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Parade kicks off Jacktown Fair

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WIND RIDGE – It was a great night for a parade and for the opening of the 153rd edition of the Jacktown Fair.

Considered the oldest continuously operating fair in the nation, the Jacktown Fair kicked off Tuesday evening with a parade accompanied by sunny skies and a comfortable breeze.

Bob Niedbala/Observer-Reporter

Bob Niedbala/Observer-Reporter

Horses were part of the lineup for this year’s Jacktown Fair Parade.

Bob Niedbala/Observer-Reporter

Bob Niedbala/Observer-Reporter

Bob Niedbala/Observer-Reporter

Children go for candy during Tuesday’s Jacktown Fair Parade.

People lined the main street of Wind Ridge to watch floats, antique cars, marching band members and fire trucks that formed the parade lineup. Many of the spectators followed the parade at its end, walking down the hill to the fairgrounds to enjoy the evening’s events, play games, ride rides or just hang around to eat and talk.

“This is a very nice crowd,” said Walter “Buck” Burns, president of Richhill Agricultural Society, which organizes the fair.

“The weather is really good,” he said. “We had a bad one last year; we’re hoping this year the weather favors us.”

The Jacktown Fair holds the title of being the oldest continuously operating fair in the nation. Though other fairs are older, none has operated as long as Jacktown without interruption. A fair has been held at Jacktown every year since 1866. It hasn’t missed a beat.

This year, 103 units were included in the parade lineup. “It went pretty well,” said Marcia Sonneborn, parade chairwoman. The fair, this year, honored Sonneborn for her many years of service to the fair and to the parade by naming her parade grand marshal.

Sonneborn has been coming to the fair since she was a small child and has helped with the parade for about 40 years, first with her father-in-law, Dr. Meyer Sonneborn, then taking over the chairmanship after his death in 2001.

“I think this is really a great thing for the community,” Sonneborn said about the fair and the parade. “A lot of people look forward to this and people who are participating in it get excited about it.”

“The fair is about people,” Sonneborn added. “It’s really a community working together to make something happen. It’s a great tradition that has been developed and one worth continuing.”

Bob Niedbala/Observer-Reporter

Bob Niedbala/Observer-Reporter

The West Greene Marching Band performs in the Jacktown Fair Parade.

Amber Finch

2018 Miss Jacktown Fair

Following the parade, a ceremony was held at the upper grandstand to crown the 2018 Miss Jacktown Fair Queen. This year, two contestants competed for the title: Ashley Rogers, the 18-year old daughter of Carla and Dave Jacobs of Graysville and Brian and Heather Rogers of Bobtown; and Amber Finch, the 16-year old daughter of Bonnie and Allen Shough of Wind Ridge and Michael Finch of Bristoria.

It was Finch who was named the new Miss Jacktown Fair Queen.

The fair continues through Saturday.

Today, the fair will feature youth night with free rides for kids 14 and younger courtesy of First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Greene County. The evening events will include a food eating contest at 7 p.m. at the midway stage, motocross at 7 p.m. at lower grandstand and fireworks are at 9:30 p.m.

Tractor and truck pulls are featured Thursday night and a rodeo, presented by Rafter Z Rodeo Co., will be the main attraction Friday and Saturday nights.

Admission to the fair is free; rides are $10 and an admission fee is charged for grandstand shows. For more information, visit www.jacktownfair.org.

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