By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
Just about everything that needed to go right pretty much went right at the Racine County Fair last week.
As Scott Gunderson, the president of the Racine County Agriculture Society, put it, the only thing costing the fair record attendance was the forecast for storms Sunday afternoon and evening.
“It was a great week,” “We were real excited about the week, and attendance was great.
“It was just too bad the weatherman scared people away Sunday,” he added.
The fair counted 96,555 guests through its five-day run, just off of last year’s record attendance of 100,514.
“It was a great five days,” Gunderson said. “Our board was thrilled with the numbers.”
Gunderson said the storms that moved in Sunday evening didn’t really affect anything but the final heat of the second of the two demolition derbies.
The stands were cleared without incident, and the fair stopped taking admissions about the time the storm moved in. The storm marked the end of the hottest day of the fair, with temperatures soaring into the 90s.
“During the last demo derby, we were watching the weather very closely,” Gunderson said. “It worked fine.”
About the only bad note struck at the fair was an incident in the first of two demolition derbies scheduled for Sunday. A driver in the truck/minivan competition saw his vehicle catch fire.
Fortunately, head official Dennis Nelson Jr., ran out and rescued the driver, pulling him out through the windshield.
“The fire department was right there,” said Gunderson, who was there for the event. “Between everybody, it just worked out. No one got hurt bad.
“Everyone knows when they’re participating in these events, there’s always a chance something could happen,” he added. “That’s why we have the fire department there.”
Gunderson praised the work of the International Demolition Derby Company, saying, “it showed how good they are” when the incident happened.
In all, Gunderson said he was pleased with this year’s event, saying he and the other 30-some members of the board work hard to make it the “best county fair in the state.”
“We’re pretty proud of it,” Gunderson said.
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