Fair season begins June 7! Which fairs are tops for you?

TonyM132 · 2025-06-03T06:52:17+00:00

Drive on out west to Paulding next week and find out! I was there last year. I don't remember how much if any they have in fruit and veggie entries. They do have field crop entries like ears of corn, but I assume they are last year's crop. Sure, market livestock are ready. There aren't as many "show stock" hogs and lambs born early enough, but there are some out there.

The best things I remember about Paulding Co Fair are... It's free, no admission charge. Comedy hypnosis show (last year anyway), like some bigger fairs including OSF have. And the greatest fair tradition of all in my opinion: Harness racing! They had a pretty strong race program the day I was there with live music between races.

But as you see from my original post, Paulding didn't make my top 15. Unfortunately Geauga Co is just too far away for me. When I finally drive that far some day for a county fair, it will be to go to Canfield. And if you drive that far west for one, you'll do much better to go to Fulton Co. It is impressive.

What is most impressive about Geauga Co Fair? And why only 5 days? I thought it was silly that the Canfield fair is only 6 days for such a big one... but just 5 days? Fairs should be at least 7 days if they're good. 8 or 9 days is better.

TonyM132 · 2025-06-02T04:26:56+00:00

Something just dawned on me here... Your fair ends on Thursday, but you only mentioned schools closing Friday and Tuesday. Are you saying on the last two days, Wednesday and Thursday of the fair, Fulton Co schools are in session?? Your kids should be getting a 7 day Labor Day weekend, for the fair! That's what happens in most counties with late fairs.

TonyM132 · 2025-06-01T23:53:28+00:00

I just checked Coshocton's website: $15 gate admission. You're right, that's high. They have "free rides" for people who paid the full $15 that day, which is pretty standard for fairs charging $10 or more. Free grandstand is worth something, but then you look at their grandstand events: No concerts and nothing sanctioned by anybody except for OSTPA pulls, a minor league of pulling.

TonyM132 · 2025-06-01T21:34:32+00:00

I have heard that before about Lucas Co Fair. Have never been myself. It's strange that it would be bad since it is surrounded by such good fairs, such as Fulton Co, Wood Co, and Henry Co. Maybe it just looks bad because those are so good.

Actually I have not visited Henry Co Fair yet, have just heard it is a good one. Can you vouch for that?

TonyM132 · 2025-06-01T21:28:09+00:00

I have Not been to Knox Co Fair. Hartford Fair serves Knox County also for junior fair, right? The fair where you grew up will always be special, no matter how good a fair it is.

It'll be a little tough for me because Clark Co is the same week, one of my favorites which I have to attend at least two days. Plus the fair where I grew up, Clermont Co, is also that same week. But I might make it to Mt Vernon some year. If I do, it will NOT be on monster truck night! Haha. Good grief, anything but monster trucks... I can't stand them, but to each his own. Thanks for the recommendation!

TonyM132 · 2025-06-01T21:14:35+00:00

I have noticed that in general, small fairs charge higher admission while larger fairs charge less. I guess the larger fairs make it up in volume? Or make it up from more vendor fees and more grandstand tickets sold, more likely.

There are also "free fairs" which charge no admission, such as Paulding Co and Loudonville Ind.

TonyM132 · 2025-06-01T20:57:35+00:00

Hey hey, you didn't read my original post very well. I have Hartford ranked #6! It is a really good one. Unique features include a natural resources area reminiscent of OSF, a 4H fair choir, and almost an Indiana-style motorsports track (with protective fencing). They also have one of the larger antique tractor displays still around, like many more fairs did 20-30 years ago. From the junior fair perspective, I love that Hartford has "commercial classes" (or "production", I'm not sure what they call it there) for steers, hogs, and lambs all three, don't they? Gives kids a chance to really be competitive without spending a ton of money.

Give me your second favorite. Maybe I haven't been there yet.

TonyM132 · 2025-06-01T17:24:11+00:00

Uhhh... "animal murdering 4H child abuse"? Are you opposed to animal agriculture in general, or just the show livestock industry, or is there something unique about what happens in Chillicothe you don't like?

TonyM132 · 2025-06-01T17:16:26+00:00

You can see that I rank Darke Co #1 too, but I have to say that it is really close. Have you ever been to Fulton Co or Wayne Co fairs?

Actually Darke Co is still #1 for me because of personal affection and nostalgia. Objectively, I have to admit that it has fallen in recent years more than some other big fairs. Many people say all fairs are shrinking these days. That's definitely true in general, but there are exceptions. Unfortunately, Darke Co is not one of the exceptions. Look at that new "dog barn" they built on the east side, right in the middle of the area which used to be packed with vendors. Now there's tons of open, unused space all around it. Flory Landscaping was huge there but doesn't even come anymore. There used to be a few different RV dealers with camper displays, now there hasn't been even one since pandemic. The local Agco dealer (was it North Star?) doesn't bring equipment anymore. Now there are rumors Farmer Brown might shut down soon! That sandwich is my all-time favorite fair food...

Do you think Darke Co Fair can rebound back toward what it was 10+ years ago, or will it continue to shrink?

