Recordpub.com - Portage County-Randolph Fair opens with clear skies

Portage County Randolph Fair King and Queen

Portage County Randolph Fair Ribbon Cutting.

Abbigale Weinhofer, 2 1/2, of Hartville, pats a sheep on the head at the Portage County -Randolph Fair on Tuesday.

Andy Bowers pf Bower Farm, Shalersville, takes a break in the shade of the dairy barns Tuesday at the Portage County-Randolph Fair. His Children are showing Ayrshire and Holstein cattle at the fair this week.

Laura Heeter and Jina Brighton enjoy the morning sun at the dairy barns Tuesday at the Portage County-Randolph Fair.

Cheyenne Fox and Kaitlin Bryan take a break from cleaning stalls to chat and have a snac.

A couple walks down Paris Ave at the Portage County-Randolph Fair on Tuesday with a refreshing lemonade.

Gretchen Koloniar amd her daughter, Elena, 2, of Manchester, look at pigs Tuesday at the Portage County-Randolph Fair.

Connor Rpice, 8, or Ravenna pats a sheep at the Portage County-Randolph Fair on Tuesday.

By Mike Sever

Record-Courier staff writer

The 151st annual Portage County-Randolph Fair opened Tuesday to sunny skies and band music by the Rootstown High School Band.

As a special tribute, the family of Virginia “Sis” Sayre cut the ribbon to mark the opening of this year’s fair. Sayre was fair board secretary for 18 years and passed away earlier this year.

Crowned king and queen of the 2009 fair were Kirsten Wise and Nathan Watson.

Wise is the daughter of Tom and Katrina Wise of Atwater. She will be a student at Mount Union College in Alliance and is a member of the Junior Fair Board, the Livestock Judging Team and is a youth representative for the Sale, Beef and Swine committees.

Watson is the son of Michael and Karen Watson of Brimfield. He is a student at Kent State University, has been a member of 4-H for 12 years and has been a member of the Portage County Poultry Judging Team.

The king and queen have varied duties through the fair. They hand out ribbons at judging events, welcome crowds at grandstand events, serve as honorary judges and visit and greet people at the gate on Senior Citizens Day.

They and other candidates were introduced by 2008 Fair King and Queen Tyler Gallagher and Sara Cross, who also gave some advice to the new fair royalty.

Fairgoers were welcomed by Charles Breiding, president of the fair board, and by Matthew Heppe, president of the junior fair board.

The demolition derby will stage its second event tonight starting at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 per person.

The fair runs through Sunday. Gates open at 7 a.m. each day with admission $4 for adults and $1 for children age 6 to 11 and free for those under 6.

Kids Day is Thursday and all children under 12 get in free.

On Thursday, country music stars Billy Currington and James Otto will perform at 7:30 p.m. in the grandstand.

Track seats are $30, premium grandstand seating is $20 and general grandstand seating is $15. Tickets are available on the fair Web site, http://www.randolphfair.com/concert.>

Senior Citizens and Veterans Day is Friday, with free admission to seniors and veterans.