Orleans County 4-H Fair attendance topped 23,000

New events and popular mainstays kept fairgrounds busy

Photos by Tom Rivers

KNOWLESVILLE – A group of inflatable costumed characters walks to the starting line for a race on July 30 at the horse arena. There were 17 participants in the race which was won by the French Bulldog, Rachel Livingston of Albion. It was one of several popular new events at the Orleans County 4-H Fair.

The attendance for the six-day fair totaled 23,379, which is down just slightly from a typical year. The biggest attendance in recent years was in 2021, when the fair recorded 27,700 visitors.

Robert Batt, executive director of the Cornell Cooperative Extension, said he is pleased with the turnout from the community for the fair.

He said some rain plus cloudy weather on Tuesday and Wednesday likely deterred some people from coming for those days.

“Generally we all thought it was a great fair,” Batt said.

He praised a team of about 130 volunteers who donate their time to make the fair a success.

Orleans is one of only four youth fairs in the state. Niagara also has a youth fair, which is this week.

Bert Mathes, the assistant fair manager, gets drenched on Saturday with a big bucket of water from Marty Zwifka, the fair manager. Mathes was among the volunteers who were willing to be part of a dunk bucket fundraiser.

There were 14 people in the fundraiser throughout the fair. Kristin McAdoo, the Ridgeway deputy fire chief, raised the most money at $198, which was $2 more than Robert Batt, the Cornell Cooperative Extension executive director.

The dunk bucket raised about $800 for the Orleans County Jr. Fair Committee. It was one of several new events at the fair.