During the beginning of fair week, the Fair Board projected that this year’s event would break its overall record for attendance, which is 100,000 people over the age of 5. Blair told the News-Sun that the fair’s attendance may have been impacted by a series of attacks by groups of young people that were reported at the fairgrounds during the week.
Clark County 4-H leadership issued an alert to families at the beginning of fair week following several reports of assaults at the fairgrounds. A group of up to 10 juvenile boys were said to have carried out the assaults, which happened among people —mostly children — walking in dark spaces, Blair told the News-Sun.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office upped patrols at the fairgrounds during the week following the reports of attacks, with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Springfield Police Division also responding to patrol. The Fair Board brought in several light towers and kept track lights on at the fairgrounds, regardless of whether an event was happening.
“We lit this place up like a Christmas tree,” Blair said. “We’d do it all over again today the same way, because we believe the way we played that was ‘safety first.’ And we believe we were transparent.”
Blair said the largest success of the fair this year was the fact that 4-H and FAA members were able to compete in animal shows they missed out on last year. The Fair Board decided to livestream events this year, which cost roughly $10,000, and Blair said that gave family members who may have been unable to attend the fair or who lived out of state the opportunity to tune in and watch their loved ones compete.
“It’s an option that we think is really something we learned in a COVID climate that’s really cool, and we’ll try, as long as we can economically do it, to continue it in future years because there’s so much value to it,” Blair told the News-Sun.
Another success of fair week, Blair said, was the hybrid Golden Anniversary fair program. In the past, hundreds of couples would gather in one building for lunch and entertainment to celebrate the longest married couple in Clark County and other couples married over 50 years. This year, People married 50 years or more drove their cars up to a tent at the fairgrounds on July 27 and were greeted with a sweet treat and other items. More than 500 cars showed up to the drive-thru event, which was coordinated in partnership with United Senior Services.
The fair board is considering a similar set-up for next year’s Golden Anniversary, with two sessions during the day.
Blair said the fairgrounds featured increased hand sanitizing and washing stations in response to the pandemic, an element fair staff hopes to carry forward in fairs to come.
Blair also pointed to the amusement rides and the sea lion show, which was held throughout the week, as “major successes.” In addition, music shows were “well-attended”; Christian Music Sunday had the highest attendance of music shows, with roughly 1,200 audience members.
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