Contests aplenty at Brooke fair
By WARREN SCOTT, staff writerWELLSBURG - Area residents of all ages will have an opportunity to display their athletic ability, culinary skills and other talents in a variety of contests and events to be held during the Brooke County Fair.
The fair will be held Friday and Sept. 13-14 at Brooke Hills Park, with opening ceremonies to start at noon Friday and continue until dusk, followed by festivities from 10 a.m. to dark on Sept. 13, when a fireworks display will be held. Events are planned Sept. 14 from 10 a.m., when a community worship service will be held, to 8 p.m.
During the fair admission to the park will be $5, which will include access to the park's miniature golf course and paddleboats through the cooperation of the Brooke Hills Park Board.
Admission to the park's par-3 18-hole golf course won't change. Free shuttles will be offered from the park's parking areas to the fairgrounds near Brooke Hills Playhouse.
Seniors will be admitted free on Friday, when the Brooke County Senior Center will be holding a picnic at the park.
The playhouse has added a production of "Charlotte's Web" to its 2008 season to coincide with the fair. The family-oriented show, which will feature area children, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday and at 6 p.m. Sept. 13-14.
Tickets are $9 for adults, $7 for students and $5 for children age 12 and under. Reservations can be made by calling the playhouse box office at (304) 737-3344. Groups of 20 or more can obtain a $1 discount.
Children also are at the center of a popular yearly contest pitting teams from the county's primary schools against each other in a tug of war. The competition will be held at noon Sept. 13.
This year a team from Wellsburg Primary School will attempt to keep the traveling trophy won by the school last year after it defeated each of its opponents in the tournament event.
Children and young adults are invited to participate in the Brooke County Fair Queen of Queens Tournament, which is being coordinated by the Studio of Tumble and Dance.
The competition is open to girls from babies to age 24 and boys up to age 8 and includes various age divisions and categories, including a free category for all ages whose winner will be determined through the drawing of a rose.
An overall tiny miss, junior princess and queen will be crowned during the pageant, which will be held at 10 a.m. Sept. 13. Those interested in participating are asked to pre-register by calling (304) 527-2959 by 5 p.m. Friday.
A cutest baby contest also will be held by the Brooke County 4-H Association. The contest will include two age divisions, 12 months old and under and between 12 and 24 months old. The cost to enter is $3, and participants are asked to register and turn in a coffee can bearing a photo of the child no later than 4 p.m. Thursday at the West Virginia University Extension Service in Wellsburg or by 8 p.m. Friday at the fair.
The contest's organizers said 25-cent votes for the child may be collected before and during the fair. The winners will be announced at 5 p.m. Sept. 14.
The 4-H association also will be holding a barnyard bingo event, in which anyone may win a cash prize by purchasing chances that a llama will deposit its waste on one or more of 100 squares.
The chances are $20 per square, with the winner receiving 50 percent of the proceeds and the remainder going to Brooke County 4-H programs.
For those with culinary talent, the West Virginia University Extension Service will hold a decorated cake contest at 10 a.m. Sept. 13 and a baked good contest at 3 p.m. Sept. 14.
For information about the 4-H contests, call (304) 737-3666 or visit the fair's Web site at www.brookecountyfair.org. Produce and flower contests won't be held at the fair this year.
The fair also will include a demolition derby at 1 p.m. Sept. 13 and a pet show at 1 p.m. Sept. 14, with a lawn tractor race at 2 p.m. that day.
A $1,000 cash prize will go to the winner of the demolition derby if 50 cars are entered. Trophies will be awarded for first, second and third place. The cost to register is $25. For information, call (304) 737-3555 or (304) 670-0817.
Pet owners should register their animals for the pet show a half hour before the show, said Wayne Campbell, owner of Campbell's Pet Grooming, which is sponsoring the event.
Campbell said all types of pets, including birds, reptiles and barnyard animals, are welcome, and ribbons or trophies will be awarded to winners in a variety of categories, including best dressed and pet-owner lookalikes, as well as best of show.
"It's all for fun," he said, adding pet owners should have their pets on leashes or in appropriate carriers.
For information about the event, call (304) 737-2456.
Trophies and cash prizes will go to the winners of the lawn tractor race, which will include divisions for modified and stock, provided there are 10 entrants in each. The cost to enter is $5.
For information about the races, call (304) 737-3666.
A contest between the choirs of Brooke County churches was canceled because of limited interest, and the classic car show slated for the fair has been canceled.
But many other activities are planned including a variety of food and live entertainment, carnival and inflatable "air" rides, pony rides, tomahawk tossing and chainsaw carving demonstrations, bingo and a model railroad display presented by the Pittsburgh High Railers Model Railroading Club.
There also will be displays of antique tractors, quilts, World War II memorabilia and Native American information and artifacts.
(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)
