Fair president Addis famous for energy and enthusiasm
townfolk also get a chance to check out where their food comes from.” Taking a wide view of what a county fair is all about, Addis searches for ways to interest visitors in all aspects of the event. “It’s not just cows and horses although folks love to pat a cow or watch the heavies prance in the judge’s circle. There are rabbits and poultry, goats and sheep, and the Main Building tempts shoppers on the ground floor and tempts lovers of sweet treats on the second floor.” Out near the highway, the light horse competition goes on for the three days and the cattle and horse parade Sunday brings every exhibitor out to strut in front of the grandstand, prize ribbons fluttering in the breeze and the occasional burst of energy among the young cattle, sometimes heightening excitement as all hands rush to help a leader having a struggle to regain control.
Every fair persuades local farm machinery dealers to bring out their newest models of tractors and farm equipment and many fairs line up antique farm machinery beside the new, automatically linking in the minds of the viewers the giant strides and improved technology food production has taken.
“Oh yes, we have the truck and tractor pulls and it wouldn’t be Cookshire Fair if we didn’t have the horse pulling competition on Sunday evening,” Addis said. “Actually between all the pulls, the grandstand will be full all three evenings, surprisingly the horse pull also attracts a capacity crowd.
“Our only worry is basically the weather. Getting rained out for the evening events is a bummer and has a negative effect on our finances. But, with cooperation from the town and local business, with volunteers, some of whom turn up long before fair days to help begin preparations for the fair, we just need some reasonable weather to ensure we can do it all again next year.”