Aug 8, 2021 3 min read

Visitors to the 2021 Washington County Agricultural Fair will be greeted with some new changes.

Fair staff has been busy making repairs and remodeling several aspect of the fairgrounds in anticipation of the upcoming fair.

“The front entrance way underwent a total facelift,” Wayne Hunnell, board secretary said. “We moved the main gates back about 28 feet to get cars entering off the road.”

Stone walls featuring the fair’s logo and the Washington County Expo Center logo now line the entrance, along with new panel fencing.

“The fencing starts at Arden Mines Road to the Mill Gate,” Hunnell said.

A new digital sign, similar to a digital billboard, will circulate ads and information about the fair. Hunnell said the sign will be visible from either direction on Main Street.

Visitors will also notice new landscaping, although Hunnell said it won’t be completed in time for the Sat., Aug. 14th start.

Additional improvements includes a new roof and newly remodeled racehorse office, new wooden pens in the lamb barn and a new concrete floor in the goat barn. Several roadways were also repaved to make it easier for visitors to walk around.

“We got a lot going on,” Hunnell said. “We also made the first aid room entrance way wider and added a new wall, and we added a new wall on the backside of Hall Three. We did that in preparation for a complete overhaul of Hall Three.”

Hunnell said the fair board has begun working with the Mills Group out of Morgantown, W.Va., on new barn concepts.

“We want to replace the old barns on the grounds with multi-purpose barns,” he said. “We’ve got the conceptual designs done. Now we’re looking into funding.”

While the project is still in the planning phase, Hunnell said the overhaul will be beneficial for the fairgrounds.

“The fair is eight days out of the year, but the rest of the year, we’re renting out the facilities on the fairgrounds for events like cash bashes and gun bashes. There’s a lot of year-round effort that goes into maintaining the halls and renting them out, and it all goes into preparation for the fair. That $10 entrance fee doesn’t come close to covering expenses for the fair.”

Hunnell hopes the current upgrades will make the fair more attractive to visitors and beneficial to exhibitors.

“We want our facilities to be easy to use. We want to improve our livestock facilities and what exhibitors have to work with,” he said.

The fair runs through Sat., Aug. 21. The Washington County Agricultural Fair is Pennsylvania’s oldest fair dating back to October of 1798. Their primary mission is to promote and advance the interest of agriculture, horticulture, homemaking subjects, arts and sciences, 4-H Clubs and Future Farmers of America organizations and activities.

The week-long fair attracts more than 50,000 visitors annually and exhibits over 2,000 animals and features over 6,000 youth and craft exhibits. Entertainment includes high school band night; school bus demolition; demolition derby; street stock trucks; mud bog; pro stock tractors; antique tractors; live entertainment and more.

Daily passes are $10 per person; weekly passes are $30 per person. For a full list of attractions and entertainment, visit washingtonexpocenter.org.

Sponsored content brought to you by the Washington County Agricultural Fair.