New items added to fair in Lisbon

July 29, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By D.A. WILKINSON

LISBON

The Columbiana County Fair has added a number of new items.

For those who want a fair keepsake, a basket will be available commemorating the 165th version of the fair, which starts Monday at the county fairgrounds here.

John Wolf, president of the fair board, said the fair also is finishing the paperwork to allow people at the fair to take helicopter rides for six to eight minutes.

That’s a short time, but Wolf pointed out that the helicopter will be moving, “at 110 miles an hour in a straight line.”

Tresa Hall, the fair’s secretary-treasurer, said the fair is still focusing on its longtime strengths with emphasis on rodeos, pulling events and demolition events.

Vista Drive off state Route 45 has become a third entrance to the fairground, designed to help access for concessionaires. Hall said that some fair visitors are likely to use that new entrance, which is on the west side of the fairgrounds.

Fair workers have cut down a number of trees at the west side of the fairgrounds and moved huge rocks to make more room for parking. Because of the new parking space, Hall said there is a new upper midway that will provide more space for vendors.

The well-known Ponderosa Park music venue north of Salem is no more, but the fair board was able to buy 120 benches that had been used at the park. The benches are spread throughout the fairgrounds to provide seating for fair-goers.

Special events include:

At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, four late local leaders in agriculture will be inducted into the Columbiana County Agricultural Hall of Fame at the fair’s Arts and Crafts Building. They are John L. Denny, Charles J. Gause, Galen H. Greenisen and Fred H. Johnson. Their contributions and their families will be recognized. Framed biographical sketches of each individual will be unveiled.

At 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Columbiana County Recorder Craig Brown will give framed certificates from Gov. Ted Strickland to four county families that have maintained a family farm in their name for at least 100 consecutive years. The program is operated by the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Century Farmers Program.