EMBARRASS- As a reporter, I’ve never had to worry that my notes might be eaten, but this year at the Embarrass Region Fair, a baby kid goat did just that as I was down on my knees trying to snap a photograph at the petting zoo exhibit from Cook’s Country Connection. One rather adorable little girl, whose name begins with “Z” has the rest of her name missing, as that part of the page ended up down the gullet of that inquisitive little goat.
The baby goats, baby pigs, alpaca, and more were getting plenty of attention from young families and even some adults all day on Sunday. Country Connection’s Lois Pajari was having a wonderful time answering questions, and she was even trying to find new homes for some of the baby kids, who had been born this summer at her farm. The adopt-a-pet event set for Saturday had to be canceled, due to illness at the participating animal shelter.
This year’s fair featured plenty of new events, and fair favorites also posted close to record-breaking attendance, with 670 adults buying admission to the T. Morsching Memorial Mud Run, and 680 adults buying admission to the demolition derby.
This year’s demo derby featured a special “grudge match” at the end of the formal competition. About a half dozen of the 14 derby participants were able to get their vehicles back in action in the pit. Over $1,600 in prize money was raised in honor of longtime derby participant (and often winner) Todd Scholz, who had recently passed away. Todd’s son, Jaymes, was finally old enough to race in the event himself, and the younger Scholz came in second in the final match of the day, and also tied for first place in the grudge match, using a car belonging to a family friend when he couldn’t get his own car running again.
Next year, organizers are planning to make the grudge match a regular part of the competition, in honor of Todd.
Paid attendance both days was over 2,200 people, which didn’t count the vendors and fair volunteers, which probably added another 350 to these totals. Another 500 or more attended the Friday evening events. The fair added additional parking spaces this year, but during busy times, cars were still backed up onto Hwy. 21 waiting to enter the fairgrounds.
A total of 101 cars were part of the car show on Sunday, up from 88 last year. On Saturday, the first-ever chess tournament attracted a small but dedicated crew, as did the jigsaw puzzle contest. The pie-eating contest drew quite a crowd. Bingo on both days provided a shady spot to sit and have some fun. The horse show on Sunday featured several new games for horses and their riders. Young cowboys and cowgirls got a chance to try out their rodeo skills in the mutton busting competition on Friday afternoon.
The exhibit hall had a wide selection of garden vegetables, flowers, baked goods, arts and crafts, canned goods, and youth exhibits. There was a nine-pound cabbage this year, and some impressive looking celery, green beans, and tomatoes, but no giant zucchinis.
The annual parade had enough floats and entries to last over half an hour. Kids lined up on the sides of the road and went home with impressive candy hauls. I was given the honor of being named parade grand marshal riding in a shiny new souped-up hot pink Jeep from Waschke’s, and had a great time and saw lots of friends along the route.
Crafters and vendors reported good sales, and those selling cold and icy eats did especially well during the warm weather. The longest lines appeared to be for the cold lemonade and shaved ice, which both hit the spot in the 80-plus degrees afternoon sun. There were all the favorite fair foods on the grounds, egg rolls, gyros, kettle corn, mini-donuts, barbecue, and much more.
Fair board chair Carissa Smith said there was plenty to be excited about, though the fair board was still tabulating total attendance and volunteer hours.
“We are reviewing all the comments we received,” Smith said. “And we will keep adapting.”