FAYETTEVILLE -- More children are raising small animals, making crafts and canning food for the Washington County Fair.
"It goes up every year," said Cheryl West, treasurer of the fair board.
Growing more popular
The Washington County Fair has more fair-goers every year, thanks in part to a population boom, said Cheryl West, president of the fair’s board. About 23,000 were counted last year and West said she expects at least a 5 percent growth in attendance this year.
Source: Staff report
Fair schedule
The Washington County Fair opens to the public Tuesday. Gates open at 10 a.m. daily. General admission is $5. The petting zoo is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day. The pig races run in the evening Tuesday through Saturday.
Tuesday
$2 admission with a food donation
10 a.m. Exhibits officially open
5 p.m. Midway opens
Wednesday
K-12 students are admitted free from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
8 a.m. Market Hog Show
1 p.m. Goat Show
5 p.m. Midway opens
6:30 p.m. Youth Talent Show, Outdoor stage
Thursday
Attendees 62 years and older are admitted free from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
College students are admitted free with college I.D. from 10 a.m. until closing
5 p.m. Midway opens
6:30 p.m. 4-H and FFA Livestock Auction, Livestock arena
Friday
5 p.m. Midway opens
7 p.m. Livestock Beauty pageant, Livestock arena
7-10 p.m. 4-Wheeler Rodeo, rodeo arena
10 p.m.- 2 a.m. Midnight madness at the Midway
Saturday
9 a.m. Youth dog show, Livestock arena
9 a.m. Horseshoe Pitching contest, Rodeo arena
Noon-midnight Midway open
2 p.m. Dutch Oven Cook-Off judging, front gate
2 p.m. Farmhand Olympics, livestock arena
7 p.m. Bull Riding, Rodeo arena
Source: Staff report
The fair officially kicks off Tuesday and exhibitors brought in rabbits, crafts, vegetables, canned jellies and more over the weekend. The fair ends Sept. 2.
West said she expects a 10 percent jump in exhibits and exhibitors. About 15,000 exhibits from about 1,500 participants competed last year, she said. That was more than the year before, too.
Exhibitors took home $45,000 in prizes last year, said Kendall Pendergraft, board president. That amount does not include money raised at the children's livestock auction Thursday.
The growth stems from more people interested in farming on smaller amounts of land, fair officials said.
As large, commercial farms decline, backyard or "hobby" farms have increased, Pendergraft said.
The number of farms across Washington County and the nation shrank from 2007 to 2012, according to the U.S. agriculture census. Small farms of one to nine acres decreased by 34 percent in the county, census data shows.
The number of large farms between 260 and 499 acres fell by nearly 4 percent in Washington County. The numbers are the most recent available.
No numbers were available for farms with fewer than 1 acre or categorized as "hobby." However, fair organizers said they see more people with small vegetable gardens and small animals. More kids are raising sheep, goats, dwarf rabbits, chickens and hogs, Pendergraft said.
For example, the barn for meat goats, an exhibit started only two years earlier, was nearly full last year, Pendergraft said. Rabbits and chickens are popular, too, he said.
"The smaller animal projects, I guess you could say, have really taken off," Pendergraft said. "You cannot believe the amount of rabbits, and the kids involved with rabbits."
That's a change from cattle, which has been the most popular project at the fair, Pendergraft said.
Gardening and canning are up, too, West said. More urban dwellers grow small gardens in yards; teachers use gardens for classes at schools and more communities have public gardens, she said.
A lot of that interest finds its way to fair exhibits statewide, said Jan Moore, president of the Arkansas Fair Managers Association.
The association is a nonprofit organization that promotes and encourages livestock shows and fairs. Moore is the Perry County Fair board treasurer.
There is growing interest among families to find healthy ways to spend time together and improve what they eat, Moore said.
"The way the world is right now -- it's just going back to basics," she said. "You cannot believe the amount of people who are raising or getting chickens."
NW News on 08/28/2017