Wirt County Fair continues to be a success
By JEFFREY SAULTON, jsaulton@newsandsentinel.comELIZABETH - Although 49 years have passed since the first Wirt County Fair, some things about the fair have not changed much.
Debbie Hennen, first vice president of the fair, said Thursday the fair is one of the few left where the price paid at the gate is a fairgoer's ticket to all the rides and shows the fair has to offer.
"This is a fair where you can go to everything instead of paying separately for each event," she said. "It's an old-fashioned county fair."
Hennen said the first night of the fair on Wednesday saw 1,400 people come through the gates. Hennen said that is about average for the fair.
"A lot of the success of the fair depends on the weather," she said. "The weather has been beautiful; a little bit of rain earlier didn't hurt us."
Hennen said the fair is not seeing an impact from the high price of gasoline. She said the fair seems to have attracted a lot of people who are coming for the first time or have not come in a number of years. She said the county fair is a lot like a homecoming for many.
"People come here and they see people they have not seen for a year," she said.
Some of those attending the fair Thursday night said they came for different reasons.
"I like the atmosphere of the fair," said Lisa Carpenter of Davisville. "I especially like the mud bogs."
Some said they came to hear the music played at the fair that ranged from bluegrass to more recent songs.
"We like the concerts. The food is good also. I really liked the taco salad shack," said Lori Enoch of Mineral Wells.
A number of awards will be handed out for 4-H livestock shows. Emma Miller, 15, raised a heifer that won grand champion.
"I've been in 4-H for seven years," she said of her seven-month-old heifer. "I've had other awards but this is my first grand champion."
Like other fairs and festivals the Wirt County Fair selected a queen. For 2008 the fair queen is Anna Bordonada, who is a member of the Two Runs Willing Workers Club.
"This was my first pageant," she said. "Any of the girls who were in the pageant could have done a good job; we are all friends and we all really wanted it."
Bordonada said she won awards in the livestock shows in the past, including a grand champion heifer in 2001. This year her market steer took second place. She said her favorite part of the fair is handing out the awards.
"I love the look on the kid's faces when they win an award," she said.
