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PHOTOS: 203rd Edition of Lewis County Fair Opens
Published: July 16, 2024 at
10:30 p.m.
By: Photos and Captions by Independent Journalist
Julie Abbass
The 203rd edition
of the Lewis County Fair opened on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. The following
are some photos and captions from opening day festivities by independent journalist
Julie Abbass for linkinglewiscounty.com.
The Lewis County Fair kicked off on Tuesday morning with a ribbon
cutting ceremony. Chloe Hill, who celebrates her first birthday on
Wednesday, cut the ribbon with the help of her parents Haley and Tyler Hill
as part of her birthday celebration. Haley Hill is a member of the
Fairgrounds Board of Directors.
During the opening ceremony of the 203rd Lewis County Fair,
president of the Lewis County Fairground Board Matt O'Connor spoke of the
damage wreaked by flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Beryl as it
moved through on July 10 and the outpouring of support by community
members, local businesses, neighboring county fair organizations and many
others to quickly fix any damage, dry out what was saturated and make ready
the grounds. The fair's theme this year is "Fairadise"
and the fair runs through Saturday, July 20.
The Big Cheese sold for $9,500 at the cheese auction, which has
become an iconic kick-off event for the Lewis County Fair. The winning
bidder for the 20-pound block of sharp cheddar was a group called
"Farmers and Friends" led by Croghan farmer Brian Reape. Kraft
Heinz pledged, as they have in previous years, to match bids up to $3,500,
so The Big Cheese added $13,000 to the fundraiser. Proceeds of the cheese
auction "all go to the kids" in FFA and 4H, as was announced at
the event. The block was shown to the crowd by members of the Lewis County
Dairy Princess' court. Lowville Dairy Producers Co-op
and Kraft Heinz sponsor the event.
In honor of the 30th anniversary of the cheese auction that kicks
off the Lewis County Fair every year, a special basket was auctioned that
contained two, 2-pound bricks of aged cheddar --- a 10-year and a 20-year --- and a number of locally produced delights
including a bottle of wine. The value of the products in the basket was
announced as $200 before the bidding began, but the basket garnered a
winning bid of $350 for the fundraiser sponsored by Lowville Dairy Producers
Co-op and Kraft Heinz.
Some of the funds raised by the cheese auction at the Lewis County
Fair every year are used to buy calves for young FFA members. Recipients
are required to show their calves at cheese auctions for three years after
receiving their calf.
The dressage competition, a stylized, disciplined and formal type of
horse riding, took place Tuesday morning at the 203rd Lewis County Fair.
What do they say about a bird in the hand? They should say that it's
fun and that it tickles a little. A new feature at the Lewis County Fair
this year is the bird tent filled with budgies, also known as parakeets, in
a spectrum of colors. Visitors can feed as many of the little feathered
friends as will fit in their hands, as shown, while others may flit around
or even land on a head or two.
The Coleman Brothers' Midway rides were up and ready to start
spinning, whirring, dropping and rushing adrenaline in all who ride them on the first day of the Lewis County Fair
until a short but intense storm went through Lowville in the afternoon.
Flash flooding followed, after last week's hyper saturation of the area.
The fair was shut down for the rest of the day, with plans to reopen on
Wednesday, and the parade and fireworks were cancelled.
We have more of
Julie’s photos from opening day that we’ll put together and share tomorrow.
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