The Fair-est of Them All: Ninth annual Hancock County Fair a huge success

The ninth annual Hancock County Fair ended on Saturday, but local officials are still singing its praises.

“It was fabulous,” Hancock Tourism Bureau Executive Director Myrna Green said Monday. “It was the best attendance ever. It was wonderful — every venue was full, the amusement park, the rodeo, the stage area, the vendor booths. … I would say it’s easily in the top five festivals in the state.”

As always, this year’s fair included livestock exhibits, carnival rides, food and drinks from local restaurants, a 4-D barrel run, exhibition horse races, exotic animals such as camels and ostriches and a high school rodeo, but this year’s live music also focused on songwriters and entertainers with Hancock County roots.

“We had a lot of local entertainers that had ties to Hancock County, and I think that was very successful,” Green said. “People enjoyed it.”

The performance line-up included David Pixley and Failure to Appear on Thursday; Eric Sharp, Barstool Cowboys and The Mustache Band on Friday; and Keith Lee, Dave Fenley and Lee Roy Parnell on Saturday.

Green said special thanks must be paid to the members of the Hancock County Community Committee, who worked diligently to make the fair happen.

“These folks work all year long to make sure the county fair flows so smoothly,” she said.

Not only is the event a tremendous example of an old-fashioned county fair, she said, “it also showcases every aspect of our county -- the artists, the children who work so hard to raise these animals, county facilities, such as our fabulous arena, everything.”

And the success of this year’s event will help to make next year’s even bigger and better, Green said. Proceeds will be used to help fund next year’s fair and to make improvements to the Hancock County Fairgrounds.

The Fairgrounds campground is in the midst of a major expansion, Green said.

This year, she said, “The campground was filled up. Hopefully, once they get the construction done, we’ll have more campsites. People love to camp at the fair and be there for the whole time.”

The expansion will not only enlarge the area, Green said, but also make it state-of the art.

“It will almost compare to the Neshoba County Fair site,” she said.