A little sunshine and some volunteer spirit go a long way as ingredients in a successful local fair.
Drayton Mapleton Agricultural Society president Brad Schieck said the 2013 Drayton Fair was a huge success, with large crowds on hand for everything from tractor and truck pulls to livestock shows and exhibits.
“We had no rain,” said Schieck, when asked how things went at the 157th annual event Aug. 9 to 11.
Schieck noted wet weather hurt attendance at last year’s event, forced cancellation of the Friday night truck pull and pushed the tractor pull Saturday into the wee hours of the morning.
This year, said Schieck, “It was very good. We were all done (with the pulls) by 11 or 11:30.”
The lawn tractor pull also featured plenty of entries and was well attended, he added.
The full grandstands for the pulls were just one of the highlights of the 2013 fair said Schieck, who noted entries were up for beef, dairy and goat shows and at the exhibit hall, where this year’s theme Celebrating 100 Years of 4-H drew a number of additional entries.
“They were very well done,” said Schieck of the exhibits.
Even the set up and clean up for this year’s event went extremely smoothly, said Schieck, with a large contingent of adult volunteers supplemented by an army of eager students earning their high school volunteer hours.
Schieck said participating in the work involved with the fair provides a valuable experience for the students.
“They actually get to see what we do to get it running and see how everyone works together to clean it up afterward.”
Schieck commended the volunteer organizers of this year’s event for an extremely smooth running show.
“It’s really greatly appreciated,” he said.
