Approximately 100,000 visitors are expected to pass through the gates this week at the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair in Brandon.

This year marks the 110th anniversary of the event, which is held at Brandon's Keystone Centre.

The Brandon fair was given the "Royal" status by the Queen back in 1970, one of only two such distinctions in the country. The other is the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto.

Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba General Manager Ron Kristjannson says the number of entries in the show is up this year.

"We've got a great number of exhibitors, actually our entries are up a little bit in the show jumping, almost steady in the heavy horse and up significantly in the cattle," he explained. "We've got mostly a youth cattle show, and this year we jumped to about 60 exhibitors and almost 100 head of cattle which is a huge increase from last year."

He notes the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair always has lots to see and do for the entire family, including the agriculture education area which is always popular.