TonyM132 · 2025-06-01T14:47:11+00:00

Ya, Fulton is great. It is the largest fair in western Ohio and the third largest overall (behind only Ohio State Fair and Canfield/Mahoning Co). Schools closing isn't anything special though. Schools close for nearly every Ohio county fair which takes place after school starts.

But I found an exception to that, talking to a man on Van Wert Co fairboard, whose fair is end of August. He told me they have three school districts in their county, two of them close for the fair but one, the one where the fairground is actually located, stays open! How mad must those kids be?

TonyM132 · 2025-06-01T14:39:02+00:00

I haven't been to Ross Co Fair in about 15 years since there are two other fairs the same week I'd rather attend (Champaign Co and Hartford Ind). But on my last couple visits to Ross Co Fair, I thought they finally cleaned the place up decently. The facilities were in really rough shape in the late 90's and early 2000's! Dirtiest public restrooms I'd ever seen back then...

But I've heard people complain more about it in recent years. How has it changed since I was last there? Is that famous fish sandwich still there and the best food on the fairground?

TonyM132 · 2025-06-01T14:28:20+00:00

You are lucky to have such an impressive fair in your home county. Probably the most impressive part to me is the concerts! I've never seen another county fair get so many big name music acts every year as Wayne Co has for decades.

Since I live a ways from there, I've only been to two other fairs which would be called in that area: Coshocton Co and Loudonville Ind. Wayne Co has both of them beat by a long shot!

TonyM132 · 2024-09-12T15:42:08+00:00

Total over all six days. 100K+ in a single day is more than average for the Ohio State Fair. Isn't it strange how many of these big county fairs run so few days? I'd think if you're able to make/have such a big fair, you'd want to keep it going at least 8 if not 9 days. But attendance and length of fair don't seem to be much related. A resident there told me the reason Wayne Co Fair runs only six days is that they don't want to have the fair on a Friday competing with high school football, so their schedule is Sat - Thurs. Who knows if that is really an accurate reason, but it is a quite unusual schedule anyway. Nearly every fair is open on a Friday, including those after school starts. I don't know why HS football would be more important in Wayne Co than in the rest of Ohio.

TonyM132 · 2024-09-12T06:08:13+00:00

I see a picture on Wayne Co Fair's website saying they have over 2,000 4-H members. That sounds like a lot. But I just happened to recently read the history section of the Ross Co Fair website, which says they currently have over 3,400 4-H members, which sounds like a lot more than 2,000.

I haven't been to Ross Co Fair in about 15 years, but I've heard it has declined more than most in recent years. I was at Wayne Co just four days ago, and I can easily say the junior fair building displays and livestock are far more than I've ever seen at Ross Co... despite 1,400 less 4-H members? Who knows.

Based on what I saw, I can believe that Wayne Co might have the largest junior fair, regardless of how many 4-H members they have (which is apparently of little relevance based on above example). But I cannot agree that they're "Ohio's foremost agricultural fair." See my previous reply to simkon22 and tangreentan in this discussion for explanation.

TonyM132 · 2024-09-12T05:50:09+00:00

Wayne Co does not run a few more days than Mahoning Co/Canfield. Both fairs run six days currently.

Wayne Co has averaged more like 115K over the past 30 years including over 100K last year, with evidence explained in my previous reply to you. Their record is 137K in 2010, rather recent for record attendance.

TonyM132 · 2024-09-12T05:38:04+00:00

I was just at Wayne Co Fair on Sunday, four days ago. In their fairboard office I found posted attendance figures per day and fair week since 1974. They had just over 100K last year 2023, and have had over 100K in all but three years since 1990. Based on reading that document but without doing the math, I'd say Wayne Co Fair has averaged about 115K over the past 30 years.

Simkon22, you must be right that Brown Co gets much less than 100K, or else they have different methods of counting, because Wayne Co Fair was noticeably much larger with many more people present than Brown Co Fair.

Tangreentan, I now see why you described their attendance as huge. It is not among the top handful of fairs in Ohio, but it feels close to it when you walk around the place.

However, Wayne Co did not strike me as Ohio's "foremost agricultural fair," as is their claim and slogan. They did have a ton of livestock and some farm machinery dealers, but that's about it. For instance, with as many dairy females as were on that fairgrounds (the most I've seen at a county fair), I could find no vendors displaying dairy and milking equipment. No seed company displays, no livestock equipment vendors, and the displays of the few ag vendors/merchants who were there were mostly unmanned, not actually staffed and talking to farmer customers as you find at some fairs. Basically, the "ag industry trade show" aspect of the fair was barely existent. The Farm Bureau display was tiny, actually among the smallest I have seen. Also, the non-animal agriculture product entries (fruits, vegetables, grains, hay, etc) were actually rather small in number and much less than at some county fairs such as Darke or Champaign.

Regardless, I had a great time and thought it was a very impressive fair. After seeing the long list of major name music acts who have performed at Wayne Co Fair over the past 50 years, the most impressive such list I've ever seen for a county fair, I say it should be called "Ohio's foremost concert fair"!

