Rodeo, Pageants Help Fair Make Return After Two Years

RISON - While entries were down and some of the usual ac‐tivities were not held this year, Fair Board President Roy Phillips said he was, overall, pleased with how things turned out at the 2022 Cleveland County Fair considering this was the first event since 2019. Due to the COVID pandemic, the Cleveland County Fair was not held in 2020 or 2021, though Phillips did point out that they held a rodeo last year as a fill-in event. This year, the rodeo was back as well as the Cleveland County Fair Pageants, but the duration of the fair was cut down to three days overall compared to the five-day events in the past. There was not a fair parade this year as well. Phillips said the number of en‐tries into the various fair compe‐titions were about half of what they were in 2019. “We kind of expected that,” Phillips said, noting it has been two years since there was a fair and it will take time for people to get back into the routine. In previous years, the fair would begin accepting entries early in the week. This year, most entries were taken on Thursday, and the exhibit hall was open to the public only on Friday and Saturday. The fair pageants drew 46 con‐testants overall, according the pageant’s Facebook page. Phillips said they are considering adding one more day to the fair next year, and also bringing back the county fair parade to downtown Rison. As for the rodeo, Phillips called it a success with good crowds both Friday and Saturday nights. He said they will continue to put more emphasis on making the rodeo a centerpiece of the fair. While carnival rides are a big attraction for county fairs, Phillips said it has become increasingly difficult to find carnivals willing to come to small county fairs. When one is available, he said the rides are limited and can be an expensive attaction to add. Phillips thanked all those volunteers, sponsors and others who bring back the fair.