How fares the Allen County Fair?
By Craig Kelly, The Lima News, Ohio | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
"We model this after service clubs," Adams said. "We have someone from the county who speaks for about five minutes or so, and then we jump into dialogue continuing the topic. The idea is to share personal stories on that topic to foster relationships."
Held once per quarter, this lunch meeting covers a variety of topics of interest in
"Fairs do have a lot of memories for people clear across the country," Grimm said. "More people in
Grimm cited a variety of reasons for the popularity of the county fair, one being value.
"There are lots of other places to go to be entertained, but fairs give the best value," he said. "The kids can go on rides all day and there is plenty of food, and when you add all that up with your gate admission, there is no other place in America that can touch that value."
Part of that high value featured in this year's fair is an appearance by country music superstar
"We're very fortunate to be able to get him," he said. "The board decided to go for the gusto and bring this big name in. We have about
Not only is there a big investment in Keith himself, but the board also has to invest in the infrastructure to support the show.
"We found out yesterday that our spotlights aren't good enough, so we have to get bigger ones out of
One of the staples of any county fair is the exhibits, where members of the public display the best of their produce, baking or other goods, along with recipes, photography and more. Grimm is hoping to attract the next generation of exhibitors to the fair, with many longtime participants getting older and perhaps less able to get involved.
"We need to grow our base of exhibitors," he said. "My mom and dad exhibited and prepared, as well as my grandparents, and we need to get this new generation thinking about what they can bring to the fair and exhibit after they have maybe been a part of the junior fair."
No matter what brings people to the fair, it is sure to be the center of
"You see people there you haven't seen for six months," Grimm said. "It's like a homecoming."
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