On Friday, July 27, 2007, and on the second day of the Fair, a suspicious electrical device, looking almost like a bomb, was found on the top southwest corner of the grandstand during the morning clean up of the Grandstands. The Edmonton RCMP Explosives Disposal Unit responded along with the Vermilion Fire and Rescue, Prairie EMS and the Vermilion RCMP.

The device was found during the early morning clean up as volunteers were preparing the grounds for another day at the fair. Robert Snelgrove, Committee Head for the Grounds and long time Ag Society Member, found the device. He described it as having various pieces, gauge dials, wires and a circuit board. All of the instruments were taped together. A loud and continuous beeping noise coming from the device could be heard as far away as the infield.

After the Vermilion RCMP had carefully studied the device, they called the Explosives Disposal Unit. A 200-foot perimeter was blocked off around the grandstand. The Explosives Disposal Unit arrived on the ground by 10:00 am. Spectators, curious to see what was happening were asked to stay as far away as Old Macdonald’s Barn. Shows in the Equine and Beef ring were disrupted during this time, as well as the midway.

Shortly before noon, a robot was sent up beside the suspicious-looking object and it was destroyed. It was after this that it was determined that the object in question was designed to look like an explosive, but did not have any explosive material in it. It was determined to be a hoax.

Just over a month later, a letter delivered to one newspaper, yet oddly addressed to a different paper was found to contain a letter to the editor, explaining the actions of the person responsible for the hoax.

It tells how the writer made the device as a joke and one thing leading to another had the device smuggled into the fair grounds and placed on the grandstand.

The person responsible was charged with mischief.

The information in this post was taken from our scrapbooks in the Ag Society office. Various news articles from the local papers and images taken by Ag Society Members.