CHARLESTOWN —
The smell of funnel cakes and corn dogs still hung in the air Friday morning, but the sound of shovels scraping the ground and the sight of trailers being loaded signaled the nearing close to the Clark County 4-H fair.
On Friday morning — and an annual tradition — the Pathfinder 4-H club hosted a free breakfast for the 4-H fair participants. Later on Friday’s schedule, animals showcased during the fair were to be auctioned and mud drags were on tap.
Randy Burton, a 4-H parent and volunteer, said Friday he expects that the auction will be strong, as always.
“That’s well supported,” he said. “The great thing about this area, and this county, and our 4-H, is it really doesn’t matter what the economy is doing. [People] always come out and support the kids. We’ve really not seen that big of an upturn or downturn depending on the economy.”
In addition to its deep roots in the community, fair organizers tried to encourage attendance by offering a host of free or inexpensive entertainment options for families.
Amy Burton, a member of the 4-H fair board, said the group tried to provide more free events this year — including bands, hot air balloon rides and a balloon artist.
According to her husband, Randy Burton, it worked.
“Seems like attendance has been up,” he said. “We’ve always had great support from our community for the 4-H fair.”
Paul Graf, president of the 4-H Corp. Board said the fair has probably had between 9,000 and 10,000 visitors up to Friday.
“We had a really good crowd [Thursday],” he said.
The strong attendance numbers were in spite of the inauspicious start to the fair, as the participants and animals had to endure tremendous heat in its opening weekend and early this week.
Temperatures were so hot that unfortunately one exhibitor’s animal died because of the excessive heat, Randy Burton said..
“Luckily we had the rain move through Tuesday night and that cooled [it] down for the livestock,” he said.
Fair-goers will have one more day to enjoy the amusements and rides, which will be open from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday.
“It’s kind of like a last night, that way the [kids] that have been working so hard all week can sit back and enjoy the night,” Amy Burton said.
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Related Photos
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A goat looks over the top rail of its pen while chewing on feed Tuesday at the Clark County 4-H Fairgounds in Charlestown. Staff photo by C.E. Branham
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Macie McCarty looks into the ring while waiting to show her fainting goat Darla Thursday morning in the Clark County 4-H dairy and specialty goat show. Staff photo by C.E. Branham
Discussion
FAIR-WELL: Clark County 4-H fair wraps up
Fair officially closes at 11 p.m. Saturday
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