Fulton County Fair
| Fulton County Fair | |
|---|---|
 "Top of Ohio" | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | County fair |
| Begins | Friday before Labor Day |
| Ends | Thursday after Labor Day |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Venue | Fulton County Fairgrounds |
| Location | Wauseon, Ohio |
| Coordinates | 41°35′49″N 84°09′02″W / 41.5969792°N 84.1504561°W |
| Country | United States |
| Years active | 168 |
| Inaugurated | 1858 |
| Attendance | 298,346/week (2015 record)[1] |
| Capacity | 60,792/day (2003 record)[2] |
Leader | Ed Miller, President |
| Organized by | Fulton County Fair Board |
| Website | fultoncountyfair |
The Fulton County Fair is located in Dover Township, Fulton County on Ohio State Route 108, just north the Ohio Turnpike Exit 34 near Wauseon. It is the second largest[3] county fair in Ohio.
History
[edit]
The first Fulton County Fair took place in 1858. But there were no fairs from 1917 to 1918, 1942 to 1945 nor 2020.
Attendance
[edit]Weekly fair attendance broke 100,000 in 1972,[4] and in 2014, the 157th fair, attendance was 298,346.[1]
Daily attendance during busy days can more than double the county's population of about 40,000 to over 100,000 people.[2] In 2025, the fair shattered its previous attendance record of 335,029 by hosting 340,193 attendees.[5] That makes the Fulton County Fair Ohio's Second-largest fair behind the Ohio State Fair.
9/11 Memorial
[edit]Featured on the fairgrounds is the Fulton County 9-11 Memorial, which displays a 3600-pound steel I-beam[6] from Ground Zero. The beam arrived in 2011[7] and the same year, design of the memorial began.[8] Work began in 2013[9] and is now complete.
Events
[edit]Year-Round
[edit]Traditional events that the fairgrounds hosts annually[10] include an MCC auction to fund humanitarian relief by the Mennonite church,[11] the National Threshers Association Renunion,[12] the Crosley Car Owners Club National Meet,[13] the Antique Motorcycle Club of America Show & Race [14] and Midwest Geobash one of the largest annual gatherings of Geocachers worldwide. [15]
Fair Week
[edit]Fair Week traditionally begins in Fulton County on Labor Day weekend, and features popular music celebrities, tractor pulling, a demolition derby, harness racing, 4-H exhibits, livestock shows, show barns with pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, horses, llamas, chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, and carnival games on the midway.
Fair officers and officials
[edit]As of 2024, the fair officials are as follows:[16]
| • President | Ron Rice | ||
| • Vice President | Scott Smallman | ||
| • Treasurer | Kelly Bentley | ||
| • Treasurer | Steve Richer | ||
References
[edit]- 1 2 Fulton County Fair Aims to Draw 300,000 ToledoBlade.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- 1 2 250,000 Expected to Attend Fulton County Fair ToledoBlade.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ↑ Fulton County Fair Second Largest Fair in Ohio WTOL.com Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ↑ 150 Years Old and Still One of the Best Archived 2016-04-17 at the Wayback Machine ArchboldBuckeye.com Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ↑ https://www.fultoncountyfair.com/recent-news/fulton-county-fair-celebrates-record-breaking-attendance-in-2025
- ↑ A decade later, firefighters bring 9/11 home SanDiegoTribune.com Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ↑ World Trade Center Beam Arrives Archived 2016-04-16 at the Wayback Machine Archboldbuckeye.com Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ↑ Memorial Gets Design Archived 2016-04-16 at the Wayback Machine Archboldbuckeye.com Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ↑ Work Starts on 9-11 Memorial ToledoBlade.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ↑ Year-Round Events FultonCountyFair.com
- ↑ MCC Black Swamp Benefit Archived 2015-08-01 at the Wayback Machine BlackSwampBenefit.org. Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ↑ National Threshers nationalthreshers.com Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ↑ Crosley Care Owners Club Events crosleyautoclub.com Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ↑ AMCA (Antique Motorcycle Club of America Events AntiqueMotorcycle.org. Retrieved 28 March 2016
- ↑ MWGB Midwest Geobash MWGB.org. Retrieved 7 Sept 2017
- ↑ Fair Board Members Archived 2019-01-13 at the Wayback Machine FultonCountyFair.com