County Fair wins statewide awards

Myrtle Beach — The Alleghany County Fair took several awards from the N.C. Association of Agricultural Fairs at the annual N.C./S.C. Fair Association Convention on Jan. 5-7.

The NCAOAF presented awards in three categories, agriculture, youth and most improved fair. Alleghany’s fair took first place in two of the divisions. The county fair was honored with a first place youth award and the award as the most improved fair in the state. The Alleghany Fair was in Division 1, which includes all fairs with attendance of up to 15,000.

Caldwell County Agricultural Fair took first place in the agriculture division, while the Stanly County Fair took second. Stanly County also took second place in the youth division.

Alleghany Fair Chair April Caudill said the fair committee is very pleased with the awards and hopes to continue to improve.

“This is the first time in recent memory that we’ve been recognized by the fair association and we’re very pleased to have been honored with two awards.”

The youth award shows a particular focus that the fair’s organizers have had. “We always try to have something for all age groups, but the fair is something very special for many of the youth of our county and surrounding counties. We had almost 800 youth exhibits in the exhibition building this year.

“The livestock shows, youth activities, exhibitions and midway entertainment are all geared toward making the fair a memorable event for the county’s young people,” she added.

She said the most improved fair status is a sign of things to come. “We hope to keep getting better every year,” she said.

The committee is constantly in search of volunteers to help expand and diversify its membership, Caudill said. “I would like to especially thank all the committee members from this past year and everyone who volunteered their time to make our fair a success."

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