Big month ahead for Greene
Tomorrow kicks off Greene County’s month to shine. The Jacktown Fair, known as the “nation’s oldest continuing fair,” begins July 15 with a parade and the crowning of the 2014 Miss Jacktown Fair queen.
And 10 days after the fair closes is Waynesburg’s traditional salute to weather – Rain Day.
These events, excepting the fact they are held about 20 miles apart, have a common thread. Basically, both are fairs, of sorts.
Jacktown, and we are pretty sure no one actually lives in a place called Jacktown (it was once called Jacksonville), is now Wind Ridge, and is the more traditional fair, located in a rural setting, highlighted by livestock judging, which is perhaps what makes a fair a fair.
Of course, there is a spate of other blue ribbons to be won in other judged contests.
This Rain Day phenomena also can be considered a fair, more of a street fair, although organizers might take exception to that label.
Both Jacktown, now in its 149th year, and Rain Day, where records on perceptible rainfall have been kept for at least 138 years, crown queens who ride in their respective parades.
Both Jacktown and Rain Day feature food and entertainment and usually draw large crowds.
Granted, the Jacktown Fair lasts five days and Rain Day is just that, a day. While some festivals have disappeared from the county landscape, it seems to us that Jacktown and Rain Day survive, not just out of tradition, but because the people who organize them are committed to see the traditions continue.
The old country fair and the street fair always will remain part of Greene County’s heritage. But we must be careful not to overlook August’s offerings.
The Greene County Fair begins Aug. 3, and the Pennsylvania Bituminous Coal Show in Carmichaels gets under way Aug. 16. And yes, each selects a queen. What makes summer in Greene County special is that there is something for everyone.
So let the fun begin.