WINDSOR — With the start of central Maine’s largest agricultural fair only days away, for the first time in 32 years Tom Foster will no longer be in charge. For more than three decades, Foster has served as president of the Windsor Fair board, continuing a long family tradition. Now, the torch is being passed to a new generation as the Windsor Fair opens Saturday for its 137th annual run. But the fairgrounds will still be as thick with Fosters as they are with fried food booths, carnival workers, and cattle stalls. Tom Foster, now 80, will be there along with his wife, Karen, who oversees beautification efforts at the fair, including the many flower displays that decorate the grounds. Now heading up the fair is Dan Foster, one of Tom and Karen Foster’s four sons, who has been elected president. He’s joined by two other sons — J.T., who is a fair trustee, and Bryan, who oversees entertainment at the fair. “It does my heart good to have, not only Dan as president, but two of his brothers involved too,” the ever-relaxed elder Foster said as fair preparations went on all around him at the fairgrounds. The fair tradition reaches back generations in Tom Foster’s family. He has been a fair trustee since 1969. Both his grandfathers also served as trustees of the agricultural fair that has grown to be Maine’s second largest. With that background, Dan Foster, 54, who was elected by the fair’s board of trustees during the off season, takes the reins. His father remains involved and available, should the younger Foster have any questions or need advice. Dan Foster said he hopes to continue his father’s low-key but effective leadership. “What people appreciate about him is his leadership style. He identifies good people to be department heads, and he lets them do their work, let’s them do their thing, and he’s there just to support them, to help them,” Dan Foster said. “And he’s not afraid to have a hard conversation with people if he needs to, and people listen to his advice. He’s always been supportive of the mission of supporting agriculture, it’s important to him. I enjoy his leadership style and I’d like to continue with it.” Tom Foster said he felt it was time for him to step down as president. He credits his wife, a former city councilor and state legislator in Augusta, who herself is a board member of the Eastern States Exposition, a massive, multi-state fair in Massachusetts, with being a tremendous advocate of agriculture, and supporting him, especially during the fair’s run when he’d be at the fairgrounds everyday. “She’s been so supportive, especially in those years when the kids were in school and things like that, and here I am at the Windsor Fair,” he said. The fair itself marches on with a mix of traditional events, including numerous animal contests, while staying up-to-date with the times. A new addition this year is the ability to buy fair tickets with credit cards, both at the fairgrounds or ahead of time, on its website. A new ticketing system that scans tickets electronically, will provide a solid picture of how many people are at the fair at any given time. Admission to the fair, which runs through Labor Day, Sept. 1, for those 12 and older is $15 each day. On Monday and Thursday, senior citizens 60 and older get in for $5, and on Thursday veterans get in free, with I.D. Most years, that works out to about 100,000 fair attendees, counting paid and unpaid fairgoers, such as children under 12, who get into the fair for free. Events include harness racing with wagering, demolition derbies, truck and tractor pulls, a giant pumpkin contest, poultry show, the Black Cat Hell Driver’s Stunt Auto Thrill Show, numerous musical acts including a Tom Petty tribute band and Peter Allen & Hurricane Mountain Band, fireworks, farmers’ Olympics, a manure toss competition, woodsman’s field day events, a pig scramble, baking contests, sheepdog demonstrations, and an antique car show and parade. A midway of rides and games will be provided by Rockwell Amusements.