IPE turns 125

The Armstrong Interior Provincial Exhibition and Stampede will celebrate a milestone year.

The IPE marks its 125th exhibition in early September, welcoming family, fairgoers, rodeo fans and agricultural enthusiasts to a weekend of activities in the North Okanagan.

Organizers said this year’s exhibition would spotlight the aspects of the IPE that made it a signature late-summer tradition for generations, including the excitement of the rodeo, the energy in the fairgrounds, and the fun people will have enjoying the live music, shopping, midway, exhibitions, and family-friendly experiences.

The IPE began in 1899 as a local agricultural exhibition where settlers compared grains, vegetables and fruit, but that expanded over time as livestock and agricultural competitions grew. Those traditions remain with livestock exhibits and agricultural learning to help connect people to the work, skill and tradition behind food production and rural life.