Washington County Agricultural Fair off to ‘beautiful’ start

The return of the rodeo drew a large crowd Sunday night.

The Washington County Agricultural Fair was buzzing Monday with the noises of farm animals and people enjoying everything the fair had to offer.

Each hall was filled with attractions — from different types of animals to rows of art created by children and residents from all over the area.

“The first two days went extremely well. Obviously beautiful weather, which always helps out, because we’re weather dependent on a lot of things,” fair board Secretary Wayne Hunnell said. “So that’s gone well. The derby on Saturday night had great attendance.”

Rodeo was brought back to the fair for the first time in nearly a decade on Sunday, and Hunnell said it was a great success. He added that there are already talks about having the rodeo return next year, and Diversified Energy, which was one of the rodeo sponsors, has expressed interest bringing it back.

“I talked to the fella in charge of the rodeo. I’ve asked him to tentatively pencil us in until I can get it through the board and see what the board wants to do,” Hunnell said. “But the way things went yesterday with it, from my side I think we’ll probably take a close look at bringing it back again next year.”

The fair also featured multiple farm animals, food, art and fashion made by kids who are a part of 4-H in Washington County. According to Sheila Hackinson, a 4-H educator, some youths who participate in the fair have been working on showcasing their efforts for up to a year.

Hackinson said once the fair comes around, the kids are excited to show off their work.

“Here we do judging on Friday and then Saturday morning they’re here as soon as they open the door to come in here to see how they did,” Hackinson said. “The ones who get Best in Show are overjoyed, and you see all the pictures on Facebook with their pictures of their Best in Show ribbons, those are all the things that make it worthwhile.”

Some of the projects displayed in the 4-H Junior Exhibit include a fully functional solar panel, self-created dresses, cakes and homemade jelly.

There’s a special exhibit that al- lows students to show off their chickens through pictures they took. The chicken photo projects allowed kids to display their feathery friends from home after they were not allowed to be showcased at the fair.

According to Hackinson, live chickens have not been allowed to be showcased at the fair for almost three years due to avian influenza. The area where they’re usually showcased was empty with just a poster in its place explaining what people can do to combat avian influenza.

Another exhibit for those who aren’t 4-H members included rows of photography, art, spinning and weaving projects, homemade jelly and honey and a lot more. It also included rows of produce that were being showcased by local farmers.

Justin Lint of Cokeburg won several contests with his large vegetables and fruits, including the Largest Watermelon title with a 173-pound entry.

Lint, who began doing these kinds of contests three years ago, hopes to be able to help the community with his gardening skills and show local youths they can do it as well.

“I love to help people, and I would love to get the youth more involved, or anybody matter of fact, into this, whether it’s growing giants or just the fact of teaching people how to garden in a more efficient way to where they can live off what they’re growing instead of just planting something and hoping for the best,” Lint said.

For the Lusk family, showcasing their farm animals at the Washington County fair is a family tradition that goes back years.

The Lusks own the Cherry Haven Jerseys cow farm in Coal Center, and the family works every year to bring the cows to showcase at the fair. Kylie Lusk and Naomi Custer, along with their family members, said despite the physical labor, it’s still something they enjoy.

“It’s a big family tradition for us, our grandparents and great-grandparents showed here, our parents and now we are,” Lusk said. “We milk about 100 cows and so these are the prettiest ones. But yeah, it’s a good family tradition, and it’s a fun way to get together.”

The fair also features several food vendors, and cash is recommended.

The fair will continue through Saturday with upcoming events that include:

• School bus demolition derby, 8 p.m. Wednesday.

• Demolition derby, 7 p.m. Friday.

• Street stock trucks, 7 p.m. Saturday.

General admission for the fair is $15 and parking is free. Visitors can get a roundtrip trolley ride for $5.

The Washington County Agricultural Fair is located at 2151 N. Main St., Washington. For a schedule of events, see www.washingtonfair.org.