From pigs to lamps, almost anything can be found at the Lawrence County Fairgrounds Trade Days this weekend.

Thursday, March 30, 2000

From pigs to lamps, almost anything can be found at the Lawrence County Fairgrounds Trade Days this weekend.

Fair board members welcome visitors free of charge to browse the 120 booths set up three times each year at the fair grounds, said Frank Call, Trade Days Committee chairman.

This year’s Trade Days will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to dusk.

"There are animals, new and used stuff and antiques," Call said. "Come in and trade, buy and sell."

Not only does Trade Days offer a place for both amateur and professional collectors to find new items, it also offers an opportunity for residents to support their local county and the area 4-H clubs.

Profits raised from vendors are used to improve the facilities, grounds and fair entertainment items.

"There’s no charge. It’s free to enter the exhibit and parking’s free," Call said. "If you want to come and set up, it’s $15 outside and $20 inside. The vendors pay, but the visitors don’t. And all the money goes back into the fair."

The next Trade Days will be June 16-18. The final one for the year will be Oct. 20-22, Call said.

Without the support of the community, Lawrence County wouldn’t be able to have a fair, said Doug Clark, board president.

"The community really helps put this together," Clark said. "It has really helped. We’ve put siding on one building and it helped when we had to redo the grandstand."

Fair board members are always looking for additional sources of revenue, as well. This past year, the fair received an $80,000 grant from the state Department of Agriculture, Clark said.

"We’re the first ones to ever get it and we’re hoping this will continue," he said.

By the start of this year’s fair, which is July 9-15, visitors should be able to enjoy a new 4-H food booth, Clark said.

"Every cent we get from the state goes back into the fairgrounds," he said. "We had a couple of projects in mind for this year, but the bids came in so far over bid we won’t be able to do anything except the food booth this year. We’ll probably get more grant money next year and build the sheep barn."

Fair board members will open bids again this Friday and hopefully begin construction soon so the building will be finished by the start of this year’s fair – which promises to be another record-breaker, Clark said.

"I think it will be good," he said. "We’ve added another derby this year. We’ll have three instead of two. Attendance all depends on the weather. But if we get good weather, I think we’ll have a record crowd this year."

This year’s fair lineup should be released in the first part of April, Clark added.