Great Frederick Fair ready to entertain: 'It's what we work for all year'

Sep. 13—On Wednesday, forklifts rolled past a closed-up kiosk advertising fresh squeezed lemonade, hoses watered the landscaping, and a Ferris wheel stood motionless over the Frederick Fairgrounds on East Patrick Street.

The Great Frederick Fair, a nine-day tradition bursting with entertainment from carnival to cattle shows, begins Friday and runs through Sept. 23.

On Wednesday, pigs were hauled to the fairgrounds in trailers and lawnmowers and tractors were brought in to display for prospective buyers. Food and drink vendors set up stands with barbecue and beer.

"It's what we work for all year," said volunteer Megan Cronkite, whose children also exhibit at the show.

Last year, about 225,000 people attended. This year, the fair expects as many as 240,000 people because of the good weather, said Karen Nicklas, the general manager of the fair.

Nicklas said there will be about 4,000 animals at the fair this year.

The Great Frederick Fair, established in 1822, boasts nine days of agriculture and entertainment, including horse harness racing, jousting, animal judging, two demolition derbies, and concerts — including the Gin Blossoms on Friday.

This year, the fair is hosting its first dirt drag car racing event, Carrie Wolf, the programs coordinator, said.

This is also the first year the fair will offer rentals of mobility devices, including scooters, manual wheelchairs, and strollers and wagons, Nicklas said. That change is in response to requests attendees made over the years.

Nicklas reminded visitors that tickets for paid events, such as drag racing or concerts, include gate admission.

The fair is selling Jack Passes — one day of unlimited rides and admission — until this Friday at 5 p.m.

A Jack Pass, available through the fair website, thegreatfrederickfair.com, costs $30. Attendees can get $5 off the Jack Pass with the code "WFRE."

Visitors who are on-site and waiting in line to buy tickets can buy one online for the $8 fee, versus $10 on-site, then skip the line, Nicklas said.

On Wednesday, Nicklas oversaw the arrival of 150 vendors, plus landscapers and exhibitors coming to prepare pens for animals. There was a celebration in the evening for sponsors.

This year's schedule also features mainstays like the Hot Dog Pig Races.

Pigs, both trained and newbies, run around a track in search of food, said David Feimster, who started the traveling business in 1976.

The pigs are trained to run when they hear clapping, such as the cheer of a crowd, he said.

Feimster arrived Wednesday morning and brought in his pigs and small wiener dogs, who run the track in hot dog and superhero costumes.

Fair life is nothing new for Nicholas Coulouris, 24, of Ithaca, N.Y., who works for Reithoffer Shows, which runs carnival rides at the fair. He was setting up a goldfish game on Wednesday.

At Coulouris' game, visitors throw ping-pong balls in fish bowls to win a goldfish. There are about 240 fish on hand for each day of the fair and they usually run out, he said.

Someone who gets six balls in bowls can win their choice of large fish, lizard, or hermit crab. The booth gives out about 100 for the whole fair, he said.

Coulouris said he has worked for the company on and off his entire life. His grandfather is head electrician and his aunt works for the company, as well.

His advice for fairgoers was not to sweat the spent cash.

"You come here to make memories. And sometimes that requires a little bit more money," Coulouris said.

The midway, with games and rides, has a separate pricing structure. Tickets are sold for individual rides. The Jack Pass covers rides for a whole day.

The games, however, cost money.

Past the carnival are stables and pens for animals.

That is where James Davis, 78, of Columbia, will be, while his horses participate in agricultural educational events with Frederick County Public Schools, mingle with attendees, and, mainly, do harness racing, he said.

In harness racing, horses pull a two-wheeled cart or bike. A person rides on the bike, called a sulky, Davis said.

Davis and his business partner, Craig Parker, own race horses that live at the fairgrounds full-time.

About three months before the fair begins, they repair and clean stalls and add bedding, preparing for the arrival of horses that come to the grounds for the fair, from as far as Ohio and Michigan, he said.

On Thursday, Friday and maybe Saturday, they will be out buying hay for the horses to eat, Davis said.

Davis has been going to the fair in Frederick most years since he was 7, he said. He has worked with horses at fairs since about age 14.

"We're here to promote harness racing," he said.

Harness races take place from Wednesday through Saturday on the second week of the fair.

Near the animals, red Massey Ferguson trailers and large lawnmowers gleamed.

Jeremy Thompson, 41, of D.W. Ogg Equipment Co., spent the morning and afternoon hauling them from the company's location in Frederick, near Jefferson, to the fairgrounds, he said.

The business hopes to sell equipment at the fair and particularly obtain leads to follow up on later, Thompson said. John Deeres and other models were there, too.

In response to popular demand, Smoketown Brewing Station is bringing in extra types of drafts, from six last year to 10 this year, said Jon Bruley, who works for the company.

The brewery expects to sell about 70 gallons of beer a day, Bruley said.

As a visitor, Patricia Wachter of Frederick was at on the grounds on Wednesday.

Her grandparents were life members and her husband's parents are life members, Wachter said.

This year, though, Wachter said, she is looking forward to the first fair at which her 2-year-old granddaughter can participate.

"It's a chance to see people we haven't seen all year," Wachter said. "It's kind of a tradition."

Besides the barking wiener dogs, the grounds were relatively quiet on Wednesday, with days of activity and excitement yet to come.

"I like to tell people that we say we're The Great Frederick Fair, and the reason that we're great is because of all of the people that make up the fair" — from vendors to exhibitors to sponsors, Nicklas said.