ROME TOWNSHIP – The bookings have been made and 4-H clubs have been preparing throughout the county for one of their busiest weeks of the year.

Saturday, July 08, 2000

ROME TOWNSHIP – The bookings have been made and 4-H clubs have been preparing throughout the county for one of their busiest weeks of the year.

The annual Lawrence County Fair is gearing up today for an entire week of family fun including several new attractions at the fairgrounds.

"One of the most exciting events we will be offering will actually be on Friday," Doug Clark, fair board member said. "Our featured act for the week will be the county music group Exile and will be totally sponsored by WTCR. We’re really excited about having them this year and Friday night is always the best night to have a group as good as they are because we always have a big turnout."

Exile has been a headline act for many years now and has won numerous country music awards, he said. The group is scheduled to perform at 8 p.m. July 14.

"Exile will be one of the biggest events we will be having this year," he said. "In addition to the featured group, one of the newest attractions we will have this year is the new 4-H food booth. The Ohio Department of Agriculture had a grant available that we applied for that helped us build the $150,000 metal food booth. The county commissioners were really good about matched the funds required to get the grant."

The new food booth will double the old kitchen and cafeteria size and will hopefully have a 10-ton air-conditioner unit fully operational by mid-week, Clark said.

"We haven’t planned a grand opening yet for the new building, but we will be holding one probably after the fair," Marti Pack, 4-H food booth manager said. "We will be serving breakfast every day, which was donated by Bob Evans. We will also have sandwichs available throughout the day and we will be serving home-cooked meals starting on Tuesday."

In addition to the kiddie tractor pulls on Thursday, fair officials have scheduled sanctioned pulls sponsored by the Ohio Tractor Pull Association.

"These pulls are for the big tractors," Clark said. "They are sure to be loud for a lot of people. Those pulling in the show will also get points and money for coming."

Fair board officials said many of the traditional booths will be at this year’s fair in addition to a few new attractions.

"We will have the photo man selling the old-time photos and plenty of food booths," Albert Childers, fair board member said. "This year, we have a new lemonade stand that actually looks like a big lemon. We also will have a booth called ‘The Fifties’ that will be selling strawberry shortcake and hot fudge cake."

The tractor displays have been moved this year to the midway instead of the traditional parking lot, Childers said.

"The tractor display will be near the new cattle barn this year giving people a better opportunity to see the tractors," he said. "Of course we will be having the demolition derbies (Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday) and the bull riding (Wednesday)."

Clark added that the fair board is anxious for the week to get started.

"I’m really excited about this year’s changes and all that we have to offer," he said.

Admission to the fair is $5 daily and includes grandstand, parking and rides. A season ticket, which includes admission all six days and grandstand and parking, is $10.