Fair ends with ‘monster’ night

The 158th Harrison County Fair concluded with a record-breaking crowd Saturday, according to Adam Camm, president of the Harrison County Agricultural Society, the volunteer group that puts on the annual event.
‘The Monster Trucks (show in front of the grandstand) drew a huge crowd,’ he said, citing about 6,750 paid admissions with more using fair passes to enter. ‘That’s a record for sure.’
Camm believes the forecast for heavy rain on Thursday and Friday nights kept attendance down, even though only light showers materialized in the area.
With less people attending those nights, Camm said the fair board needed a really good night Saturday.
‘It happened,’ he said.
Getting into the fairgrounds Saturday evening as the 7 o’clock start time neared for the Monster Trucks show was slow, with the Boy Scouts directing motorists to available parking.
‘We crammed the lots as full as we could,’ and even used an area near the livestock barns for additional parking, Camm said.
Other areas of the fair reportedly did well, too, on closing day.
‘The midway looked like it was full every time I had a chance see it,’ Camm said, ‘and the food booth vendors, they had no complaints.’
Away from the grandstand, other events seemed to go well, too.
‘Bingo went well at the end of the week,’ Camm said ‘And, the Talmage Windell Memorial Agriculture Building is still a nice addition. It’s one of the biggest things people tell me they like about the fair.’
The fair board also received a ‘good response’ to the carnival rides, provided again this year by Kissel Entertainment, which brought in more rides and set up an area for young children.
‘Everything sold very well at the 4-H Livestock Auction,’ Camm said.
Asked if he expects the Monster Trucks show to return next year, Camm said, ‘The board hasn’t discussed it yet, but I don’t know why it wouldn’t.’
Camm did add that he is looking at replacing a couple of shows for next year.
‘I hope to change some things up,’ he said.
The date, however, will likely remain about the same as this year’s fair, about mid-June. Camm said he is 99 percent sure it will be the same week.
When it was first announced the fair would start about a month earlier than past years, Camm said he had people express concerns.
‘But, as the fair went on, people realized they now had the rest of the summer’ to do what they wanted, he said.
‘As a 4-H parent, I’ll admit it was a challenge to make sure everything got done,’ Camm said. ‘And, it wasn’t as hot.’
He admits the nine-member fair board, comprised of volunteers, seemed ‘pushed’ to get everything done this year.
‘We have a lot of help,’ Camm added.
One area the fair board will definitely work to improve next year is getting fair-goers inside the property.
‘We’ll try to be more efficient at the gates,’ Camm said. ‘We’ll try to get people through a little faster.’