Hard work pays off for fair participants

    The Washington County Fair came to a close Friday night after a week of shows, attractions and games. Fair activities were interrupted by rain on Monday and Friday. The tractor pull, which was originally scheduled for Monday, was rescheduled to Saturday, but that, too, was rained out. Friday?s rain occurred during the Horse and Pony Show?s pole bending competition. That event and the barrel racing which was to follow were rescheduled for Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. The raffle drawing that was to occur after the tractor pull is now scheduled to occur at the ?Celebrate Your Senses? event Aug. 7 on the square.   

    Four-H/Youth Coordinator Kati Peiffer said that the fair was a success despite the occasional inclement weather. She said the weather was nowhere nearly as scary as the storms that visited the fairgrounds in 2007.

    ?That was the year of the tornado,? said Peiffer. ?That made quite a memorable year; one that none of us will ever forget.?

    Peiffer said she is both relieved and sad that the fair is over.

    ?It?s a bittersweet feeling,? she said. ?We put a lot of hard work into the fair. Now we can finally have a little bit of a relief. The kids really enjoy the fair. They enjoy being out with friends and family members. They are very proud of what they do. It?s a long week, but everyone is sad to see it done, and sad to see school is getting closer.?

    Wednesday was Kidz Day at the fair, which Peiffer said was very well attended. 

    ?We had 250 items to give out to kids, and we were out of those very quickly,? she said. ?A day care camp in Cedar Rapids even drove down for Kidz Day.?

    Peiffer said it was a good year for non-livestock exhibits. Those exhibits were judged more than a week ago on Saturday, July 17. They were displayed in the 4-H building for fairgoers to view when they wanted to take refuge from the midday sun.

    ?The non-livestock exhibits ranged from photography exhibits upstairs, to science, woodworking, clothing, nutrition, child development and gardening exhibits downstairs,? said Peiffer. 

For the full story, see the July 26 edition of The Washington Evening Journal