This is it.
Starting today, the 148th annual Wayne County Fair gets underway.
This is Wayne County’s main event, like hosting the World Series or Super Bowl.
This is as big as it gets and the spotlight will be shining on the Wayne County Fairgrounds — nestled between two hills and located on 22 acres along the Dyberry River between Honesdale and Bethany — from now through Aug. 14.
Pennsylvania is fortunate to have county fairs and Wayne County is lucky to be able to showcase so much great talent and offer everything good that this county stands for. In fact, our Fair is one of the oldest in the Commonwealth, its roots tracing back to 1862 when a brand new charter and court-approved incorporation led on Feb. 24, 1862.
We’re pretty excited about this upcoming week as well.
It’s a chance for we here at The Wayne Independent and our sister newspaper, The News Eagle, to cover the greatest community event of the year. We’ll bring it to you in living color with plenty of news and sports stories, photos and features.
Every day, something good happens in our county and our communities.
Every day, someone is making a contribution to society or doing a good deed to help somebody else.
Every day, there’s a wonderful story that offers us so much hope that the future can be very bright.
The Fair is one of those wonderful stories.
For 10 days, the Fairgrounds turn into a miniature city. For 10 days, the spotlight shines on some great events.
One example is the 4-H Livestock Sale, which takes place at 10 a.m. on Aug. 14. In a special section we produced this past week, there are more than 125 pictures of children participating in this event. Talk about our youth! You couldn’t ask for such participation.
Another is the Wayne County Woodsmen’s Competition, which takes place on Saturday, Aug. 7. The event is held in the front of the grandstands at 3 p.m. Competitors from Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and beyond will gather to show off their skills in 12 events.
Horse racing began at the fair in 1871. The sport has had its ups and downs and still struggles to find an audience. Not so in Wayne County. The Commonwealth holds 100 fairs throughout the state each year, but only 15 host harness racing.
The Fair is a magical spectacle.
You can see it in the faces of children licking ice cream cones or couples holding hands as they wander the numerous stands and booths and attend the various activities like the demolition derby or fireworks show on Wednesday.
