For the first four days of the Lenoir County Agricultural Fair, there were projections the 58th annual event might end up as one of the most attended in a while.
“We were headed for the best marks we’ve had in years, but bad weather on Saturday and Sunday wound up stopping that,” Lenoir County Fair Association President Waylon Adams said.
The weekend was saturated with rain, dropping attendance. In total, there were 15,985 fairgoers this year, a drop from the estimated 17,000 of last year.
The weather was projected to be great the entire week, with a chance of rain Sunday. Although Tuesday through Friday saw no precipitation, the wet weather started on Saturday.
“We didn’t do as well on Saturday because of the rain,” ride coordinator Mark Philgreen said. “It didn’t rain as much at the fairgrounds, but it did in other areas. You can’t control the weather.”
There were plenty of positives despite the lower-than-expected attendance. Brian Hussey, director of motorsports, said the racing events still had a great turnout.
“On Saturday night, we were still on pace from last year,” Hussey said. “The extreme dirt track racing on Friday went up. Track conditions couldn’t have been any better and we received a lot of compliments for our track.”
Philgreen said he hadn’t heard any negative feedback from anyone, with the exception of the weather.
“We’ve had good comments from everyone,” Philgreen said. “One of the most popular events included the Youth Derby. It’s the first one we’ve ever done and we want to continue that.”
Sunday’s rain didn’t deter a few fairgoers, including Kinston resident Elizabeth Faulkner, who took a group from Gordon Street Christian Church as a youth director.
“We’ve been looking forward to it all week,” Faulkner said. “This place is awesome.”
Lee Faulkner, 11, was excited to attend the fair for two reasons.
“I wanted to ride the swings and I’m here for the food,” Lee Faulkner, 11, said.
Rachel Poole, 8, said the fair was “great” and she even had a favorite ride.
“I like the Zero Gravity ride because it goes around and around,” Poole said.
Nathan Howell, 8, had another reason for enjoying the ride.
“I like how it goes sideways,” Howell said.
Sgt. Walt Howard of the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office said there were fewer issues his department had to deal with this season.
“There were a lot less problems and more people got along,” Howard said. “I also like the way the fair was structured. The rides and events weren’t clumped together and people were able to walk around the fair with more space. Plenty of people talked about how they enjoyed themselves at the fair.”
For Lenoir County 4-H Agent Tara Taylor, she hopes the fair will grow next year.
“We hope people in Lenoir County continue to come out and support the fair,” Taylor said.
Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.