ACTON — Picture this: Ten squealing piglets, a dusty horse ring and a dozen children armed with burlap sacks. Add a cheering, enthusiastic audience, then tell the kids to get running and catch a pig.

This was the pig scramble at Acton Fair on Sunday. And 10 kids got to catch a pig and then take it home and raise it.

It took just 5 minutes, 14 seconds for all of the pigs to be tucked into sacks.

So many kids signed up to take part, fair officials drew names to see who would get to participate. There are a couple of rules associated with participation – kids must be 8, 9 or 10 years old and must be York County residents.

A dozen excited kids ran to the ring when announcer Clinton Staples called their name.

Then it was time for the action.

And as expected, there was a sense of pandemonium, as the piglets were bound to get away, and the youngsters were just as determined to make sure they didn’t.

With 12 participants and 10 pigs, there were two who came up empty handed. But there were consolation prizes for them – both received a crisp $5 bill and an orange ticket for free rides in the midway.

Those who caught the piglets with be dealing with the little squealers for some time. Winners were to take the piglets home and raise them.

Sunday was the last day of the Acton Fair for this season – the last day of the 150th anniversary. Before and after the pig scramble, there was Woodsmen’s Day, where folks tried their hand at traditional arts. Among the many competitors were Nicole Whitney and Jess Edwards, employing crosscut saws with the objective of removing a piece from a log in the shortest amount of time possible. It was a close match-up, with Edwards coming close, but Whitney proving the winner. Of Richford, Vermont, Whitney said she’s been entering competitions for the past five years; this was her third at the Acton Fair.

“I like competing in what used to be, traditionally, men’s competitions,” she said.

While the midway was busy and the food vendors were doing a brisk business, most of the livestock shows and demonstrations had already taken place as the clock wound past noon. The Acton Fair began Thursday, and ended at 3 p.m., Sunday.

In the 4-H ring, a sole Alpine goat named Piper was hanging out with his owner, young Garrett Eastman of North Berwick, Charlie Carroll of Limerick and Lucas Thompson, who all appeared to be in the 8-10 year old range. They took turns leading Piper around, and at one point. Charlie climbed on Piper’s back for a ride.

What did the trio like about the fair?

“I like everything,” said Thompson.

As the 150th Acton Fair drew to a close, folks involved in the volunteer operation were already thinking ahead to the future.

One planned activity is a time capsule, and so the fair folks are looking for memorabilia from the past 25 years. They hope to have all the material amassed by Sept. 30, said organizer Melissa Conner. Those with artifacts or memorabilia they’re willing to part with may call her at 205-3446 or email: [email protected].

Sunday was a hot summer day at the fair. Folks sipped ice cold lemonade, tried big rounds of fried dough and fragrant, onion-laced containers of fried chicken livers. There was ice cream and cotton candy and, underfoot, sawdust and hay and more – sometimes you had to look before you stepped. In the exhibit hall, where vegetables on display were holding up remarkably well, despite the heat, little fuzzy newborn chicks peeped in an incubator, some just emerging from the egg.

Rhoby Treadwell, whose domain includes the hall exhibits, looked around and summed up the sentiment.

“It’s been a good fair,” she said.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].