During the 163rd annual Hillsdale County Fair, winners of top awards included Hillsdale Academy students Rachel Doty in Creative Writing/Poetry and Decoupage; Katherine Knecht in Pastel, Watercolor, Pottery, and Sculpture; Lydia Knecht in Watercolor, Pencil Drawings, and Charcoal; and Megan Wilcox in swine showmanship. Seventh-grade academy teacher Brent Falke and his wife also took top prizes for baked goods.
Academy senior Victoria Heckenlively entered six photographs in the Youth Classes and won ribbons for all of them, including a first place ribbon for her photograph “Rural Life.” She said the competition was comparable to last year’s and that about the usual amount of photos were entered.
“You get different amounts of money for each prize. It evened out to be about the same as the last time I entered,” Heckenlively said. “Last time I think I got five ribbons, but I had about the exact same money.”
Sierra Russell, also a Hillsdale Academy senior and previous fair award-winner, earned third place in the Open Classes for her photograph “City Life.”
“My grandparents actually work with the Historical Society at the fair so they got me the information and everything to get me started with it,” Russell said.
Heckenlively said her dad, who takes pictures for Hillsdale College athletics, first got her interested in photography.
“After my mom and I went to France and Switzerland with my French Club freshman year, we decided to enter a bunch of our pictures in the fair,” she said. “And that’s what we did this year again.”
According to the Hillsdale County Fair office, attendance increased by 10 percent this year and was deemed exceptional overall, mainly due to seven days of excellent weather.
“There were no cancellations of any events; the weather cooperated every day,” Hillsdale County Fair Manager Scott Dow said. “Warm days and cool evenings just make for a perfect fair.”
Both of the week’s concerts were well-attended, bringing in extra fair-goers.
“The Wednesday night Florida Georgia Line concert was sold out in two hours the first morning that tickets went on sale in July,” Dow said. “That’s a real bonus, bringing a big name like that.”
Both Heckenlively and Russell agreed the fair was a success.
Russell said she enjoyed “seeing different things that people entered and what people did differently this year.”
“My siblings are always super excited when I win,” added Heckenlively. “My sisters were more excited that I won ribbons than I was.”
It seems as though nothing can top the success of this year’s most popular fair on earth – except next year’s fair, of course.