Rain puts damper on fair attendance

By SHELLEY TERRY - Staff Writer - sterry@starbeacon.com
Star Beacon

August 11, 2008 10:52 pm

— JEFFERSON — Although the Ashtabula County Fair is over, the fairgrounds bustled with activity Monday morning as food vendors packed their trailers and carnival workers folded up the rides.
In the Grange and Future Farmers of America barns, members of the fair board returned canned goods, artwork and all sorts of sewing projects to their owners, but this time, with a blue, red or white prizes, or at least an exhibitor’s ribbon.
In the fair office under the grandstand, board secretary Darla Vargo crunched attendance numbers. When she tallied it all up, 26,376 people paid at the gate to come into the fair, she said. That number does not count all of the 4-H’ers, 4-H advisers and exhibitors, she said.
However, 26,376 is lower than the past few years, which have averaged about 29,000 to 30,000, according to paid-attendance records.
Vargo and fellow fair board director Bob Jones attributed the lower attendance to the wet weather.
“We booked extra entertainment,” Vargo said. “We also offered as much free entertainment as we could.”
However, heavy rain muddied the first night of the Demolition Derby on Thursday, and monsoon-like weather washed out Sunday’s truck show.
The sun shone Aug. 5, the opening day of the fair, and 2,971 people paid at the gates to watch the frog jumping contest, junior fair shows and motocross.
Kids Day, on Wednesday, brought lots and lots of children to the fairgrounds. A total of 4,216 adults paid to get into the fair. Children got in free.
The Demolition Derby, harness racing, junior fair shows and the rooster-crowing contest drew 3,308 people Thursday.
The market animal sale, dairy shows and second night of the Demolition Derby brought 6,152 people through the gates on Friday.
Saturday’s Bucky Covington concert helped boost attendance to 5,944, and despite a downpour, 3,785 people came to the fairgrounds Sunday to see the truck and tractor shows, plus Jesse James and his motorcycles.
“It was a great fair,” Jones said. “It’s just too bad rain hit us on Thursday night and Sunday.”

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