LIMA — The bell has rung.
The Allen County Fair officially opened Friday, wasting no time getting into a full slate of events on its first day.
“We stay busy scheduling many events, so anytime you come to the fair there is going to be a lot of activity,” said Fair manager Bob Fricke. “We expect a great fair, everything has been well received.”
After a short opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony, the OSU Alumni Band got things started on OSU-Lima Day with a half-hour performance before the Kewpee Showcase of Bands. Local bands playing in the showcase included Bath, Perry, Lima Central Catholic, Delphos St. John’s, Arlington, Bluffton, Lima Senior, Spencerville, Parkway, Wapakoneta, Elida and Allen East. With the bands ranging in size from 28 to 140, experienced members freshened up their skills while new freshmen participated in their first live performance.
“It throws them in front of a large crowd,” said Perry band director Michael Parent. “Then when football games start, it doesn’t seem like such a big deal.”
Parent said it also gives them a chance to play in a large crowd that is truly there to see the bands. The event traditionally draws a large crowd, and filled the grandstand again this year.
“They have a supportive crowd,” Parent said. “They are hear to see the bands. It gives them a chance to get more comfortable in front of a large crowd.”
Senior Nic Keller with the Lima Central Catholic band said it is a chance to show pride and set the standard higher for the year.
“You know you are going to keep improving, so the better you perform the first time out you know you will be that much better at the end of the year,” Keller said. “It sets the standard higher. There is a pride factor and when you perform well you feel better.”
Three attractions were gathering large crowds, including Welde’s Bear Show, Galaxy Girl and magician Chris Yantek.
“It’s hard to find any exotic animal shows,” Fricke said. “We knew the show was unique and people would enjoy it. Galaxy Girl has been here before, but it has been a few years. We had great feedback before. We saw the magician at the state fair convention and we decided we needed to talk to this guy because he was really good.”
Galaxy Girl performs a trapeze act 80 feet off the ground. The bear show features bears from 200 to 1,200 pounds.
Other events featured opening day included WAR wrestling, the LeFevre Quartet and Jungle Island Zoo. Also, many junior fair exhibitors got their animals ready. Jacob Lehman, 11, of Bluffton, was one of many participants taking his show animals to be weighed. He is showing market sheep.
“They were weighed in June, and we weigh them now again to see how much weight they have gained over the summer,” Lehman said.
Lehman said has been spending about 10 hours a week since January taking care of sheep and it was his second year of participating in the fair.
The fair continues with a busy slate all week, Fricke said. The fair will close with two different genres of music with Nelly and Sean Kingston Friday and Rascal Flatts and Kelsea Ballerini Saturday. It could possibly be the start of a new tradition.
“It is our hope that it will draw people to the fair that ordinarily would not come and turn them into fair fans,” Fricke said. “We will look at it year by year and hopefully it will be something that we can continue to do.”
The fair continues through Aug. 27.
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