Pumpkin Festival at fairgrounds

By D.A. Wilkinson

A quilted wall hanging will feature a Vindicator photo of the fair on its 100th anniversary.

LISBON — The Columbiana County Agricultural Society — better known as the county fair — is adding a fall event.

The inaugural Pumpkin Festival & Craft Show will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the fairgrounds.

Tresa Hall, the fair’s office manager, said the hope is that the event will become an annual affair.

Sharen Cope, chairwoman of the event, said if nothing else, people will be able to see the beautiful fairgrounds in autumn and especially new landscaped areas around its new steer barn.

When the steer barn was completed, a number of the organizations at the fair also spruced up their buildings, Cope said.

Response, so far, has been good, Hall said.

About 40 crafts makers have reserved 50 spots in the fairgrounds’ arts and crafts building.

There will also be food stands and a pumpkin sale to benefit the county’s 4-H program for youths.

People can also take a horse-drawn wagon trip around the fairgrounds.

Best of all, admission is free.

Hall said the event “is not a huge moneymaker” for the fair. It will make a small amount off the space rental, but money is not the objective.

The idea, Hall said, is to bring more people to the fairgrounds.

Cope said that at a time of tight money and lost jobs, “It’s a family outing.”

Last year, one of Cope’s quilts was raffled to raise money for the fair.

This year she has made a hand-quilted wall hanging, depicting an actual photo taken from The Vindicator in 1945, when the fair celebrated its 100th anniversary. It shows the historic grandstand at the fairground.

People who want to have some noise with their trip to the fairgrounds can come back Oct. 18 when a racing event will be held. Entries begin at 9 a.m.

Fair board member Don Humphrey said there will even be a competition between riding mowers.

The events are all part of the society’s effort to make improvements and use the fairgrounds more.

The new directors recently elected to the four open positions are: Tom Moore and Lynnelle Thompson of Hanoverton; and Steve Knizat and John Karlen of Salem. They will each serve a three-year term.

Moore and Karlen are new and replace directors who did not run. Thompson and Knizat are repeat members.

The board also approved an amendment to the board’s constitution to increase the number of fairboard directors from the current 12 to 15.

The members will be selected later.

wilkinson@vindy.com