FORKSVILLE — One young calf had red horns attached to its head to make it look like the devil. Another had red goggles on its eyes and a red cape, transforming it into a kind of "super-cow." Still another had a hunting hat on its head, with a camouflage blanket, a rifle and a hunting license slung over its back, so it looked like it was ready to go out on a hunting trip.
These calves were paraded around a ring at the Sullivan County Fair Saturday by the children who had dressed them up, part of an animal dressing contest. The children were judged on their creativity and originality in designing the beasts’ costumes and the animals’ "overall cuteness." "This is for them (the children) to have fun, because they have worked so hard to get their animals ready for the fair and to have them be clean and presentable for the public at the fair," said Sullivan County Commissioner Betty Reibson, who serves as coordinator of the contest. The animal dressing contest is one of the many events that are taking place at the Sullivan County Fair, which runs through Monday at the Sullivan County Fairgrounds on state Route 154 in Forksville. The fair also includes carnival rides, carnival games, a fireworks display, live entertainment, truck and tractor pulls, a demolition derby, food vendors and much more. Attendance at the fair was excellent on Saturday and good weather is expected to continue to draw people to the fair today and tomorrow, said Sidney Hatch, president of the fair. However, due to rain, attendance was down by 400 to 500 people on Friday and by 100 on Wednesday and Thursday, said Hatch and Janet Hatch, entertainment co-chairman for the event. Typically, a total of about 10,000 people come to the fair each year, said Sidney Hatch. This year, the fair has a new company — Mid-Valley Amusements — providing the carnival rides, so there are more of them than before, including more rides for older children, he said. The fireworks display, which will begin at 10 p.m. tonight, will last 20 minutes to a half-hour, Sidney Hatch said. Among those performing this evening at the fair will be country musician Aaron Kelly from Sonestown and the group Mudflaps, which plays rock-n-roll from the 1950s and 1960. The fair runs from noon to 11 p.m. today, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday.
