2019 Clark County Fair attendance up over last year

Riders wait for people to get on the ferris wheel Tuesday at the Clark County Fair, where attendance was up by 4,000 visitors. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Riders wait for people to get on the ferris wheel Tuesday at the Clark County Fair, where attendance was up by 4,000 visitors. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Attendance at the 2019 Clark County Fair was higher by more than 4,000 guests, according to Clark County Fair executive director Dean Blair.

The 2018 fair was held from July 20 until July 27 and brought in about 79,000 attendees. This year’s fair, which was held from July 19 until 26, saw a little over 83,000 guests, Blair said.

“We are very pleased to see that increase,” Blair said. “It’s an increase over previous years and we certainly hope we keep moving in the direction of continuing to increase every year.”

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One of the factors that could have contributed to higher attendance numbers was the weather. Last year’s fair started out slow due to thunderstorms.

“We had beautiful weather this year,” Blair said. “We started out a little hot, but we were able to hang on and have some cool days in the middle of the week.”

Blair said students and 4-H programs had some great success during the fair. Money generated from the Junior Fair Livestock Sale and 4-H/FFA participation numbers will be released in the coming weeks.

This year’s fair saw some, “personal wins,” Blair said, as the fairgrounds welcomed a new Springfield-Clark CTC constructed shelter house.

A dozen students from the school’s carpentry program and about five from the electrical program spent months constructing the shelter house. The project featured a new roof, new walls, flooring, electrical, benches and a performance stage.

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“Our new CTC Shelter House was a great experiment we had this year. People really enjoyed it and it seemed like people loved the picnic tables and performances,” Blair said. “We have had so much positive feedback about that.”

As the book closes on another county fair, Blair said the fairgrounds aren’t slowing down anytime soon.

‘Wake the Lake,’ the F1 Powerboat Championship will be returning to the Clark County Fairgrounds Aug. 9 through Aug. 11. The competition will host boat drivers and fans from across the county.

“We’re not slowing down — we are just getting into the heart of things,” Blair said.

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