CANFIELD, Ohio (WKBN) — It’s now day two of the Canfield Fair, featuring plenty of fun activities if you plan on going.
Even though Thursday was officially the second day of the fair, that’s when the ribbon cutting happened. Directors were joined by Congressman Bill Johnson and others outside the new 4-H Event Center.
The Board’s outgoing president Bob Jarvis praised all those who work behind the scenes on the grounds to make the event a success.
“Whether it’s the boardroom, the maintenance staff, the electrical staff, the ladies in the office, because of them, we have the most amazing fair in the state of Ohio. Because of them, we’re fortunate enough to be here today,” Jarvis said.
Also Thursday, fair royalty was crowned. The Junior Fair king is Joey Devine and the queen is Morganne Evans. Their court includes: Madalyn Black, Amber Corll, Evelyn Collier, Logan Fair, Landon Frank, Cayden Jones, Luke Kemmer, Grace Moltonic, Douglas Moliterno and Kaleigh Williams
Another big crowd pleaser — humungous pumpkins! The second-largest pumpkin ever at the Canfield Fair is on display. It weighs 1,631.5 pounds, just 62 pounds shy of the fair record set last year by Benjamin McMillan.
This pumpkin was grown by Doug Kisamore, who also grew the largest pumpkin ever in Ohio.
That weighed over 2,000 pounds.
There were lots of old tractors and farm equipment on display. So were some old cars, lanterns, and kid’s toys.
There’s also plenty of equipment that run on gas engines. Shawn Watson is the spokesperson for the Antique Machinery exhibit. He loves showing younger generations the historical machinery.
“There were a lot of little kids who came, and I would see this little kid go running for mom. ‘Mom, Mom, come over here. Look at this old car over here.’ He was just fascinated by that 1910 automobile with the brass and all that on it. Never seen something like that before,” Watson said.
You can check out the antique machinery exhibit near Old McDonald’s barn. It’s next to the sheep and goat pens on the north side of the fairgrounds.
One of the many traditions at the Canfield Fair is the annual band show at the Grandstand. That happened Thursday, too. The Clipper Marching Band from Columbiana High School was on of 18 units from the area to perform their halftime shows for the crowd.
This year marks the 177th Canfield Fair. The fair began Wednesday, when First News went live throughout the day covering everything from 4-H events to County Agricultural Hall of Fame inductions.
The first day brought out 23,846 people, beating last year’s total by just over 800 people. The record attendance for a single day was set back on Sunday of 1979 with just over 158,000 people.
Veterans can get into the fair for free on Thursday.
Earlier this week, the junior fair was getting their animals ready. Lambs and pigs were out of their pens preparing for their showings.
Maelee Kirkner has been getting her pig ready for the fair shortly after it was born.
“We get them about March, and then they’re just a few months old, depending on when they were born,” Kirkner said.
Besides raising her pig, she said her favorite part of the fair is the competition.
“Whenever you come down here to give the judge to death stare, I’m here,” Kirkner said.
Across the fairgrounds, antique machinery sits near Old McDonald’s barn. Tractors, cars and equipment from yesteryear fill the grounds with nostalgia.
Shawn Watson has helped with this exhibit for 15 years and says he loves teaching people about the machinery.
“I’ve always been history-minded because the young people today aren’t going to have a clue if we don’t keep this stuff alive,” Watson said.
