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Rita O'Shea Irish Step Dancers have led off the entertainment every year of the Fair
Rita O'Shea Irish Step Dancers have led off the entertainment every year of the Fair. Photo: Paula Salerno, 1999

Melrose Victorian Fair

Held annually in September, the fair occupies two blocks of Main Street in the historic retail district. A featured event is the Little Folks Victorian Parade for children aged four to twelve. Local dance groups, a capella singers, and martial artists entertain the crowds of 12,000 to 14,000 people, while children can choose from the moon-walk, carousel, giant slide, pony rides, and kiddie train. A wide variety of foods and activities are available at over 170 booths, including miniature golf, caricatures, games, and a dunk tank. A drawing is held at the end of the day for the Big Ticket Raffle. A community tradition for 19 years, the first fair was held to showcase the newly renovated downtown with its Victorian lampposts.

Project documentation includes an eight-page narrative, thirty colorful 8 x 10 photographs with descriptions, copies of newspaper coverage, several programs from the 18th Annual Melrose Fair (1998), five posters, two flyers, a tee-shirt from the 1999 Fair, and information on the town of Melrose.

Originally submitted by: Edward J. Markey, Representative (7th District).



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The Local Legacies project provides a "snapshot" of American Culture as it was expressed in spring of 2000. Consequently, it is not being updated with new or revised information with the exception of "Related Website" links.

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