LOWVILLE, New York (WWNY) -A week’s worth of festivities came to a close Saturday as the sun shined down at the Lewis County Fair.
“It was wonderful. We had perfect weather. A little bit of rain yesterday, but it was midday. 15 minutes,” said Lewis County Fair Manager Rachel Lisk.
The fair provided four days of fun, free admission, and food. For the first time since 2019, COVID-19 was not a concern for organizers.
According to fair management, this year’s event gathered larger crowds than the last two. Exact numbers though are still be totaled.
“I just think everybody loves the fair. Maybe they’re more comfortable coming out this year,” said Lisk.
Fair goers were not just from the North Country. Carol Mauro and her husband traveled all the way from Rhode Island. Mauro grew up in Lewis County and is visiting the fair this year for the first time in nearly 50 years.
“We looked it up and it was this weekend. Perfect. We were like ‘Well, let’s go’,” said Mauro.
How does it compare to half a century ago?
“Honestly, all I remember is the taffy. The taffy and the rides because I was a kid,” said Mauro.
That taffy she was referring to has quite a bit of history behind it. The Freeman family has been making taffy for over a century and this is their 128th year at the Lewis County Fair.
“Actually, it’s crazy. People will come from all over and family members will ship. So they’ll come up and order hundreds of dollars worth of taffy and they’ll ship it all across the country for their family,” said 7th generation taffy maker Hannah Freeman of Freeman’s Old Style Taffy.
Along with taffy, there was plenty of torque on Saturday as the demolition derby highlighted the weekend.
Drivers spent their Saturday seeing who could be the last car standing.
Trevor Lawton says it’s been a hobby of his since he was 14 years old.
“The first car I ever ran, we had to put a booster seat in it so I could reach the pedals. First car I ever ran,” said Lawton.
Fair officials says Saturday’s demolitionderby marks the fair’s unofficial finish with rides running until the end of the evening.
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