Lake County Fair kicks off July 26
Jul. 23—Although it's a county fair on the smaller side, Lake County Fair Board President Wade Crofoot describes the it as one of the best small county fairs in Ohio.
The fair will run from July 26-31 on the fairgrounds at 1301 Mentor Ave. in Painesville Township. Last year, the number of those in attendance throughout the week of the fair broke records, Crofoot said.
"I've been here 20 years and it's probably the best attendance we've had," he said. "It's a family-oriented fair with a big, clean location. We work well with different community groups and we also have one of the bigger 4-H programs, which plays a big part of the fair.
"I have a granddaughter who is in the horse program," he added. "Most of the fairground members do. We're family oriented that way. My two boys and my daughter went through the 4-H programs here, and my grandkids."
On the fair's opening day, there will be free admission to the fair up until 3 p.m., harness racing and the Jungle Terry Show, who puts on many shows throughout the week. Trained dog performances, a new addition to this year's fair, will take place at 5 p.m. at the front of the midway and the parade will step off at 6 p.m.
The parade will start at the First Church of Christ, 422 Mentor Ave. and the Zion Lutheran Church, 508 Mentor Ave. It will then go down Mentor Avenue and to the grandstand area.
Ron Young, of Leroy Township, has been chosen to serve as the 2022 Lake County Fair Parade Grand Marshal.
Young recently retired as a Lake County commissioner where he served since 2019. He is a Kent State University graduate and has served in the Army. In 1981, Young founded Technical Employment Services, which focuses on the recruitment of engineering, scientific and industrial segments of job placement.
Also on opening day, the Outstanding Youth program will start at 7 p.m. at the 4-H Youth Building, which started two years ago, Crofoot said. Opening fair ceremonies will be after the parade in front of the grandstands.
At this year's demolition derby, four to five school buses will be featured.
Within the last year, improvements at the fairgrounds took place, which included the horseshow ring being updated, four of the larger livestock and horse buildings being sided and campground updates, Crofoot said. The military service memorial wall has also been updated and WiFi has since been installed at the fairgrounds.
"Everything was brought up online yesterday, so we should be set," Crofoot said. "A lot of it was needed. We came off of a very good fair last year, so we had some money to do improvements."