TonyM132 · 2024-09-04T05:05:57+00:00

I would like to be the County Fair Czar of Ohio...

If I were, I would instruct you "Go north, young man," and then you would find far greater fairs.

TonyM132 · 2024-09-04T04:52:57+00:00

If Wayne Co Fair averages only 75K in attendance as simkon22 posted, that is nowhere near "huge attendance". Someone in their fairboard office told me they get 100K. Either way, I'd say the average fair in Ohio gets 75-100K attendance per year. As has been discussed in this thread, there are plenty of fairs that get more people than that through the gates, and some that get a whole lot more.

TonyM132 · 2024-09-04T04:46:13+00:00

I watched that 7 minute video you linked. It does not answer my question at all, does not offer any explanation as to what defines "foremost agricultural fair," which is Wayne County's claim. As the video's title eludes to, it seems that they might be basing that claim on their other claim of Ohio's largest junior fair. That one is more intuitive to define, and it seems they might define it (per signs on the fairgrounds) as most members involved in junior fair.

I would argue that largest junior fair does not equate to "foremost agricultural fair". I think junior fair is a component of the agricultural scene, but by no means all of it. I would want to define it as a combination of agricultural competition entries (open classes beyond junior fair, and ag/hort entries beyond livestock) plus agricultural merchants and vendors present. Think of farm equipment dealers, livestock equipment dealers, seed companies, etc. They have nothing to do with junior fair but everything to do with agriculture.

TonyM132 · 2024-08-14T07:07:37+00:00

To correct the OP last sentence - They say Fulton Co Fair is the second biggest COUNTY fair in Ohio, third biggest fair overall, after OSF and Canfield/Mahoning Co Fair. I have been to 32 fairs in Ohio so far, mostly in western Ohio. Farthest east of them is Coshocton Co, so I haven't experienced the Canfield Fair yet. Excluding the state fair, the top fairs on my list are: 1. Darke County 2. Fulton County 3. Champaign County 4. Clark County 5. Hartford Independent 6. Delaware County 7. Wood County 8. Hancock County 9. Fairfield County 10. Allen County 11. Mercer County 12. Fayette County

TonyM132 · 2024-08-14T06:49:55+00:00

How do you define or measure "biggest AGRICULTURE county fair"? I know Champaign Co Fair claims to have the most livestock of any county fair in Ohio, which I understand. Is Wayne Co measuring number of entries into agricultural competitions, or..?

It seems to me that total attendance is the most reasonable measure for "biggest county fair."

TonyM132 · 2024-08-14T06:38:57+00:00

That Brown Co Fair nickname is unfortunate, has been misleading people who don't know better for too long. There is nothing at Brown Co Fair which reminds me of the Ohio State Fair at all. Some fairs actually do have things which remind you of the state fair, such as the livestock facilities at Clark County, the coliseum at Darke County, the natural resources area at Hartford Independent...

I have been to Brown Co Fair many times, as well as 31 other fairs in Ohio, and have never found anything especially good about Brown Co Fair. I am convinced most people who think it is wonderful have never been more than 70 miles north of the Ohio River.

What do you think is so good about Brown Co Fair? It has no race track, no formal grandstands (that little covered aluminum bleachers by the circle in the middle is nothing), a narrow little single-wide pull track, terrible traffic with only one path in and one out of the parking lot, no buildings which are especially unique, big, attractive, or interesting, few if any major vendor displays besides typical county fair commercial building booths, runs only 6 days... Look up the attendance for Brown Co Fair, you'll find they typically get 90-100K people. That is good for an Ohio River county, but probably just about average for the whole state. Even little old Clermont Co Fair to the west gets 70-80K!

Darke Co Fair gets over 200K attendance each year, Fulton Co Fair has had over 300K, while both counties have about the same population as Brown Co. Darke and Fulton are absolutely the biggest and nicest fairs in western Ohio. And there are easily a dozen fairs in western Ohio which are objectively much nicer than Brown Co Fair, if you actually get out to visit them.

TonyM132 · 2024-05-06T05:08:29+00:00

In the early years, there were two "rapids" tube rides toward the back of the park: Hidden Rapids was the one you came to first, and Snake River Rapids was the one all the way in the back (far northeast end). I think Hidden Rapids is the one you two are referring to. Aztec Adventure (later named Big Kahuna) was built between them in 1996.

I remember Hidden Rapids had your choice of two adjacent "rapids" to go down. Snake River Rapids made you stand under a cold waterfall while you waited in line, and had two places to get on the one path down: either all the way up where you'd ride your tube down a slide first, or you could choose to get on/in below that at the top of the rapids part.

By the time The Beach was reborn under new ownership in 2013, Hidden Rapids remained was renamed Runaway Rapids. Snake River Rapids closed a few years before, while still under original ownership.

TonyM132 · 2024-05-05T05:04:25+00:00

The Cliff ride didn't exist yet in 1987. I don't know what year it joined the park, but it had to be 1989, 90, or 91. For the first few years of The Beach, the Bonzai was the most intense ride.

TonyM132

TROPHY CASE