Joe Roman helps get some cows ready from Guernsey Dell Farm. (Photo by Marc St. Onge)
WESTFIELD- The 92nd Annual Westfield Fair was hosted over the weekend at the Westfield Fairgrounds, bringing thousands of people out to celebrate some of the city’s traditions.
The fair began Friday, with an official opening ceremony and veteran’s flag ceremony.
Although the rain held off for the bulk of the fair, Westfield Fair President Mary Johnson said that the expectation of storms had an effect on some aspects of the fair.
“There was not as much product as we were hoping for,” said Johnson.
She said the anticipated storms caused some people to not bring vegetables and other products to go on display at the fair. The storms did eventually come through at 9 p.m. Saturday night, but the only effect they had was making one of the bands shut down half an hour early. The storm brought heavy lightning that night and at one point stretched from Pennsylvania to Canada, and still had minimal effect on the fair.
Otherwise, Johnson said, there were really good crowds on Friday and Saturday.
Miss Westfield, Maura Joseph, at the Westfield Fair. (Photo by Marc St. Onge)
The fair featured a number of farm-related attractions, including a petting zoo, a barn and farm museum, and an oxen show. In the exhibit hall there were many products for sale including pictures, preserved foods, and artwork.
There were also several competitions and shows for entertainment across the fair. This included a demolition derby by Skyfire Productions, which Johnson said featured 24 vehicles. The derby took place in a muddy field on the fairgrounds, and several of the vehicles could be seen leaving the grounds on Sunday caked in mud to the point where one could not tell their original paint color.
On Saturday at noon, a scholarship was given out to one local high schooler preparing to enter college. The Westfield Fair Dairy Cattle Scholarship was given to Hayden Pike, 19, of Granville.
Johnson said that the scholarship was created in honor of the late James F. Phelan, who was a yearly participant in the fair for more than 30 years and served as Fair president for 10 years. He would show off his Milking Shorthorns, but he was also known to attend the fair’s gate.
The scholarship was available to any youth who took part in the Dairy Cattle Show at the Westfield Fair.
During the day on Saturday, the fair celebrated Youth Day, during which there were several competitions and events featuring young people of Greater Westfield. The notable events were the Westfield Fair Pageant, Junior Dairy Show, the Junior Sheep Show, the Junior Beef Show, the Kids Tractor Pull, and the Junior Dairy Costume Class.
The fair concluded with the annual auction during which items unsold in the exhibit hall during the main fair were auctioned off.
Johnson said that three of her main highlights for the weekend were the truck show on Friday night, the demolition derby Saturday evening, and the oxen draw Saturday morning.
