BUCYRUS — After months of preparation, the lights, food carts and rides were up and running at the Crawford County Fairgrounds Sunday.
The 159th Crawford County Fair brought a steady crowd for the first day of a week of fair food and family fun attractions. Among the standard fair scene favorites, elephant ears and livestock shows, the Crawford County Fair is featuring a wood carver and circus high wire act this year. General admission is $5 and children youn ger than8 are admitted free. Events will run until Saturday, July 23.
For those involved with the fair, preparation is year-round. Rebecca Starner, the fair board secretary and manager, estimated that the Crawford County Fair typically brings in a crowd of around 25,000 annually. Starner said the most popular festivities are the derby show, tractor pull and livestock competitions.
According to the Crawford County Fair’s 2015 annual report, the cost of last year’s fair was $490,933.32. Local and state grants account for $99,694.93 and admissions contribute $134,767.50, while the rest of the expenses are covered by contest fees, rentals, sales and other miscellaneous fees.
Alongside the livestock barns and rides, a variety of vendors also add to the array of interests. Kent and Ashley Hamilton, both teachers professionally, operate a mobile golf-course. “It’s a family business,” they explained. The golf-course has nine holes and costs $1 to play. The Hamiltons will take their golf course to three county fairs this summer.
Among the different parties that participate, the organization with the largest presence is the 4-H club. 4-H is an international youth development program for boys and girls ages 5 through 19. The organization originated in Clark County, Ohio in 1902. Today, 4-H is established in all 50 states and in 80 countries internationally, according to the Ohio 4-H Youth Developments website.
Riley Erwin, a sophomore at the University of Findlay and member of 4-H, brought her two horses to compete at the fair, Muggsy and Peaches.
Erwin explained that, like athletes, each horse has a specialty. Peaches is the racing horse, and will compete in the horse race this Thursday, while Muggsy is the show horse.
“Muggsy does about everything,” Erwin said.
To prepare Muggsy for her debut, Erwin has to bathe and brush her, and even clips her facial hair. She said she spends around six hours a day taking care of both of her horses.
Ten-year-old Xander Fauser is showing the goats he has helped raise. For the competition, Fauser displayed how to properly walk a goat around the ring. This seemingly simple feat isn’t always easy when the goat doesn’t want to cooperate. “You have to make them tame first,” he explained, while petting his goat to keep him calm.
Winning at the livestock competitions can bring varying prizes, from ribbons and wooden trophies to cash for the sale of livestock. Fauser commented that he will probably sell his goat after the showing. When asked what he will do with the money, he said he would probably save it for college.
Junior Fair Board members are responsible for administering prizes and planning for the shows. The members are involved with 4-H. If elected to serve on the Junior Fair Board, each member serves a two-year term. Aryn Copeland, a member of the board, said that being involved with 4-H has taught her life skills such as “responsibility, communication, and time management.”
Delaware County’s Fair Queen, 18-year-old Madelyn Wecker, who came to the Crawford County Fair for the annual queen tea for Ohio’s fair queens, commented that county fairs mean more than “funnel cakes” and “fun shows.”
“Ohio’s economics is based on agriculture, so it’s good to encourage understanding about how that works,” she said.
For more information about the events and performances at the Crawford County Fair visit http://crawfordcofair.com/attractions.html.
