Fair drawing near
By Steve Herring
Published in News on September 6, 2016 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Jake Coates, 10, left and his sister Sally Coates, 6, battle for first place during a rubber duck race using the Baker Pipe duck race machine at the Wayne County Fairgrounds.
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Jerry Mcginnis sits next to his creation. the Baker Pipe Duck Race Machine, at the Wayne County Fairgrounds.
DUDLEY -- People looking for thrilling rides to stimulate their senses and/or food to excite their taste buds will find both and much more during the 68th Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair.
And they don't have long to wait -- the fair starts is just under four weeks.
New this year, children can make music on the unique new sound board or even participate in duck races during the fair's 10-day run from Thursday, Sept. 29, through Saturday, Oct. 8, at the Wayne County Fairgrounds, U.S. 117 South, Dudley near U.S. 13 South.
The duck race, think little yellow plastic duckies, will be held in the Youth Barn.
The three-lane course is made out of piping. Attached at one end is an old-fashioned, hand-powered pitcher pump.
A plastic duck is placed in the pipe and the children work the pump to send water, and the duck, racing around the course.
"Kids love pumping water," Fair Manager Eddie Pitzer said. "They enjoy playing with the pump. It is just a little something extra for the kids to do -- just a little entertainment -- a kind of hands-on thing to do."
It is sponsored by Baker Pipe.
The sound board is appropriately named.
It is made of boards put together like a section of fence with different pots and pans attached to it.
Children will be able to use large wooden spoons to bang out their tunes.
Pitzer joking noted that it will not be placed close to the fair office.
"If you come to the fair you are always looking to see something different," Pitzer said referring to the sound board, duck races and other new attractions. "One of the worst criticisms you could have is, 'Well, it is the same old thing it was last year. Why do I want to come back?'
"So every year we are always looking for something new, something different. Really, when you look at the cross-section of people that we have, from the youngest to the oldest, everybody enjoys coming to the fair. So you try to look for things that fit that broad audience. We are an agriculture fair so we like to concentrate on agriculture. Our emphasis is on youths, trying to keep them involved and having agriculture out here so people can come and see tractors. They can see livestock."
Today there is not that much exposure to agriculture, he said.
"The fair is a good place to come see agriculture and have a good time," Pitzer said.
Last year 3,000 people submitted items for exhibits.
Pitzer said he is hopeful that a scheduling change will encourage even more participation.
"It is always interesting to go through the exhibit halls and see some of the arts and crafts and antiques, the needlework and the canned goods," he said. "So looking at what is kind of convenient for people to come, we are going to do an early-bird registration this year.
"On the Saturday (Sept. 24) before the fair we are going to have it that afternoon where people can bring their goods and enter into the fair. Now, we won't be taking baked goods, flowers, perishable items. Then we will do the Wednesday evening (Sept. 28) like we normally do, and we will do Thursday morning also."
The early-bird registration, that will be held from 1 to 4 p.m., is designed for people who may have to work during the week and are unable to take time off to submit an entry, Pitzer said.
"It is always interesting the quality of stuff that comes in," Pitzer said. "One thing we have been working on is how we display to make it more attractive in there. But really when you look at some of the quality of the artwork that comes in, some of the needlework and the quilts and those kinds of things -- you know there is lot of talent when it comes to doing these types of arts and crafts.
"We will do the best of show again this year, and then of course out of those bests of show we will be selecting a best of show to go to the State Fair t0 compete at the state level also."
The gates will open at 4 p.m. weekdays, except for Tuesday, Oct. 4, when gates will open at noon for Senior Citizen Day. There will be free admission for anyone 60 or older.
The fairgrounds will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30, for special populations. It will not be open to the general public during that time.
Gates will open at 11 a.m. on Saturdays and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
General admission will be $7 for ages 13 and older and $4 anyone under the age of 13.
School tickets will be good for free admission between 4 and 6 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 3 and 4.
There is a $3 ride coupon on the back of the school tickets.
Carnival wristbands and individual ride tickets will be available for the Powers Great American Midways carnival that will offer 48 rides.
Wristbands are valid for one day only, opening to closing. Admission to the fair is additional.
The wristbands will be $25 Monday through Friday, Oct. 3 to Oct. 7 and $30 on Saturday, Oct. 1 and 8, and Sunday, Oct. 2.
It costs $5 for individual tickets or $20 for a sheet of 22 individual tickets. Rides require three or more individual
A wristband entitles the wearer to ride any mechanical ride, excluding Speed which requires a wristband plus three tickets.
A new program this year will allow fairgoers to save money on both admission and rides.
"You can buy advance tickets at a discount at Walgreens," Pitzer said. "In our area, the ones we are using, there are about 12 of them. We just went right around Goldsboro. So you can get up to a $5 discount on carnival wristbands and $2 on admission."
Tickets may also be purchased online at Etix and at the gate.
One change this year is that instead of bull riding, the fair will feature the Motorcycle Madness Stunt Show.
It will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3 and Tuesday, Oct. 4 , at the grandstand
"Then a lot of the favorites that we have had over the years like the cheerleading will be back on Wednesday, and Saturday the demolition derby will be at the grandstands."
The demolition derby will be held at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 8.
Also new this year is the K-9s in Flight at the center stage.
"Most these dogs come from shelters, they are rescue dogs," Pitzer said. "So it is going to be a little different for the center stage acts that we have had."
The Queen of the Fair pageant will be held at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30 in the entertainment arena.
Visitors can expect to see changes in the white building exhibit hall.
"We are actually going to have a Kids Zone in there -- a little more kid-oriented functions going on in there," Pitzer said. "Plus we have changed the design in the white building a little bit to where we have it where you can see from one side of the building to the other. We are going to try to have a different look in our commercial exhibit space this year."
A recently completed building near the grandstand area will serve as a central location for first-responders including law enforcement, rescue and fire departments.
The popular youth livestock shows make a return this year after being rained out last year. All of the shows will be held at the livestock shelter.
The schedule is:
* Open Junior Market Hog Show, 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29.
* Open Junior Meat Goat Show, 6 p.m. Friday. Sept. 30.
* Open Junior Market Lamb Show, noon, Saturday, Oct. 1.
* Beef Heifer Show, 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2.
* Livestock Skillathon, 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4.
* Open Pony and Mule Show, 5 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 6, followed by the Open Horse Show at 5:30 p.m.
Also back this year are the chickens.
Concerns last year about a possible outbreak of avian flu eliminated any kind of fowl from display at the fair.
Fair catalogs will be mailed within the next few weeks. Anybody who exhibited last year at the fair will receive a copy.
Copies also will be available at the fair office and Extension Service office in the Wayne Center.
It will be online as well.
The fair is owned and operated by the nonprofit Wayne County Livestock Development Association.
For more information and a complete schedule, visit www.waynefair.com.