New project replacing 'Faces' at this year's Canfield Fair

CANFIELD

Many people feel a connection to the Canfield Fair.

Some have gone every yea,r for decades, and others have gone every single day, every year, for decades.

And each time they fall in love again with the food, the atmosphere.

This year there is a chance for those attending the 168th Canfield Fair ­­to share the love they have for the fair with love locks on The BIG LOCK 13-foot wire rooster outside of the Fine Arts building at the fairgrounds.

The idea is to lock up the collective love the community has for the fair.

“We spend a lot of time thinking about what to do to involve the community because the more you involve [people] the closer they feel to it,” said Suzanne Gray, a Fine Arts building staff member. “There are people who are just so connected [to the fair.] The beauty of the big lock is the fairgrounds are used all year round, so any time of the year people can come put on a lock. It’s not limited to these six days.”

The metal-framed rooster holding the locks was a collaborative project between the Canfield Fair Fine Arts staff, Lawless Industries Ltd. of Poland and AES of California. BIG LOCK was donated to the fair by Shawn Lawless in memory of his dad, Dave.

Last year, the Faces of the Fair montage ended, and the Fine Arts staff wanted to find something to replace it after fairgoers expressed how much they loved feeling a part of the fair with the project.

Read more about the project in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.