Rain, derby fire, stopped ride couldn't keep crowds away from the 154th Marshfield Fair

MARSHFIELD – While thunderstorms and rain loomed over part of the week,  fairgoers still turned out in droves for food, fun and entertainment at the 154th Marshfield Fair, said Lenny LaForest, the fair's president.

As of this week, LaForest didn’t yet have a final tally of how many people visited the fair, but he said he was "very pleased with the turnout" and how things went overall despite a few hiccups, including a carnival ride stopped for safety and a fire during the demolition derby.

"The turnout was great this year. Aside from the bad weather days, it seemed like everyone tried to squeeze time in at the fair, and we were absolutely packed on the nice days," he said. "We accept the fact that sometimes the weather doesn't fully cooperate."

The fair closed on one of its 10 days due to weather and two more temporary closures were caused by thunderstorms.

LaForest said vendors were still pleased with the way the fair went, and people spent a lot of time in the 4-H and agriculture areas taking shelter.

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"People loved the demolition derby on Wednesday because it was all wet and sloppy from the rain, which added to the entertainment," he said. "It was a mud pit out there."

A relatively large fire during the demolition derby required the attention of firefighters on Friday, Aug. 26. Fires are not uncommon during the derby –  in which drivers deliberately ram their vehicles into one another – and the driver was unharmed.

"It's common that cars catch on fire, but the Marshfield Fire Department is on site with their extinguishers and equipment ready to go and they always extinguish anything," Marshfield Police Chief Phil Tavares said.

One ride, the Zipper, had to be evacuated when a cable started to fray on Sunday, Aug. 28. No one was injured.

Fiesta Shows, the traveling carnival operator that runs the rides, said rides are inspected by state inspectors and an additional third-party inspector before the fair opens, and then daily by "certified maintenance mechanics and ride operators."

"In this instance, a portion of the segmented cable was seen by the operator to fray, which triggered the ride to be shut down, replaced and reinspected," Vice President of Operations E.J. Dean said in an email. "We continuously maintain our rides to not only meet state requirements but also to provide a safe and fun experience for our guests."

Tavares said the police department wasn't notified of the problem with the ride at the time.

Noel Powers, director of the Marshfield Fair, said the week kicked off with a country music weekend for the first time, which was a big hit. The 27th annual North River Blues Festival, the main music event at the fair, attracted many people.

"Overall, we're really happy with how everything went," he said.

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LaForest said the fair used a new gate system as part of security enhancements, and it seemed to work out well.

Tavares said, "We're always looking to improve (security). We haven't had our after-action meeting yet, but we will. We're always looking for what went well and what we could do better when it comes to security, traffic and other things. We have metal detectors, we don't allow weapons, we have a whole bunch of things that have been put in place."

Fairgoers ate their way through a new food truck area, played games on the midway, rode the Ferris wheel, and viewed dozens of 4-H exhibits and crafts during the 10-day fair, which wrapped up on Sunday.

"We were happy with any of the changes we made," LaForest  said. "Hopefully next year the weather will be a little bit better."

The Marshfield Fair is one of the region's few remaining fairs primarily focused on agriculture. The tradition of showing off a season of hard labor first began in Marshfield when 19 farmers came together to found the South Marshfield Farmer's Club in the 1860s. By 1867, thousands of people were attending the club's public meetings and the club formed  the Marshfield Agricultural and Horticultural Society, which still operates the fair today.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Weather, fire, stopped ride couldn't keep the Marshfield Fair down