A few passing clouds. Low 53F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..
A few passing clouds. Low 53F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
The Meigs County Fair features plenty of livestock events.
Pomp and circumstance is part of the Meigs County Fair.
The Meigs County Fair is full of tradition.
Motorsports are part of the Meigs County Fair.
Exhibitions of all kinds are part of the Meigs County Fair.
The Meigs County Fair features plenty of livestock events.
Pomp and circumstance is part of the Meigs County Fair.
The Meigs County Fair is full of tradition.
Motorsports are part of the Meigs County Fair.
Exhibitions of all kinds are part of the Meigs County Fair.
POMEROY, Ohio — The Meigs County Fair kicks off this Sunday with a much-anticipated parade that culminates in the crowning of the Fair Queen, Fair King, Little Miss and Little Mister on the main stage after the parade.
This year’s fair is packed full of activities every day of the week. This is the second year in a row hosting a full-blown fair in Meigs County.
The fair in 2020 was nicknamed the COVID fair by staffers because only the Junior Fair took place. The Junior Fair encompasses activities and events through 4H, FFA, Junior Grange, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
On Saturday, Aug. 13, there will judging of domestic arts, photography, painting, baking and canning. Two other events will include the painted trash barrel and landscape competition judging. The Little Miss and Little Mister interviews will be conducted on the Hill Stage at 2 p.m. and animal weigh-ins will take place between 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Sunday will have the barn meeting take place at 2 p.m. in the Ridenour Livestock Arena. The highlight of the day will be the Junior Fair parade commencing at 7:30 p.m. where official fair opening ceremonies will be held and the crowning of fair royalty as well.
Monday will see plenty of fun events, including the Junior Fair horse show, the Emerald chef contest, and the Junior Fair Dairy Show, which will be followed by the Open Class dairy show. Other events include the ever-popular Pretty Baby Contest as well as the Kiddie Tractor Pull and Demolition Derby.
Tuesday will see the bulk of the Junior Fair showmanship/shows. An open horse show will take place at 6 p.m.
Wednesday is Kid’s Day at the fair. There will be tons of activities for the younger ones on the Hill State starting at noon. The Horse Arena will be hosting the Barn Yard games at 10 a.m. and the Clover Clue contest will be at the Ridenour Livestock Arena starting at 1 p.m. In the evening, competitors will show off their skills during the Zero Turn Mower competition on the Pull Track.
Thursday is the Senior Citizen Day at the fair. Senior Bingo will be held at the Shade River Coon Hunter’s building at 10:30 a.m., to be followed by the Flower Show Judging at noon in the Thompson Roush building. Harness Racing, with parimutuel betting, starts at 1 p.m. A corn hole tournament will kick off at 5 p.m. and the Motor Cross race starts at 7 p.m. at the Grand Stand. Thursday will also see the second annual livestock judging contest at the livestock arena. It starts at 6:30 p.m. and is open to any 4H or FFA member. There will be two age divisions, Junior (13 and younger) and Senior (14 – 19). The top 10 in each division will be awarded prizes and is the event is free to all youth. The species to be judged include steers, lambs, goats and hogs.
The Junior Fair pet show will kick off fair events on Friday, quickly followed by the 4H Horse Fun show in the Horse Arena at 10 a.m. The Kiddie Tractor Pull of Champions will crown the best pullers of the week. The Junior Fair awards program will start at 1 p.m. at the Ridenour Livestock Arena. At 3 p.m. the Hill Stage will host the Meigs County’s GOT TALENT competition. Truck, Semi, and Horse Pulls will close out the day between 6 and 9:30 p.m.
Closing day of the fair will be Saturday. One of the highlights that day will be the Market Livestock Sale at 10 a.m. in the livestock arena. Various pull competitions will take place as well and will include the antique class, garden class and the ‘hot’ garden tractor class. The grandstand will see the Tough Track contest at 7 p.m.
Tara Roberts has been involved with the Meigs County Fair for her entire life. This proved more accurate one time compared to the rest of her and her families participation at the fair. Her daughter Saige was born a few years ago. When they left the maternity ward at the hospital, they did not go straight home or even a relative’s home; no, they went directly to the Meigs County Fairgrounds to make sure that neither of them missed a moment of her family’s most treasured activity: Being a part of the Meigs County Fair, come hell or high water.
Roberts was a 4-H participant who eventually became a 4-H adviser. She was born into the fair life due to her family’s heavy involvement in the fair. She and her brothers were mostly showing animals, but they all soon expanded their experience at the county fair. Both of her brothers were Fair Kings, along with a nephew, and Roberts herself was the Fair Queen. Such attachments to family, community and cultural connections had been a huge draw for Roberts. Every family member has shown animals at the fair throughout the years.
Roberts’ family involvement in the fair is deep. Her brother serves on the board, her mother worked the church food booth, and her father was extensively involved in all things Meigs County Fair.
“This fair holds a dear spot in our family’s heart. The compassion my parents showed was incredible. Mom and dad met at the Mason County Fairs and ending up getting married,” Roberts said.
