Fair Facts & History

Fair Facts

SIZE

  • The Canfield Fair is the largest county fair in the state of Ohio.
  • Its 353 acres comprise 178 acres of midway and 175 acres of parking.
  • The parking areas require regular mowing, cleaning, draining and manicuring.
  • There will be over 1,000 concessions at the 2009 Canfield Fair. A total of 14,286 square feet has been sold to concessionaires.

ADMINISTRATION

  • The Fair is under the direction of one Fair Manager and a 17-member Board of Directors. The latter serve without compensation.
  • There are 69 departments within the Senior Fair, and more than 75 different judges for its many events.
  • There are 77 departments within the Junior Fair, and more than 80 different judges for its many events — including July judging for the Ohio State Fair.
  • Trophies and awards purchased for the 2007 Canfield Fair totaled over $9,500.
  • The Canfield Fair also maintains its own police department.

ATTENDANCE

  • Average attendance at the Fair is 380,000.
  • Attendance in 2008 was 302,186.
  • The record attendance for one year was 539,437 in 1979.
  • The record single-day attendance is 158,423, set on Sunday of that year.

FACILITIES

  • There are 16 restroom buildings located throughout the grounds, plus 72 Port-a-John units that are rented for the duration of the Fair.
  • Shuttle vehicles convey Fair patrons from the parking lots to the gates. In 2008, shuttle drivers logged 1,009.75 total hours.
  • The Fair has a full-time maintenance crew of up to 25 workers.
  • Between 1,600 and 1,800 garbage “totes” are placed around the grounds. Each is emptied three times daily.
  • Total waste hauled away in the course of the Fair: over 300 tons.
  • Manure management at the 2008 Fair cost $21,600.
  • Recent capital improvements at the Fairgrounds — undertaken at a cost of over $250,000 — include building upgrades, drainage, painting and equipment.

UTILITIES

  • Total annual electric bill at the Canfield Fairgrounds: $236,000+.
  • Electric bill during the Canfield Fair: $94,000+.
  • Ride operators also provide three generator rigs.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • In 2008, some 1,100 cases of lemons were purchased to make Lemon Shake-ups, a perennial Fair favorite.
  • At 140 lemons per case, this works out to 154,000 lemons.
  • Since a half a lemon is used in each Lemon Shake-up, 308,000 of the thirst-quenching treats were sold in 2008.

 

Fair History

The Mahoning County Agricultural Society is poised to open its gates on the 165th celebration of the Canfield Fair. The Canfield Fair represents the spirit of continuing growth through generations of families - in agriculture, education, commerce, and the arts.

The Mahoning County Agricultural and Horticultural Society, founded at Canfield, Ohio, back in 1846, established its Grand Annual Fair to bring together the people and their products to compare notes and relate experiences. The first fair was held on the village green, or commons as it was called then, and included a small livestock show, a plowing contest, and a horserace or two. Early fairs were attended primarily by gentlemen, who dressed for the occasion in suits and top hats or fedoras. Ladies, dressed in long skirts, high-necked blouses and bonnets, were relegated to gathering in the First Congregational Church building, where they displayed their homemade products and food preserves.

When the original fairgrounds were established, they were small in area, and the buildings consisted of a few sheds. From time to time through the years, additional land was purchased and better and more spacious buildings added. The Floral Hall was built in 1869, reportedly by the same man who built Canfield's Old Courthouse Building. Other early fair buildings included a Music Hall and a Mechanics Hall.

The fair has always provided a common meeting ground for those who live in towns and cities. Exhibits of new household and industrial products are an incentive to the farmer, and a whole a day spent at the fair offers insight into the agricultural world for city folks.

In the 165 years since the Canfield Fair was organized, great changes have taken place in Mahoning County. In 1846 it was almost entirely agricultural, while today it has become a thriving industrial and service-oriented community. As years went by, the fair reflected the times both in its displays and exhibits, and in society's expressions of dress and decorum.

The fairgrounds sit on 350 acres, well kept and lovingly maintained. People come in cars, motorhomes, pickup trucks, on motorcycles and on foot. Clothing is casual, comfortable, and probably would have been considered quite daring 165 years ago! Today's spacious grounds, ample free-parking area, high-quality displays, exhibits and attractions are a testimony to the Mahoning County Agricultural Society and to 165 years of progress and dedication to the Canfield Fair. What has remained unchanged over the decades is the spirit and heritage of that pioneering group at that first simple gathering in 1846. The legacy of the Canfield Fair is a willingness to share ideas, bring forth the best of the harvest each year, and to build the tradition of lifelong friendships.

Today, the Canfield Fair is a trip to an art museum, an international entertainment event, a showcase of handcrafts and baked goods, a modern machinery bonanza, insight into farm animal life, a symphony of sounds, a gourmet's delight and dieter's downfall! Today's fair is the ultimate carnival with Bates Brothers' rides, food, midway games and sideshows, while at the same time a heritage of agriculture, art and industry. It's a place to meet and greet old friends and to introduce a whole new generation to animals and farm products.

The fair has unique collections of antique, steam-powered equipment, as well as horse-drawn carriages, providing a glimpse of days gone by. Western Reserve Village on the south end of the fairgrounds is a reconstruction of pioneer life in Mahoning County, with the buildings brought here from their former locations and carefully preserved. Authentic herb gardens have been planted around the buildings, just the way they might have been when gardens were necessary to provide food and medicines. No charge is made for these educational and beautiful exhibits, as well as stage entertainment, fruit and vegetable displays, fine and domestic art, 4-H and Scout booths, exhibits and Educational Building displays. All of these are free with gate admission.

This is the 165th Canfield Fair . . . Then and Now!!!!

To find out more about participating in or attending the Canfield Fair, contact the Fair office, below:

The Canfield Fair
Mahoning Agricultural Society
P.O. Box 250
Canfield, Ohio 44406
(330) 533-4107
CFRooster@aol.com

If you have photos from past Canfield Fairs and are able to provide them to us electronically, we would love to see them, and perhaps post them on this page. The older and more historic these photos are, the better!

Please Email them to submissions@e.canfieldfair.com. And please include as much information as you can about who is in the photos and in what year they were taken.

By Emailing us your photos, you grant us permission to use them on this website and in all other media, digital or print. Thank you!