Nice Geauga County Truthful celebrates bicentennial Aug. 31-Sept. 5

The Nice Geauga County Truthful returns Aug. 31 by way of Sept. 5 for an prolonged six-day occasion to have fun the truthful’s 200 consecutive years.

The Nice Geauga County Truthful began in 1823 and has been held yearly since, making it the oldest steady county truthful in Ohio, as noted on its website.

“We’ve grown from 1823 until now,” stated Paul Harris, secretary for the truthful and a member of its board of administrators. “The one factor that’s stayed the identical or stayed constant, although, all through the years is the dedication to agriculture. It’s nonetheless an agricultural-based truthful.”

This yr’s truthful begins with a bicentennial celebration on Aug. 31. The fair’s schedule notes that the Bicentennial Ribbon Chopping Ceremony and a efficiency from the Geauga County Truthful Band will start at midday, adopted by a day of truthful festivities. At 8 p.m., guests can attend a free live performance, with The Hillbilly Approach opening for nation music artist Tracy Byrd. The bicentennial celebration shall be capped off by fireworks at 10 p.m.

“The bicentennial is the most important a part of the yr this yr, clearly,” Harris famous. “We’ve spruced up all of the buildings; we’ve acquired all the things adorned.”

Different occasions highlighted on the truthful’s schedule embrace KOI drag racing at 7 p.m. on Sept. 1, a efficiency from nation musician Chris Higbee at 8 p.m. on Sept. 2, a demolition derby at 8 p.m. on Sept. 3, a truck and tractor pull at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 4 and a excessive metal rodeo at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 5.

The truthful may even embrace a tiger present and magic reveals.

The Geauga County 4-H 5K and Enjoyable Run shall be held at 8 a.m. on Sept. 4, with the course working by way of the fairgrounds and Burton Village. The proceeds will profit Geauga County 4-H, as famous in a information launch. People can study extra and register at geaugafair.com/5k-race.

This yr’s truthful will embrace greater than 300 distributors and 13,000 reveals, Harris stated. Round 700 youth will take part within the Junior Fair, which incorporates competitions and public livestock gross sales.

He described the Natural Resource Area as a “truthful inside the truthful” that may embrace exhibitors such because the Geauga County Park District, Punderson State Park, the Geauga County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Ohio Division of Pure Assets. This space will embrace actions equivalent to youth fishing and an archery demonstration.

The racing pigs will return this yr, Harris famous, including that “they haven’t been right here for fairly some time.”

In keeping with Harris, attendance on the truthful often ranges from 225,000 to 250,000 folks. Whereas most attendees come from the encompassing area, guests have come from states together with California, Texas and Florida.

“It simply brings the neighborhood collectively. It offers them a chance to have fun agricultural accomplishments. Agriculture remains to be a key in Geauga County and nonetheless an enormous a part of it, so it simply offers them an opportunity to return collectively and have fun and, you already know, embrace the top of summer time,” he stated.

Harris added that admission shall be free for the bicentennial celebration on Aug. 31, $8 on Sept. 1 and $10 on Sept. 2-5. Veterans and senior residents 65 and older will obtain free admission on Sept. 2, whereas youngsters 6 and beneath will obtain free admission for the entire truthful.

Advance sale tickets can be found on the truthful’s web site, with presents of $35 for 5 admissions and $8 for one.

Nice Geauga County Truthful

The place: Geauga County Fairgrounds, 4373 N. Cheshire St., Burton

Hours: Grounds open day by day 9 a.m. to midnight; reveals opens day by day 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (shut at 8 p.m. on Labor Day)

Extra data: geaugafair.com.