‘21 County Fair Had Great Weather & Participation

by Kris Richards

The Washington County Fair is ‘in the books’ for 2021. It was a good Fair with lots of participation in all avenues - booths, vendors, sponsors and volunteers as well as visitors during the four nights and Kiddies Day.

The Fair Board spent weeks upon weeks preparing for the Fair, being a little out of practice after not having the 2020 event. The Livestock Auction was held in 2020 but all other aspects were cancelled due to the pandemic.

The Potosi Lions Fairgrounds was in great shape for this year and the weather couldn’t have been better as some in attendance even said, “Wish I’d brought a jacket or a sweater.”

The Potosi Lions had worked to change and update their food booths and work had been done to the Twin Eagle Resort stage as well.

A new ice cream stand was added, hosted by Bill and Paula Glore. The old favorite ‘corn dog stand’ had disappeared last year and is now replaced with a trailer that served ribbon potatoes and funnel cakes.

The 4H and FFA families did a great job this year getting prepared for the Fair and the Dickey Bub Livestock Barn looked the best that it has in several years.

Other additions this year were much enjoyed courtesy tents, compliments of Great Mines Health Center and new signage at the Washington County Chamber Exhibit Hall. The Fairboard also arranged to take ‘card payments’ at the food stands and ticket booths thanks to the help of TCC Wireless.

While some may not realize, the County Fair is truly a community event. It takes all kinds of people to make it happen. The Washington County Fair Board expressed their sincere thanks to everyone from the sponsors to the workers that helped make this year a great return as everyone was ‘Together Again”.

Sponsors included: GOLD - Auto Plaza Group, Belgrade State Bank, Dickey Bub Farm & Home, Franklin Auto Sales, Great Mines Health Center, Pharmax Pharmacy, Washington County Chamber of Commerce, Potosi Lions Club, Twin Eagle Lake Resort, The Independent-Journal and Unico Bank; SILVER - DeClue Funeral Home, First State Community Bank, Larry Heisel Rentals, Ozarks Federal Savings & Loan, Reed’s Relics, Waste Management and yondoo Broadband; BRONZE - Bauman Oil, Big River Broadband, Boyer Lumber Home & Hardware, Custom Insurance, Dairy Queen, Edward Jones/Angie Momot, Elliott Motor Company, Harps, HCJ Welding & Fabrication, Jarvis Heating & Cooling, JayCee Dental, LaRue Water, Moore Funeral Homes, Potosi Correctional Center, Potosi Lumber, Potosi First Baptist, Sinclair Florist, Sonic Drive-In, Southpaw Grafix, TCC Wireless and Washington County Farm Supply.

These sponsors as well as the Fair Book advertisers, booth sponsors, and vendors all help with the Fair expenses.

Volunteers range from the local Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts to several civic and school groups. Some of those helping this year were P.H.S. Project Graduation 2022, Potosi Trojan Softball, Potosi Elks, TOPS Ladies, Potosi Fire Protection District, Belgrade State Bank, Unico Bank, 4H and FFA, University of Missouri Extension and even more ‘behind the scenes’.

The entertainment was good and offered a variety throughout the four nights. It was great to have Alexandra Kay on Friday and to host Jason Pritchett again on Saturday.

Kiddies Day was hot but several stayed to the end for an opportunity to win a big variety of prizes donated by the sponsors and friends of the Fair. Over 40 lucky kids walked away with a prize - from a scooter, a bike to a lap top computer.

Attendance was good every time the gates were open. Wednesday and Thursday seemed very busy and Friday and Saturday nights were nice and relaxed as the kids (of all ages) enjoyed the rides offered by P.B.J. Happee Days amusement company.

Until next year, thanks to everyone for the support of the Summer feature. It is a fun time for a great community!