Setting up for the 188th time, the Great Geauga County Fair will open its gates today through Labor Day, offering a food, rides, shows, education and flying chickens.
Held in Burton, the Great Geauga County Fair is the oldest continuous county fair in Ohio, having first been held Oct. 23, 1823 in Chardon. The original one-day event has grown steadily and is now visited by thousands and thousands of people over the five-day holiday weekend.
''Last year, we had 233,000 people,'' said Amy Blair, fair spokeswoman.
According to Blair, the fairgrounds are easy to navigate and are accessible for all visitors.
''I think the Natural Resource Area is really nice. It's very quiet if you want to get away from the excitement for a while,'' she said.
''I like that the rides are really separate from the 4-H building and the concession areas,'' she said. ''It's easily accessible since all the main midways have pavement now.
''There's free parking in the north parking lot and a shuttle that will bring you to Gate 1,'' she said.
Once inside, there will be any number of things for fair-goers to do no matter what day or time they visit from live music to puppet shows and educational exhibits, she said.
However, Blair explained that depending on what time of day visitors arrive, they should be prepared for the pace and crowd of the fair.
''Different parts of the day are different. If you come early in the day, it is a little slower,'' she said, adding that the crowds pick up as the day goes on.
This year, the fair will feature two demolition derbies, a truck and tractor pull and a Motor Thrillcade that will feature two hours of monster trucks, stunt driving and ''fire breathing jet vehicles,'' in the Main Grandstands.
''Grandstand shows are always a big event,'' said Blair. ''We have two demolition derbies and they are always sell outs. And on Friday we have Motor Thrillcade, which has monster trucks and Monday we have the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association.''
Along with the main grandstand shows, the fair will have many all the fair food that guests have come to expect over the years as well as rides and exhibits.
''On the grounds we have the rides and all the concessions,'' Blair said. ''We have a natural resource center where you can learn how to make maple syrup...We have all the 4-H exhibits.''
The fair will once again feature the Chicken Flying Contest at noon today in the Small Grandstand. The annual contest to see which chicken owner's bird flies the furthest will be hosted by Cleveland Fox 8 Meteorologist Dick Goddard, who has become a mainstay at the event.
There will also be a rooster crowing contest on Sunday and a frog jumping contest held on Monday. The crowing contest will be hosted by Cleveland's WKYC TV anchor Mark Nolan.
Saturday is Apple Pie Day, featuring an Apple Pie Day Contest. Entries will be accepted from 9 a.m. to noon with an auction to follow at 2:30 p.m.
The fair will feature a variety of livestock from cows, goats, rabbits, alpacas and of course, chickens.