Kids play games and win bikes at the Ashtabula County Fair
Aug. 9—JEFFERSON — Wednesday was Kids Day at the Ashtabula County Fair, with events set up specifically for children all across the fairgrounds.
Next to the barnyard pavilion was one of the biggest attractions to kids with games for children from 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m. The games included a tic-tac-toe relay, bucket ball toss and an egg-and-spoon race.
Dozens of families with young children flocked to the pavilion to have their kids compete in games for free. The winners of these games received "fair bucks" they could spend at various attractions at the fair.
Along with the games there was a free photo opportunity in the form of "Cinderella's Carriage." Jan Sharp brought the Lil' Pony Express to the fair so kids and families could have some free fun.
Sharp said that all of the carriages present at the fair were handmade with some dating back to the 1950s.
As kids waited for their turn to play games throughout the day, they could get in a carriage or stand next to one and their parents could capture the moment for no charge.
Another kids feature at the fair was a bicycle drawing sponsored by Novela Reality and orchestrated by Shawni Marich, who has been doing it for seven years.
Children 14 and under were able to register for a chance to win a free bike from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. A total of six different bikes were given away. There were three three boys and three girls bikes of various sizes.
Shelley and Shelby Schwotzer were working the tent and said more than 500 kids entered the drawing.
"The good weather brought out lots of kids to enjoy their day at the fair and we had over 500 entries into the bicycle drawing," Shelby said.
"It was nice to see the kids having fun playing games and getting excited to potentially win a bike."
Shelby recently graduated from college and was a 4-H member herself. She reminisced about her years at the fair. She said she was happy to be able to see the joy of the kids and has fond memories of attending the fair as a kid.
