Harrison County Agricultural Society discusses concessions, fair plans

The Harrison County Agricultural Society met March 2 as the push toward Harrison County’s 2026 Fair continues.

Secretary Amy Clay reported on outside concessions, saying they were doing well, but there were a few regular concessionaires she had not heard from yet. She informed the board they need to reach out by April 20 on whether they will be part of the 2026 Harrison County Fair. She also spoke of a coffee trailer with “some breakfast stuff” to offer as one of a few new vendors coming in.

There also will be a company coming that offers apple dumplings and a French fry trailer. She expressed interest in getting another one in addition to the one they already have coming. Another vendor will be All American Burger.

“I don’t want to overdo it,” she said. “I try not to have too many of the same thing.”

For inside concessions, Kevin Willoughby announced around nine to 11 vendors returning, with a few of them renting two spaces instead of the one they had last year. He said the Army Corps of Engineers is returning, but with a few regulars he also has not heard from yet.

Brooke Bardall addressed the annual spring dinner with a few new things they are pursuing. She said they will bring the 10-times envelopes back, where buying $1 can win you $10, as an example. Every seat will come with an envelope, with a maximum $20 bill to be placed in the envelopes. She said dinner will begin at 5:45 p.m., leaving them an extra hour for dinner.

“As soon as dinner is over we’re going to do a first-chance drawing … and then we’re going to do the first 50/50 and once those two items are done then that’s when we’re going to bring out those three limited raffles …” Bardall said, adding that the live auction will follow.

Later, the board approved the use of golf carts from Mid-Ohio Golf Car at the price of $2,800. President Richard Eberhart was told by people in Coshocton that they are a good company.

“We get two more carts for $200 less than what we did out of Colerain,” Eberhart said, referring to a company they had rented from in the past. They also approved $8,150 for the Friday night fair demolition derby, with expenses included.

The board also voted to “abolish” an ordinance it passed at last month’s meeting preventing any recording of its meetings. Eberhart later discovered it was a misunderstanding from information they had received at a previous Ohio Fair Managers Association meeting. The board reversed the ordinance unanimously without discussion.