Fun in the sun

By Hannah Wever
Review Staff Writer
Published: July 31, 2008

The sun shone and the crowds poured in to the Orange County Fair’s for its final year on the grounds of Montpelier.
Fair organizers said last weekend’s fair weather and fabulous acts and exhibits made for great attendance at this year’s Orange County Fair.
“We definitely had a record attendance,“ Orange County Fair Board Treasurer Phyllis Yancey said.
While ticket sales have yet to be totaled, Yancey said she knows already the crowds at the fair this year were far larger than in the last few years. One factor in the fair’s big draw, she said, was the weather. Recent years’ evening downpours and storms kept some folks at home, but clear skies and moderate temperatures had workers at the admissions tent busy last weekend.
“The weather was so nice, and we had people come from all over-even from other states,“ Yancey said. “We had every age range you could think of.“
Yancey said the clogging competition was a big draw for exhibitors and spectators. The rock-climbing wall was overwhelmingly one of the most popular activities, she added, and the diverse and abundant musical performances were attractions for folks from all over.
At the admissions tent, Yancey said, ticket takers saw a steady stream of traffic on all four fair days.
Orange County Fair Board President Keith O’Connor said 4-H events like animal exhibits, judging and auctions were well-attended this year.
“The auction was packed. I understand they did very well this year,“ O’Connor said. In fact, the sale grossed $156,752.75.
The Moon Bounce was one of several events and attractions that were new to the Orange County Fair in 2008 that proved to be popular.
“The Moon Bounce went continuously as soon as it went up,“ O’Connor said. A demonstration by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office K9 unit, the mule pull and the petting zone were other spots that brought children and adult out by the hundreds.
Music fans persuaded Friday night’s headliner J Blackwell to keep rocking for an hour past his scheduled set. And Silver Creek, on Saturday, saw a similarly enthusiastic crowd of music lovers.
O’Connor said new lighting in each of the exhibit tents helped showcase the Orange County community’s fair, but most of all it was the weather that helped highlight the fair.
“We had a spectacular four days of sun,“ he said.
When the Orange County Fair closed on Sunday, so did the arrangement with Montpelier to hold the event in the historic estate’s paddock area. Next year, and until a permanent site has been secured, the fair will move to the space behind the old Montpelier Visitors’ Center on Route 20, across from the Montpelier Station Post Office.