How Was This Year’s Fayette County Fair?

The Good, The Bad & the Deep-Fried

Fayette County Fair President Michael Zuhn told the Record on Wednesday that attendance at the Fair was down compared to 2019. He did not yet have complete attendance numbers, but he expected to get those numbers later this week.

“With Covid still going on, we knew attendance was probably going to be less than what we had in 2019,” Zuhn said. “Vendor sales were less than in 2019 as well.”

On the bright side, Zuhn said he and fellow Fair Board members received many compliments about the new carnival. “People were ecstatic about how the carnival looked,” Zuhn said. “It was clean, the rides were awesome and the workers were very neat and courteous.”

The Fair hired Heart of America Shows to put on the carnival this year. It attracted some of the biggest crowds at the Fair this year. Several of the food vendors also drew rave reviews.

“We got a lot of compliments on the entertainment, Joe Nichols and Doug Stone on Saturday night,” Zuhn said. “People thought the rock and roll on Sunday night was really fun with .38 Special and Black Cat Choir.”

The Senior Citizen Day on Thursday was especially down in attendance. In the past, the event was held at the La Grange KC Hall. This year, due to COVID concerns, the Senior Citizens events took place outdoors at the Fairgrounds

“We’re not sure if it was due to COVID or being outside and the hot weather,” Zuhn said. “We didn’t want to put those people indoors. A few came out, but it wasn’t what we expected.”

Many attendees complained about the poor state of the restroom facilities. Stalls were often dirty and out of paper, and some toilets didn’t flush, Zuhn said he received many complaints personally, and he said the Association would improve the restrooms next year. “We had an issue with the cleaning crew, and it certainly will be addressed,” Zuhn said. “We tried to stay on top of it. One time, water was shut off so toilets didn’t flush. How did that happen? I don’t know if it was intentional. We’re going to work on that and improve the restrooms next year.”

Overall, Zuhn said he was pleased with the outcome, especially since the Fair was cancelled last year due to the pandemic. “We’ve already started working on next year,” he said.

“We’ve already started working on next year,” he said.