Burton – The 198th Great Geauga County Fair had a much different look this year as compared to recent years. Due to the governor’s orders, because of COVID, the fair had been scaled back to a junior fair only. This reduction took some of the “greatness” out of the event. Trying to keep it as normal as possible for the kids, the junior fair was in full swing on opening day, Thursday, September 3, 2020 as if it was a normal year, but it wasn’t.
The big midways were empty, no rides, no games, and no vendors lining them. And most of all, no people. It was sad to see them that way. The roadway down by the junior fair had your food vendors, about a dozen give or take, and the dairy cow barn had the commercial merchants all put in one area. Another thing absent from the fair was farm machinery, pig races, the American Legion display, grandstand shows, the Band-O-Rama, and all the exhibits one would normally see at the fair. The flower barns were empty, along with domestic arts, fine arts, and farm products. The biggie everyone missed was the ever-popular demolition derby, a long-standing tradition of the fair.
This year it is all about the kids. The kids were resilient and were glad they got to show their animals and earn their ribbons and trophies for all their hard work they had put in over the summer. I talked to a few of the 4-H kids while there. Some were just glad they could have some kind of fair. They appreciated the fact that it wasn’t cancelled like so many others were. Those who are in their last year of eligibility for junior fair were disappointed, calling it a year that just didn’t quite cut it, but it was what it was. Not the last hurrah they had hoped for, but a hurrah none the less. They all were glad to just be able to take their animals into the ring and get a blue ribbon. They also were glad they could have their annual junior fair queen and king contest as in the past.
Other things that had been a tradition still happened, kids scrambling from one show ring to another, as many 4-H kids have more than one type of animal project. I saw one who was showing sheep scrambling across the roadway to get over and grab his hog and get in the ring. The kids were rolling with the punches, making the best of a rough situation. The usual “take your turkey for a walk” where all they were really doing was walking it from the barn to the show ring was a sight to behold. The parents, especially of younger 4-Hers, were pulling their hair out trying to make sure the youngsters were where they needed to be, and on time. They were all following the mandates, mask, social distancing and plenty of hand washing and hand sanitizing.
Another tradition is the Great Geauga County Fair Band. They performed several times during the fair l and were very good as always. They also had a Chris Higbee concert on Friday night, that didn’t disappoint anyone and as usual, the junior fair livestock auction was on Saturday. The auction had both live bidders and those bidding from home through a simultaneous virtual bidding system that was set up. Pony pulls were also on the schedule. Apple pie baking contest and pie auction, a fair goers’ favorite. One thing that hadn’t happened at the fair in years, was fireworks, they were slated for Sunday night. The fireworks display was open to the public.
Although a different type of fair this year, it was a fair that had some of the familiar things we’ve all enjoyed in the past. Fair food. There were many of the usual items, elephant ears, funnel cakes, sausage sandwiches, lemonades, fries, Swiss cheese on a stick etc. Just not as many food vendors as we usually see lining the midways, but the traditional ones were represented. It was a fair without rides or games for kids to play. It was low-keyed and scaled-back, but still had some semblance of a fair. For the littles it was great, the barns were not crowded and they could actually interact with the animals better.
The fair board did a great job at putting the focus on the kids with a few fun things for others to do as well. Hopefully, this COVID goes back where it came from, never to return,so the 199th fair is back to some sense of normalcy and putting the “Great” back into the Great Geauga County Fair, Ohio’s oldest continuously running fair, that seemed to go AWOL this year.
