Gates open today for the 170th Canfield Fair


By Jordyn Grzelewski

jgrzelewski@vindy.com

CANFIELD

Six days of crow-worthy fun officially begins today when the gates open at 8 a.m. to the 170th annual Canfield Fair.

Fair officials hope the event will top last year’s in every way possible.

“Every year we try to make the fair better than last year,” fair president Andy Frost Jr. said.

Last year’s fair drew a total crowd of 282,386, which continued a slight downward trend the fair has seen over the past few years. This year could reverse that trend, however, since the forecast – so far – predicts beautiful weather.

“A lot of this is determined by the weather,” said Frost. “The heat is going to keep a lot of people back, if it’s hot. If it rains, it keeps them away.”

Last year’s fair took place during a brutal heat wave; the forecast for this week is much better, with the National Weather Service predicting sunny skies and mid-70s temperatures Thursday and Friday.

Also improved this year are some features of the fairgrounds.

“We had a lot of paving done inside the fairgrounds. We’ve totally remodeled ... the campground area,” said Frost. “We’ve widened the roads in the campground area so shuttles can get up and down.”

While most of the fair’s nightly grandstand attractions – including the returning Happy Together Tour – are familiar, one is new: Halestorm, a rock band, will headline the grandstand’s Thursday night entertainment.

It’s a bit of a change for the fair, which traditionally has hosted country artists.

“We don’t know if it’s going to fly or not, but we figured we’d try something different,” said Frost.

The Happy Together Tour visits the grandstand tonight. The act includes performances from The Turtles featuring Flo and Eddie; Chuck Negron; Mark Lindsay; The Cowsills; Gary Puckett & The Union Gap; and The Spencer Davis Group.

Tickets are available at www.canfieldfair.com.

Many of the fair’s roughly 800 vendors also are returning this year.

“You can eat your way right through the fair,” said Frost. “But it’s still a fair where you don’t have to eat. It’s still a fair where you pay your admittance, then we have so many free things to do – it’s amazing.”

Some of the free attractions include an antique-equipment display, farm animals and a milking parlor, just to name a few.

The Vindicator tent, located near the grandstand, is offering an attraction of its own: a selfie station where visitors can snap photos with their preferred presidential candidate. The station generates a front page in support of either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.

Participants can then share their selfie on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtags “VindyDNC” or “VindyGOP.” After the fair wraps up Monday, we’ll tally the results to determine the winning candidate.

The Vindicator is focusing on your memories. Stop by the tent or tweet us at @vindyatthefair to share some of your best Canfield Fair memories. We’ll be writing, tweeting and creating videos about them all week.