This weekend's Aldergrove Fair Days will feature more entertainers and events than ever before. There's also an additional historical element to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Royal Engineers surveying the road to Yale. Royal Engineer Philip Jackman later became Aldergrove's first settler, and Fair Days spokeswoman Karen Long said the tributes to the engineers in this year's festival were included, thanks to his local connections.

"We decided to salute the Royal Engineers because of Philip Jackman," she said.

There will be several military heritage exhibits and historical reenactments throughout the weekend, as well as many members of the Canadian military participating in the annual parade on Saturday afternoon. Long said the large military participation is thanks to the contributions of organizer Ian Newby.

"He has a lot of contacts with the Canadian armed forces, and there's going to be a huge showing in the parade," she said.

One new event at the fair this year is the trebuchet contest. Long said the military will be involved in that as well.

"On Saturday, we have three teams from the Canadian military that are going to assemble trebuchets," she said.

Trebuchets are massive wooden medieval-style catapults equipped with long arms and counterweights. Teams will construct them from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday afternoon, after an inspection by Home Discovery Show host Shell Busey, the teams will put their catapults into action. They'll fire water balloons hundreds of feet to knock down cardboard castles.

The festival will also include Aldergrove's 97th annual Agricultural Fair, which joined up with Aldergrove Fair Days a few years back. Long said having the agricultural fair at the same time has been very positive for the festival.

"It's been great," she said. "It brings together the volume from each event."

On Friday, the fair will offer free admission to allow people to come see the grounds and plan out their weekend. There will be a few performers Friday night as well, including Mr. Flowers, The Balloon Guy.

The fair officially opens Saturday at 10 a.m., and the parade along Fraser Highway will be held then. The ever-popular antique tractor pull starts at noon, as well as the official opening ceremonies.

This year, the fair will also host the Canadian Fast Draw Championships on Saturday and Sunday. Shooters from all over Canada and the U.S. are expected to compete. There will also be a chili cook-off Saturday afternoon, a midway, a KidZone and plenty of live music. Fireworks will take place Saturday night at 10 p.m.

On Sunday, the fair will feature the trebuchet contest, the conclusion of the Fast Draw Championships, more of the antique tractor pull and a Guinness World Record attempt to break last year's record for the most people performing together on tin whistles. The record attempt will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, but classes on how to play the whistle will run all day Saturday and Sunday morning. There will also be live music on Sunday. Performers include Bruce Coughlan of Tiller's Folly, the Lorrie Jordan Band and Jack Jackson. Many events will run all weekend, including the Artisan Showcase, the historical displays and the mobile dairy classroom.

Long said the fair is an opportunity for local residents to experience some unique events and contests without leaving their community.

"It's just a great family and community event that you can invite all your friends to," she said. "You don't have to fight traffic or go downtown to the PNE. You can do it all right here."

See aldergrovefairdays.com for more details and a complete listing of events.