EMBARRASS- The 81st Embarrass Region Fair was full of people and there was good attendance at all of its events this past weekend as the event rebooted after taking a year off for the COVID-19 pandemic.
There were some changes, like the first ever cornhole tournament and lawnmower races, which both proved to be popular. The horseshoe tournament was discontinued due to low attendance. Team penning and ranch sorting were held the weekend before the fair to allow use of the horse arena for the entire weekend. The Embarrass Fair Horse Show has use of the horse arena on the Sunday during the fair.
This year, there was no Embarrass Region Fair Queen.
“We didn’t know if we’d be able to have the fair at the time we would have been recruiting queen candidates,” said fair vice-chair Sue Beaton.
The fair withstood some rain Sunday afternoon, but considering the on-going drought few complaints were heard and it didn’t stop the fun. Kids continued to play outside and took pony rides through the rain.
St. Louis County’s COVID-19 vaccination bus was at the fair on Saturday and gave some vaccinations. Hand sanitizers were abundant throughout the fairgrounds.
Beaton gave a heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers.
“They were wonderful,” she said.
Beaton also gave praise to the musicians, including the karaoke singers, who provided “fantastic” entertainment all weekend.
Beaton asked others to consider volunteering for the fair next year. Volunteers are most needed to sell tickets at the gates and to set up the event in the days beforehand.