There’s a little something for everyone at this year’s Marion fair: Animals & livestock, Carnival rides, games, grandstand events and more. We caught up with Marion Fair Board President Matt Moore to get an idea of how things are going, and what’s yet to come.
Marion Press: How are things going so far? What’s already taken place at the fair?
Matt: So far we’ve done all the animal judging. That’s been a success, our numbers are up. We’ve installed new pens and some other additions on the animal side to make it look a lot better, and to make it more functional on that side of the river.
MP: What are some of the big events that are going on in the grandstands? What can people expect over the next few days?
Matt: We had the Garden Tractor Pull on Tuesday night, but our official Grandstand kickoff was Wednesday night with the Micro Wrestling Federation, and it was a huge success. Thursday night is the big modified pulls – trucks, tractors. Friday night is the IPRA Flying Star Rodeo at 7 pm. WTCM will be here for a live remote from 5:30 to 7:30 for the rodeo.
Friday at 6 pm is the large and small animal livestock sale; Friday is a pretty busy day.
On Saturday, the tractor club is going to have a pull on their track over by the animal barns at 10 am. We’ll have a 4-H horse show in the arena as well on Saturday. Saturday night at 7 pm is the demolition derby. We’re hoping for some big crowds. Come check it out!
MP: This year is your first year as Fair Board President, how do you feel things are going so far?
Matt: All in all, I think we’re having a great fair year. My background here has always been on the animal side. I’ve spent the last 32 years helping with the 4-H side of things, and this fair is really growing on that side. We’ve probably got one of the nicest hog showing facilities in the state, even though we’re small. It’s one of the nicest setups around. We did that this year, in continuation of last year’s new pens in the pig barns. There’s been a lot of improvements there for the kids. We do need to grow the fair side, the grandstands, and all that. It’s a work in progress, and it never stops.
MP: And the weather seems to be fairly cooperative.
Matt: Monday and Tuesday the weather was perfect for the kids showing. Wednesday wasn’t too hot or too cold and it was a great night for an event in the grandstands.
MP: And you mentioned that the numbers have been pretty good on the animal side. Tell us about that.
Matt: Very good turnout. Our beef numbers, our chicken, our rabbit numbers were all up. Sheep, goats, and pigs were all level – maybe a slight increase in sheep and goats. Our numbers are up and we’re growing.
Friday at 6 pm is the sales for all the market animals. With 4-H it’s either a market project or a breeding stock project, and most of the animals are market projects.
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