Scioto County Fair success

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By Joseph Pratt

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Tens of thousands of guests visited the Scioto County Fair this year, from those who went for the rides and funnel cakes, to those who went for informational booths or 4-H projects, even to those who only went for the derbies and grandstand performances. The Scioto County Fair remains to be one of the largest events in the area.

“The fair started off kind of slowly, but the numbers really picked up the second-half of the week,” Scioto County Fair Board President Robert Seaman said. “We were blessed with perfect fair weather, which made everything really enjoyable. We had many positive comments from guests and even those involved in surrounding fairs.”

As of Saturday morning, when this article was written, fair officials had tallied attendance numbers from the start of the fair to Friday evening.

Seaman said that numbers on Saturday morning reflected that they were only 150 people short from the total they had last year, so they are looking at a larger fair this year, as opposed to the previous year. Without knowing what Saturday’s final numbers would be, Seaman speculated that the total numbers would be around 38 to 40 thousand.

“For the price of what you get at the Scioto County Fair, with everything being included, it is such a bargain,” Seaman said. “To have the entertainment provided, all of the rides, free parking, rides from the parking area to the fair, it is pretty affordable. Some surrounding fairs charge twice the price to get in, charge parking, and so on. We try to keep it affordable for everyone.”

The main entertainment event was the award winning country group, Lonestar, which wooed the crowd with songs from their 20-year history together on Friday evening.

Other grandstand events included the Willis Clan, Freestlye Motocross Championship Series, the Swon Brothers, Circus Continental, and Calvalcade of Thrills Demolition Derby.

“We didn’t get great big crowds for all of the shows, but our Friday night performance of Lonestar was tremendous,” Seaman said. “We are always working on bettering entertainment, so that we can provide the best for the folks of Scioto County. We want to provide the best for them and what they really want to see. Entertainment is something we will continue to work on, just trying to make it better and better.”

There were also many smaller entertainment shows brought by local marching bands and musical groups.

4-H kids, as always, dominated a major portion of the fair. Hundreds of students spent days showcasing their animals, from horses to rabbits.

“The 4-H program is all about the children. I think they put on some really good shows this year and the kids took away a lot from the events,” Seaman said. “It is always nice to see the students from all of these different schools working together and showcasing the work they spent all summer on. I think it all went wonderfully this week.”

Parent Margie Green agreed with Seaman, saying her two daughters had a meaningful year and she believes the entire 4-H crowd was successful with their various animals.

“My kids have been in 4-H since they were five-years-old and they have learned much more than how to hold an animal; they have learned values. Values aren’t taught in a school setting, those are learned from the giving leaders and life long friends that they make in 4-H,” Green explained. “Working with animals is a lot like working with people, a little bit of patience and a lot of hard work is the best way to ‘make the best better.’”

Seaman said that the Scioto County Fair Board began working on next year’s events last Monday, so they are already getting prepared for the next year.

“The day we started putting it on, we were already planning for the next year,” Seaman said. “It is a tremendous job and it takes many people and members of the board. We thank all the folks who came out to support the fair and we hope all guests left satisfied.”

Reach Joseph Pratt at 740-353-3101, ext. 1932, or by Twitter @JosephPratt03.

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Wayne Allen | Daily Times A portion of the Scioto County Fair midway.
http://portsmouth-dailytimes.aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2015/08/web1_IMG_4635.jpgWayne Allen | Daily Times A portion of the Scioto County Fair midway.

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