Her brothers Brent and Jeff Ross were fair royalty. Brent was King in 1991. Jeff Ross was King in 1995 and Tara was Queen in 2005. In addition, Brent’s son Austin served as Fair King in 2018. Roberts was elected to the fair board in 2014 and currently serves as the treasurer.
Roberts is excited about the Kids Day on Wednesday on the Hill Stage. Kids aged 12 and under will be admitted free until noon. The Kids Day registration starts at 11 a.m. Each child will receive a free backpack, school supplies and will go to the booths to receive free gifts and learn, hands on, about the various programs and organizations at the fair.
There will be a short play called “Be Extraordinary” performed on the stage, and Rockin’ Reggie, a local DJ, will lead the kids in activities via a dance competition.
Focus this year for the kids this year is “Meigs County-We Love our Kids.” Services will be available if they are feeling lonely or bullied.
“We have 30 bikes, scooters, and wagons to be given away during the event and our grand prize drawing will be for a one year family pass for the Columbus Zoo. The goal this year is to let our children know that their community wants to support them and help them in any way,” Roberts said.
She added that there will be Kids Games in the afternoon like the bubble gum chew contest, the Mountain Dew chug and banana eating contest. Buck the Magic Cowboy will be on hand with a magic show in the Thompson-Roush building.
Roberts explained that Thursday is senior citizen day and free until 2 p.m. New this year for the fair is the ability to buy fair passes online.
“The advantage is that you can buy pass on line, save it to your mobile device, and hopefully get in quicker to the fairgrounds. We can now take debit / credit cards for the first time,” she said. Passes are available for purchase at the fair but will only sold at the Main Gate only at the Thompson-Roush Building.
“We can track gate numbers in real time. It’s not only convenient for people attending, but it helps us collect accurate data that helps with sponsorships and fundraising,” Roberts said.
Olivia Davis is a volunteer and helps the board members oversee the Little Miss and Little Mister competition. She also oversees the Pretty Baby contest.
“This year we have 12 Little Miss and 7 Little Mister contestants,” Davis said.
She first got involved because she is a 4-H alumni. She started as Cloverbud, eventually moving up to 4-H and her son Reece is graduating from Cloverbuds this year. Davis worked as a 4-H adviser for three years and enjoyed getting the kids involved in the community and showing them how to build their life and career one step at a time.
“All of this helped me be who I am today and my hope is that these children will follow the same path to a successful life and career,” Davis said.
Amanda Faulk is the Junior Fair coordinator and said the “fair is in my blood. I loved it so much as a youngster that I worked hard at making money through prizes and livestock sales. It put me through school at the University of Rio Grande.”
She said that her parents would not have been able to send her to college had it not been for the money she raised and scholarships.
As the Junior Fair coordinator, she oversees the fair board members consisting of younger people only.
“The kids run the gates, clean barns, provide secretarial assistance, work as show announcers and prepare the fairgrounds. They also make sure the pens are safe for the animals and they get the arena ready for shows,” Faulk said.
Faulk is looking forward to the Service Auction on Monday of the fair.
“We auction off Junior Fair board members so they help the bidder for four hours cleaning stalls, working booths, babysitting, refreshments at shows, or whatever else needs done. They compete against each other and who ever raises the most money gets a day off for one day of the fair, which means a lot to them,” Faulk said.
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Get the River Cities Tribune & Register Delivered to your email everyday!
Get the River Cities Tribune and Register Delivered to your email less frequently!
News from around the State and World. What you need to know for today! Don't Miss it!
Find out what's happening around the state with this weekly email alert sent every Thursday evening!
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.
Please disable your ad blocker, whitelist our site, or purchase a subscription
News from around the State and World. What you need to know for today! Don't Miss it!
Find out what's happening around the state with this weekly email alert sent every Thursday evening!
Sign up to get our statewide obits delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign up to receive our daily newsletter about all things business and politics in West Virginia.
Morgantown News Delivered Each Day!
Morgantown News Delivered to Your Inbox Each Week!
Special offers from businesses around your area.
Get the latest headlines on local WVU, College and High School sports!
Get latest breaking news from around the state when it happens.
Daily News, Sports and Events from The ET.
Sign up for the only WV Government and Business newsletter delivered each week!
This week's most popular news from around the State. Don't Miss it!
Daily News, Sports and Events for Marion County.
Weekly Fairmont news emailed every Thursday evening!
Daily News, Sports and Events for Garrett County and surrounding areas.
Find out what's happening in Garrett County with this weekly email alert!
Get the Jackson Star & Herald Delivered to your email everyday!
Get the Jackson News Weekly delivered to your inbox!
Daily news from the Mineral News & Tribune delivered to your email!
Get the news for Mineral County, Keyser and Frankfort delivered to your email on Tuesdays and Fridays!
Daily News, Sports and Events for Preston County.
Weekly email alert sent every Tuesday and Friday afternoon for Preston County!
Get the River Cities Tribune & Register Delivered to your email everyday!
Get the River Cities Tribune and Register Delivered to your email less frequently!
Daily News, Sports and Events for Weston and Surrounding areas.
Sign up for local job offers sent to your inbox.
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.