Riley County commissioners are already working on the 2018 Riley County Fair.
“We better put in a request for good weather again next year, also,” commissioner Ron Wells joked Monday morning. “We’ll pass a resolution.”
“I think so,” Kaw Valley Rodeo representative Joshua Kinder said. “We’ll take it.”
The fair saw big crowds over the weekend at Manhattan’s CiCo Park and fair officials credited weather that saw clear skies and temperatures in the mid-80s as big reasons for the hearty attendance.
“We could not have had better luck with concern to weather this week for any of you who were able to come and check out the fair, the rodeo or the carnival,” County Extension Agent John Jobe told the commission. “It has been absolutely tremendous.”
Kinder said the Kaw Valley Rodeo saw over 2,000 fans Friday night. He said more numbers would be coming in at the end of the week.
“The weather was huge for us,” he said. “I think Thursday was probably the best Thursday crowd I’d seen in the seven years I’ve been a part of it.
“We got a lot of good compliments from families that they’d be back next year.”
Jobe said indications of heavy community involvement in this year’s fair were noticeable at multiple levels — even outside normal 4-H participation, which is often the focal point of county fairs.
“With concern to open class, we were up almost 60 open class exhibits this year, which is exciting,” he said. “With the fair every year, we’re always looking to not only display the hard work and dedication that the 4-Hers have put into their projects, but to invite the public to come out and display their items as well, so that’s really neat to see that open class exhibits were up.”
Jobe also said there were double the pie contest entries compared to a year ago.
