The Fulton County Fair is located in Dover Township, Fulton County on Ohio State Route 108, just north the Ohio Turnpike Exit 34 near Wauseon. It is the second largest[3] county fair in Ohio.
| Fulton County Fair | |
|---|---|
 "Top of Ohio" | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | County fair |
| Begins | Friday before Labor Day |
| Ends | Thursday after Labor Day |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Venue | Fulton County Fairgrounds |
| Location(s) | Wauseon, Ohio |
| Coordinates | 41°35′49″N 84°09′02″W / 41.5969792°N 84.1504561°W |
| Country | United States |
| Years active | 167 |
| Inaugurated | 1858 |
| Attendance | 298,346/week (2015 record)[1] |
| Capacity | 60,792/day (2003 record)[2] |
| Leader | Ed Miller, President |
| Organized by | Fulton County Fair Board |
| Website | fultoncountyfair |
History
edit
The first Fulton County Fair took place in 1858. But there were no fairs from 1917 to 1918, 1942 to 1945 nor 2020.
Attendance
editWeekly fair attendance broke 100,000 in 1972,[4] and in 2014, the 157th fair, attendance was 298,346.[1]
Daily attendance during busy days can more than double the county's population of about 40,000 to over 100,000 people.[2] In 2019, the fair shattered its previous attendance record of 298,346 by hosting 340,594 attendees. That makes the Fulton County Fair Ohio's third-largest fair behind the Ohio State Fair, and the Canfield Fair.
9/11 Memorial
editFeatured on the fairgrounds is the Fulton County 9-11 Memorial, which displays a 3600-pound steel I-beam[5] from Ground Zero. The beam arrived in 2011[6] and the same year, design of the memorial began.[7] Work began in 2013[8] and is now complete.
Events
editYear-Round
editTraditional events that the fairgrounds hosts annually[9] include an MCC auction to fund humanitarian relief by the Mennonite church,[10] the National Threshers Association Renunion,[11] the Crosley Car Owners Club National Meet,[12] the Antique Motorcycle Club of America Show & Race [13] and Midwest Geobash one of the largest annual gatherings of Geocachers worldwide. [14]
Fair Week
editFair Week traditionally begins in Fulton County on Labor Day weekend, and features popular music celebrities, tractor pulling, a demolition derby, harness racing, 4-H exhibits, livestock shows, show barns with pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, horses, llamas, chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, and carnival games on the midway.
Fair officers and officials
editAs of 2024, the fair officials are as follows:[15]
| • President | Ron Rice | ||
| • Vice President | Scott Smallman | ||
| • Treasurer | Kelly Bentley | ||
| • Treasurer | Steve Richer | ||
References
edit- ^ a b Fulton County Fair Aims to Draw 300,000 ToledoBlade.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ^ a b 250,000 Expected to Attend Fulton County Fair ToledoBlade.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ^ Fulton County Fair Second Largest Fair in Ohio WTOL.com Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ^ 150 Years Old and Still One of the Best Archived 2016-04-17 at the Wayback Machine ArchboldBuckeye.com Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ^ A decade later, firefighters bring 9/11 home SanDiegoTribune.com Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ^ World Trade Center Beam Arrives Archived 2016-04-16 at the Wayback Machine Archboldbuckeye.com Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ^ Memorial Gets Design Archived 2016-04-16 at the Wayback Machine Archboldbuckeye.com Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ^ Work Starts on 9-11 Memorial ToledoBlade.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ^ Year-Round Events FultonCountyFair.com
- ^ MCC Black Swamp Benefit Archived 2015-08-01 at the Wayback Machine BlackSwampBenefit.org. Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ^ National Threshers nationalthreshers.com Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ^ Crosley Care Owners Club Events crosleyautoclub.com Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ^ AMCA (Antique Motorcycle Club of America Events AntiqueMotorcycle.org. Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ^ MWGB Midwest Geobash MWGB.org. Retrieved 7 Sept 2017
- ^ Fair Board Members Archived 2019-01-13 at the Wayback Machine FultonCountyFair.com