The Carman Country Fair is heading into a special weekend with 140 years of celebrating small-town country fun.

"It's pretty impressive. It predates Carman, it predates Morden. I'm not sure if it predates Winkler, but it's a long time. It's before any of the highways were here," says fair President Dale Reimer.

All those years ago, there were no agricultural businesses in the area, so farmers met up to talk about industry news and experiences.

"That's kind of changed obviously throughout the years, but we still enjoy the farm community getting together, and we celebrate all things [agriculture] as much as we can."

One event that has lasted since the fair's early days is a baseball game which will make a comeback Friday evening. The Carman Cardinals will face the Altona Bisons at diamond one.

Reimer says, "Carman recently added a Border League Baseball Team . . . I don't know when they started it, but it was close to the beginning of the fair. We're talking well over 100 years ago that it's been going on and we're very happy to bring that back."

With an active baseball community in the Carman-Dufferin area, Carman Minor Ball will also have a fundraiser Saturday at 9:00 p.m. in the arena.

4-H is also a massive part of the fair’s agricultural schedule for the weekend, and they have the largest steer sale in Manitoba.

"The demo derby is pretty self-explanatory. We get a bunch of guys together that like to smash some cars, and maybe not everyone, but most people like seeing some destruction," Reimer notes.

In the middle of that event, the human truck pull for mental health takes place where teams race each other, all while trying to raise as much money for mental health initiatives as possible.

The stage will also see some great local musicians from six bands rocking out in the fair's first-ever Battle of the Bands, to Carman's Rainy Day Apparel (Nathan Strange).

"He's been a fantastic member of the community, helping out, volunteering, giving us guidance regarding the music. So he's opening for The Incredibly Hip who look to put on just a fantastic show."

On Saturday alone, roughly 12,000 to 15,000 people make their way through the festival grounds.