BIG RAPIDS — Despite the uncertainty of whether there would be a fair or not coming into the season, this year's Mecosta County Fair was attended by record crowds.
“This was the best fair we have ever had,” fair board president John Currie said Monday. “We had record crowds every night. It was just amazing.”
He added that ridership was up for Skerbeck Family Carnival, who provided the midway rides for the fair, and the food vendors were very happy with the turnout.
Currie said he believes having to cancel last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the uncertainty of having one this year, played a part in the fair’s success.
“People are just hungry to get out and do things,” he said. “They want to just get out of the house.”
Evening events at the grandstand had record crowds, as well, with shows for every taste throughout the week.
“Saturday night we ran out of seating and it was standing-room only,” Currie said. “But that is a good thing for the fair. It was a really good show and people enjoyed it.”
The capacity crowds did create some minor issues with traffic congestion, but that was handled nicely by the Mecosta County Sheriff's Office, Currie said.
“Thursday (auction night) was the biggest problem, because we didn’t expect that kind of a crowd,” he said. “Friday and Saturday, we had it under control, and it went a lot smoother.”
One drawback the uncertainty of this year’s fair created was lower numbers of 4-H participants in the animal showings.
“4-H participation was down about 20% from previous years,” Currie said. “The kids weren’t sure we were going to have a fair — we weren’t even sure we would have the fair — so that would attribute to the lower numbers.”
“I’m sure it will come back next year,” he added. “Now that things are getting back to normal, and as long as the kids know there will be a fair and auction, I think we can get them back and get those numbers back up.”
Although the numbers were lower, the auction went very well, Currie said.
“The bidding was better than usual,” he said. “More local businesses were involved and supported the kids very generously. The kids got some pretty good money out of it and I think they were happy with it.”
Currie said that, although they haven’t yet started planning, he expects next year’s fair to be pretty much the same with the usual rides, food vendors and events.
“We want to thank all the volunteers and the fair board,” he said. “They did a tremendous job. We are thankful for everybody that participated and everybody that came out to enjoy the midway and the events. We had a great turnout.”
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Record crowds come out for Mecosta County Fair - The Pioneer
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