WEEDSPORT - Despite a couple of intense downpours early in the day, the Cayuga County Fair opened its gates Thursday afternoon to kick off a long weekend of entertainment and attractions for the holiday weekend.
The county fair has a long history in Cayuga County.
“They used to have this on Owasco Lake,” Bill Faulkner, president of the board of the Cayuga County Fair, said. “Right where the Agricultural Museum is now.”
Faulkner said that throughout the duration of the fair's history there was one time four years ago when the fair was canceled, but it has been back and going strong for the past three years.
And while dark rain clouds and cooler temperatures loomed over the fairgrounds, it didn't stop visitors from enjoying this summer tradition.
Rachel Stoneburg, of Auburn, said that she has been coming to the fair for many years now.
“I've been here a lot,” Stoneburg said. “It is a lot of fun with the rides and everything. I just wanted to come back and check everything out again this year, so far it looks pretty good, a lot of fun.”
Opening night also drew its fair share of first-time fair-goers.
“I've actually never been here before,” said Laura Northrup, of Auburn. “Some of my friends were going so I thought I'd come out and see what it was all about. It has been a lot of fun, I really like it.”
This year, children attending the fair can stop by the Agriculture Is Everywhere booth to pick up a passport. As they walk through the fair, they can check off the animals they see and return to the booth to receive free ice cream courtesy of Byrne Dairy.
“We wanted to do something more interactive,” Faulkner said. “A lot of these animals you can go up and pet and they aren't scary for the kids, like the draft horses might be. But they can also learn something and play a little game at the same time.”
Faulkner said that one of the aims of the fair is to make a truly community oriented event.
With this in mind the fair has opened up the opportunity for local not-for-profit organizations to run food booths across the fairgrounds, as well as welcoming various community organizations like the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office's Safe Child ID program in the grange building.
Right alongside Safe Child are tables for organizations like weCare, a cancer support group, Cayuga Home For Children and the Vietnam Veterans of Cayuga County, who will be at the fair all weekend raising money for the organizations scholarship fund.
And while there are many interactive sites to see at the fair and numerous opportunities to learn about animals and other community organizations, a fair would not be complete without midway rides, games and food.
As opening night wore on, the rain held off and the midway opened with all its bright lights and buzzers.
Jeff Smith, of Montezuma, brought his two grandchildren, Jeffery Roe, 9, and Hannah Roe, 5, who were both enjoying traditional fair corn dogs and running excitedly from game to game and ride to ride.
“They are having a good time,” Smith said. “We come here pretty much every year, so far they seem to be having a lot of fun with everything.”
Jeffery and Hannah had already begun to rack up the prizes with several stuffed animals and a fish.
“I love to play the games,” Jeffery said. “We've already won a bunch of stuff and I like the rides too, and the food, I like everything, it is a lot of fun.”
Faulkner said that last year attendance was more than 15,000 over the course of the fair, which has been helped along by some key sponsorship.
“We have great support from a lot of sponsors,” Faulkner said. “Fox and Summit auto groups are the big sponsors. It is through the sponsorship and great support we receive that the parking and admission are all free.”
Faulkner went on to say that with other fairs and events of this nature, there are generally a lot of costs from a dollar or two to park to an admission charge of three dollars or more per person, by making parking and admission free, it has made the fair more enticing for visitors.
Friday
6:30 a.m. - Food booth opens
9 a.m. - Ag. gates open
10 a.m. - Food booth near event center open, sheep show, dairy show
11 a.m. - 4-H rabbit show at events center
Noon - Exhibit building and crafts vendors open, sheriff's department child I.D., Hourly drawing starts
1 p.m. - 4-H poultry show
2 p.m. - 4-H dog show
3 p.m. - County 4 X 4 Concert, horse pull, fiber arts
4 p.m. - Chicken bar be cue
5 p.m. - Midway opens
7 p.m. - The Disclaimerz
9:45 p.m. - Fireworks
“They used to have this on Owasco Lake,” Bill Faulkner, president of the board of the Cayuga County Fair, said. “Right where the Agricultural Museum is now.”
Faulkner said that throughout the duration of the fair's history there was one time four years ago when the fair was canceled, but it has been back and going strong for the past three years.
And while dark rain clouds and cooler temperatures loomed over the fairgrounds, it didn't stop visitors from enjoying this summer tradition.
Rachel Stoneburg, of Auburn, said that she has been coming to the fair for many years now.
“I've been here a lot,” Stoneburg said. “It is a lot of fun with the rides and everything. I just wanted to come back and check everything out again this year, so far it looks pretty good, a lot of fun.”
Opening night also drew its fair share of first-time fair-goers.
“I've actually never been here before,” said Laura Northrup, of Auburn. “Some of my friends were going so I thought I'd come out and see what it was all about. It has been a lot of fun, I really like it.”
This year, children attending the fair can stop by the Agriculture Is Everywhere booth to pick up a passport. As they walk through the fair, they can check off the animals they see and return to the booth to receive free ice cream courtesy of Byrne Dairy.
“We wanted to do something more interactive,” Faulkner said. “A lot of these animals you can go up and pet and they aren't scary for the kids, like the draft horses might be. But they can also learn something and play a little game at the same time.”
Faulkner said that one of the aims of the fair is to make a truly community oriented event.
With this in mind the fair has opened up the opportunity for local not-for-profit organizations to run food booths across the fairgrounds, as well as welcoming various community organizations like the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office's Safe Child ID program in the grange building.
Right alongside Safe Child are tables for organizations like weCare, a cancer support group, Cayuga Home For Children and the Vietnam Veterans of Cayuga County, who will be at the fair all weekend raising money for the organizations scholarship fund.
And while there are many interactive sites to see at the fair and numerous opportunities to learn about animals and other community organizations, a fair would not be complete without midway rides, games and food.
As opening night wore on, the rain held off and the midway opened with all its bright lights and buzzers.
Jeff Smith, of Montezuma, brought his two grandchildren, Jeffery Roe, 9, and Hannah Roe, 5, who were both enjoying traditional fair corn dogs and running excitedly from game to game and ride to ride.
“They are having a good time,” Smith said. “We come here pretty much every year, so far they seem to be having a lot of fun with everything.”
Jeffery and Hannah had already begun to rack up the prizes with several stuffed animals and a fish.
“I love to play the games,” Jeffery said. “We've already won a bunch of stuff and I like the rides too, and the food, I like everything, it is a lot of fun.”
Faulkner said that last year attendance was more than 15,000 over the course of the fair, which has been helped along by some key sponsorship.
“We have great support from a lot of sponsors,” Faulkner said. “Fox and Summit auto groups are the big sponsors. It is through the sponsorship and great support we receive that the parking and admission are all free.”
Faulkner went on to say that with other fairs and events of this nature, there are generally a lot of costs from a dollar or two to park to an admission charge of three dollars or more per person, by making parking and admission free, it has made the fair more enticing for visitors.
Friday
6:30 a.m. - Food booth opens
9 a.m. - Ag. gates open
10 a.m. - Food booth near event center open, sheep show, dairy show
11 a.m. - 4-H rabbit show at events center
Noon - Exhibit building and crafts vendors open, sheriff's department child I.D., Hourly drawing starts
1 p.m. - 4-H poultry show
2 p.m. - 4-H dog show
3 p.m. - County 4 X 4 Concert, horse pull, fiber arts
4 p.m. - Chicken bar be cue
5 p.m. - Midway opens
7 p.m. - The Disclaimerz
9:45 p.m. - Fireworks
The Citizens' Say
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