MARIETTA - The Washington County Fair kicks off today, and the sounds, sights and smells of the event could already be experienced Friday evening, as volunteers, exhibitors and workers scrambled to get everything into place.
"It's always hopping the day before the fair," said fair board President Steve Tornes. "We have our vendors and our outside displays being set up, and once school lets out all the kids are bringing their animals in. There are a lot of last-minute preparations."
For 12-year-old Karissa Lang of Lowell, the night before the fair means a lot of nerves. Lang is showing a dairy feeder for the third year in a row.
"I worry that we won't do that well," she said. "I have to make sure his feet are OK, he's well-groomed, and walk him. But I like cows and calves. I think it's really fun to work with animals."
It's also a lot of work, said Emily Mason, 15, of Lowell, who has been part of the fair since she was 6.
This year, she's there with her two market lambs.
"We get our lambs at the beginning of May, and once the summer starts we start to walk them and work with them daily," she said. "It's a whole summer-long event to get ready."
Mason, a member of the Junior Fair Board, also helps to set up and keep the fair going.
"It's an exciting weekend, but it's also work-filled and stressful," she said. "But the No. 1 reason I do this is because it's a lot of fun. I've made lifelong friends, and the money I earn I put in the bank for college."
Out of earshot of the sheep bleating at any new arrivals to the fairgrounds Friday, the midway rides were in place and the food and game vendors were busy setting up.
"It takes about a day to set all this up," said Joe Jackson of Danville, Va., who has been running the basketball booth for 16 years and was carefully arranging all the stuffed animals prizes on the walls Friday. "When people walk by, I want them to notice how nice it looks."
Jackson said the Washington County Fair draws plenty of people to the midway every year.
"We get a pretty good crowd," he said. "I love Marietta."
With the weather forecast showing sun for the duration of the fair and mild temperatures for most of it, Tornes said he's hopeful that the crowds will come.
"If it rains, we're always dead in the water," he said. "But they're calling for great fair weather. It would be nice to set an attendance record, but those are hard to do these days."
Through its four-day run, the fair is featuring a mix of old favorites and new features.
New attractions include pony rides and a Wheelie Wizard motorcycle show, while as is traditional, there will be plenty of truck and tractor pulls.
Today's tractor pull will be held this year in honor of longtime local puller John Rech, who passed away in 1999, said director Paul Barth.
"We hope to make it an annual pull in his honor," he said. "He pulled tractors from day one."
This year, his son and grandson will be part of the event, which begins at 6 p.m. today, said Barth.
"It's the big pull," he said. "There'll be tractors, semis, diesel pickups, four-wheel drives, everything."
