Heat affected attendance at Trumbull County Fair

Staff report

BAZETTA

Attendance was down 10,000 people at this year’s Trumbull County Fair, thanks to several days in which the temperature reached over 90 degrees.

Tom Sawyer, president of the fair board, said the rain that came down early in the week probably didn’t affect fair attendance nearly as much as the heat.

“The heat was 85 degrees at 9 a.m,” Sawyer said.

Paid attendance was 42,918, compared with 52,974 last year.

Sunday’s attendance was a healthy 13,500 for the fireworks display and demolition derby, though that is not a record. The fair had 18,000 on the final day several years ago when several canceled motorized events were grouped together on one day, Sawyer said.

The addition of farm equipment from farmers and farm dealers near the main entrance on Everett Hull Road was a success, and he hopes that emphasis on agriculture will continue in future years, Sawyer said.

He credited Ohio Edison for helping boost the amount of power coming into the fairgrounds to accommodate air conditioners and other cooling devices, but this year’s heat was an “eye opener” that indicated the need for additional electrical upgrades.

Sawyer said he’ll be looking for grants to help with that.