The Hillsdale County Fair entertained as many as 100,000 fairgoers last week, according to Fair Manager Lori Hull.

The event, which ran from Sept. 27 to Oct. 2, featured live country music, pig races, and a farm magician.

“The most fun thing about the fair is seeing things people that you know have entered,” said Brent Falke, a Hillsdale College alumnus and IT employee who enters fair competitions each year. “It’s fun to see the talents people have in the community.”

The fair hosted 710 vendors, which is fewer than in past years, according to Fair Manager Lori Hull.

The fair helped raise awareness about businesses like Sarah Ansett’s new company Rocks, Minerals, and More, which will open later this month.

“People seem excited about having a rock and mineral shop in Hillsdale. They said I had a good selection and good prices,” Ansett said. “It’s nice to have that kind of feedback so I know what I’m doing right and what I can improve on.”

Other vendors showed off timber art, macrame, cartoon portraiture, and silk shirts. Several contests featured home items, culinary arts, wine and beer, and photography.

There were vegetable shows and a pumpkin competition, in which a pumpkin weighing 924 lbs. won first place. The fair also featured a haystack competition, and this year’s show animals included goats, cows, and swine. 

“Everybody loves the goats,” Falke said. “There’s also something really fun about swimming pigs.”

Falke has been competing against his wife in the baking contest for 18 years. This year the couple chose to face-off in the angel food cake baking contest. After the previous year’s winner chooses the new category, they practice their baking up until the fair. 

“There’s something about the fair that brings out the competition in us,” said Falke.

Falke’s children, Sadie, 11, and Parker, 13, competed with their parents in the gourd basket display and against each other in baking, photography, and lego creations. Sadie got a blue ribbon in decorated cupcakes.

Grandstand events featured an International Demo Derby, a Bump-and-Run Demo, and a Western Days Ministry Rodeo, according to Hull. Monster trucks performed tricks on Saturday such as jumping over walls and flying off ramps, Falke said. 

“One driver did something I’ve never seen before, he balanced it on its front tires like a handstand for about 20 to 30 seconds,” Falke said. “It was very impressive.”

There are some events Falke said were tucked in the corners of the fair that people often miss, such as the fundraisers, the Donut Hut, and the 4-H Kitchen. 

The fair featured two antique museums, the Little White House of the Hill and the Faire Museum. 

The Little White House on the Hill, given to the Hillsdale Historical Society 10 years ago, contains items from the 1850s, when the fair first opened. 

Joanne Marowellin, who manages the museum, was thankful for volunteers who have improved the building. Marowellin is a member of the Daughters of American Revolution. 

“We want to help people know how Hillsdale County has been in the past,” Marowellin said.

The Faire Museum was restored from a restaurant and has been running for four years. 

When Falke was younger he rarely went to the fair, but after he started living in town he said he realized how special the fair is to people in the county.

“The fair brings together people from all over the county, not just Hillsdale,” Falke said. “It’s fun to see the different types of people here.”