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"Growing for the future, rooted in the past," is this year's theme for the Iowa County Fair. When talking to Paula Rider and Carolyn Butteris up at the fairgrounds last week the keyword that came to mind was "Camaraderie."
"When people come back for the fair, it's like a big family reunion," Rider said. "You have people that come back for the fair, that have moved away from the area because the fair was so big to them growing up."
Butteris added that it has to do with the many generations that have either gone, or have had projects at the fair. Her family have given back their time to the county fair. Her father Rudy was greatly involved with the fair, she is now on the fair board, her daughter Clarissa serves as a fair society member with her, and her young granddaughter enjoys time at the fair.
"There have been five generations in my family that have been at the fair," Carolyn said. "Many families are this way, whether its their kid showing livestock, or their grandkid."
That was part of the thought process when figuring out this year's theme. Rider explained that they had to figure out different events for different generations during each day at the fair. The fair board puts a lot of time into putting on each year's county fair, making sure there is something for everyone.
Be on the lookout each week for some topics revolving around the county fair (this year August 29-September 2), where generations come together for great fun, and are "growing for the future, rooted in the past."