘Manchester-ites.‘ The board liked the idea and posted a few polls on Facebook to get community feedback. After gaining lots of popularity, the board officially announced that there would be a new addition to our Fair family, Dutch the Farmer!“
Harvey said that the Fair Board believes that by having a mascot it will help gain more awareness for the fair, as a unique way of promotion year round. There are still some ideas in the works, but Dutch plans on making some public appearances throughout downtown Manchester. “The details are still being worked out but this will be another way the community can engage with the Fair throughout the off season,“ she added. “Another idea is to bring Dutch to different community events, like sports games, band concerts, etc.“
The Board is also working on other activities for Dutch to be a part of during the Fair. There are plans to post some trivia questions on social media that will educate the community on the history of the fair as well as to promote agriculture — the main reason the Fair was established. “We are still coming up with ideas,“ Harvey said, “but we plan on using Dutch to bring a new and fun approach to our fair.“
In mid January, many Fair Board members attended the statewide Michigan Association of Fairs and Exhibitors convention and were able to network with 86 other fairs across the state and exchange many ideas and feedback, some of which they hope to incorporate into our upcoming Fair.
Asked whether other fairs used mascots to promote recognition and attendance of their events, Harvey said she was unaware of how many other fairs across the state may utilize this kind of publicity, “but we wanted to try something new and unique for us.“
This year’s Manchester Community Fair will be held August 8–12, 2023. While still in the heart of the planning stage, the board hopes to try a variety of new events and activities for the upcoming Fair. More information will be forthcoming — watch the Fair’s social media as well as the Mirror for further information! But whatever is planned, you can be sure of one thing:
Dutch the Farmer will be at the center of it all! Welcome, Dutch!
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