It's Fair Week in Crawford County
Denise has been coming to the Crawford County Fair every year since she was a little girl.
“I loved the fair as a child, and I want my kids to have this experience. We also like to support the fair every year,” said Denise as her children, 7-year-old Penny and 9-year-old Benjamin McNutt, got their faces painted by Dale Baer.
The 166th fair is the first one Dale Baer has been to as part of the Child Evangelical Fellowship out of Mansfield.Rebecca Hoag was taking a break from the heat on Monday near the gazebo area as she painted pictures with her friend’s daughter.
“We planned the painting about a week ago for something to do when we wanted to sit down for a bit,” said Hoag.
Across the way, Robyn Bovia sat on a bench in the Wynford FFA building while her grandson, 11-year-old Bentley Steffan, admired the woodworking skills of FFA member Collin Langenderfer, who created a large red toy barn.
'Someone actually made this'
“I love this. The windows open and you can see inside,” said Steffan with a bewildered look. “Someone actually made this.”
This year’s fair is a first for David Staats in the role of fair manager.
“So far, everything is going pretty good, like we want,” Staats said with a smile.
He said credit cards can now be taken at the gates into the fair to make it more convenient for fairgoers.
“We are keeping up with technology,” Staats said.
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He said the price of $10 per person for those over 36 inches tall includes amusement rides and all ground entertainment.
“It includes all of the rides as well as the entertainment at the gazebo and other places throughout the fair,” said Staats.
He said the admission fee does not include the grandstand, though, and each event will have their own ticket prices to get in.
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Wild West show will be performed every day
Bulls and Broncos will be the first rodeo held at the fair.
“We have several new things for people to enjoy and the rodeo is one of them. We also have the Wild West show every day of the fair,” said Staats. “Also, veterans will be admitted free to the fair on Thursday for the first time.”
He said it is also senior citizen day on Thursday and that they will be admitted at half price.
Staats said he and his staff are excited to be in the new building that was recently completed and is reminding people that the 4-H stand is in the building.
“People can order and eat outside or come in and order. They can also eat at the tables inside if they want to,” said Staats.
Staats, who added five new vendors and two side merchants to the fair this year, is hopeful that the fair will continue to go well.
“We want everyone to come out, have fun and enjoy themselves,” said Staats.
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: The 166th annual Crawford County Fair is underway
