VW County Fair into last day on Monday

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

After a busy weekend, today is not only Labor Day, but the final official day of the 162nd Van Wert County Fair.

People flocked to the fair over the weekend to attend numerous Junior Fair, Senior Fair, and open livestock shows; they came to munch on Venedocia Lions Club and Van Wert Optimist Club sausage sandwiches, Fiske’s french fries, and a wide variety of other fair food, they’ve come to hear the Deuces Wild Band, Trinity and the Jim Brady Trio; they came to attend church; they came to toss horseshoes or watch the competitors; they came for the Truck & Car Show, the Tug-A-Truck event, Motocross racing; and, on Sunday, they came to watch local drivers bang each other’s cars up during the fair’s Demolition Derby.

The weather was mostly sunny, but also mostly hot and humid, for the weekend, but people still came out to see what this year’s fair had to offer.

Today, they have their final chance to find out, as the Junior Fair wraps up its competitions with the Swine Show at 8:30 a.m. and the Showman of Showmen contest at 5 p.m., both in the Farm Focus Arena.

Senior Fair and open shows today include the Open Sheep Show at 8 a.m. in the Sheep Arena and the Senior Fair Dairy Show at 2 p.m. in the Farm Focus Arena.

The grandstand will be the site of thoroughbred horse races, starting at noon.

Bear Hollow Wood Carving demonstrations will take place at 11 a.m. and 1 and 3 p.m. in the area around the Junior Fair Building, with a wood carver auction to be held at 5 p.m. today in the same area.

Children Choosing Christ will lead off the Music Pavilion events at 10 a.m., while Gabrielle Emerick will perform at 3 p.m., and the Bydus Band will cap it off with a concert at 5 p.m. at the pavilion.

All non-sale fair projects will be released at 7 p.m. and the fair will officially close at midnight.

The only fair event remaining after Monday will be the Junior Fair Livestock Auction that runs all morning and into the afternoon on Tuesday. That event, which provides cash to Junior Fair livestock and dairy exhibitors to repay them for their hard work in raising chickens, turkeys, rabbits, goats, lambs, steers, dairy feeders, and swine over the past year, begins at 9 a.m. in the Farm Focus Arena.