DELAWARE — Mother Nature hasn’t exactly been a fair-weather friend to the Delaware County Fair this year.
Rain has already forced the cancellation of tractor pulls Saturday, antique tractor pulls Sunday and the anticipated return of motocross Monday.
But despite the soggy start, the show must go on.
Fair Board President Chris Welker said organizers won’t reschedule the canceled events this year because the fair’s schedule is already packed. He hopes to have them back next year under better conditions.
Otherwise, Welker is telling fairgoers to stay the course — even if that course is a little muddier than anticipated.
“As a large outdoor event, we’re very dependent on the weather. We take it one day at a time,” he said. “We’ll just keep going and do our best to inform people on what’s going on here, but the food is always here and we’re always having fun.”
Rain or shine, the Jug rolls on
Welker said he and his staff are rolling into each day ready to do what they need to do in order to keep some of the more weather-dependent events on schedule.
“We’re going to try to have everything that we possibly can,” Welker said. “And me personally, I never look at the weather because there’s nothing I can do about it, I’m just going to let it come to me as it comes.”
But fear not: the Little Brown Jug is not in major jeopardy thanks to an all-weather track.
Because of the track’s dirt and clay mix base, water is able to quickly move off the track, avoiding large pools that may be unsafe for racers.
Welker said lightning is the main thing that would cause race delays.
“We will race as long as its safe for the horses and the drivers, but rain won’t keep us from running. We will keep running as long as we’re able to,” Welker said.
As for the various grassy and other non-pavement parking areas that have turned to mud, Welker said maintenance is doing their best to keep folks from getting stuck.
Although he wants people to fill the lots and fairgrounds, Welker said the weather, unfortunately, has some effect on fair week.
“Not everyone is as crazy as me and wants to come to the fair every day regardless of the weather,” he said.
But Welker isn’t letting a potentially rainy week dampen his optimism.
“I don’t know if we’ve had all-week rain, and I don’t know if we’re going to have all-week rain this year,” Welker said.
“A couple of years ago, we had a really wet Wednesday but we still had races and the people who were here, we still had food for them to eat. There’s always something to do.”
