On the last night of the Webster County Fair Saturday, current Fair President Kevin Cantrell, left, presents a token of appreciation to past President and Fair Manager, Bill Roberts, for his four years of service to the county.
The concrete pillars and wooden beams pictured Monday, June 22 will soon become the structure of the new kitchen cook shelter off the back of the fair concessions building.
A fresh new gravel parking lot awaits hundreds of fair guests next week. The lot is accessible from Garst Drive and has an exit off of Bedford Street.
Pictured is the new gravel parking lot at the Webster County Fairgrounds from across Bedford Street. Those who attend the fair and use this lot will exit south of the fairgrounds onto Bedford, minimizing traffic for the event.
Guests will first fill the designated north parking lot located between Highway CC and Garst Drive, closest to the gate near the show buildings.
The new road travels from the parking lot off Bedford Street down to the back entrance of the Fair Grounds, where there will be an entry booth set up. Pictured are former Webster County Fair Board Presidents Bill Roberts (left) and Eugene Cantrell (right) walking toward the old pool location.
The site of the old swimming pool at Ellis O. Jackson Park is now leveled and will be used during the fair for semi and trailer parking, as directed by the park board.
The Webster County Fair was canceled in 2020 leaving many eager for its return in 2021. Traditionally, fairs showcased the best of local agriculture and have grown to be community-wide celebrations for generations to enjoy.
Webster County will get the chance to enjoy that, plus more at the 2021 84th Annual Fair.
“The fair runs from Tuesday, June 29 through that Saturday of the parade and fireworks show, July 3,” said President of the Webster County Fair Board Kevin Cantrell.
During this time, the fairgrounds at Ellis O. Jackson Park will host truck and tractor pulls, a rodeo including livestock exhibits as well as beef, poultry and rabbit shows. The final day of the fair will hold the demolition derby and a pie auction to benefit Foster Children’s Program followed by the Chamber of Commerce’s 4th of July firework show.
“Traffic will flow a little diffrently this year with a new parking lot you enter from Garst Drive, which has an exit to Bedford,” Cantrell added. “We’ve also build a new road off of the lot so people can walk down to the back entrance of the fair.”
“Traffic will come in on Garst Drive and fill the original lot then they’ll come around and the new lot will be for overfill,” said Fair Manager Bill Roberts. “Marshall will be open and the distance from the old lot to the gate and the new lot to the gate are about the same, if not shorter.”
Those attending the fair should enter Garst Drive reverse of the one way sign and begin to fill the lot off of Highway CC first, entering near the show buildings. Once that lot is full, traffic will continue down to the site of the old city pool and up the new gravel road to the new lot. The former pool location has been leveled and will be used for semi and trailer parking during the event.
Truck pull participants and rodeo trailers will park as usual, but will also have designated parking for overflow to avoid congestion on Marshall.
“We think with the way we’ve got it figured, it’s going to work great, but we don’t know till we try everything out,” Cantrell said. “Since Marshall Street will be left open during the fair, that will be used for handicapped parking. That’s something new that we’ve never really had. It will be between the pavilion across from the fairgrounds off Marshall – all that gravel will be for handicap guests.”
“There will be no parking on Marshall Street except for handicap patrons,” added Eugene Cantrell.
“Semis will also be parked in a designated spot so they won’t be in the way either,” Roberts said.
In addition to parking and traffic changes, the fairgrounds will have a new kitchen cook shelter which is currently being added to the original kitchen building.
“The new pavilion on the back of the kitchen to where we can actually cook under, that away when it comes to raining, we’re not out in the rain we’re under cover,” Kevin Cantrell explained. “This structure will be completed by the time the fair starts… we poured the concrete last Friday, starting the building tomorrow and they should be done by Friday, June 25.”
The Webster County Annual Fair was received a $10,000 grant earlier this year from Webster Electric Cooperative with the purpose of constructing a kitchen cook shelter, surfacing the road and parking lot as well as installing additional lighting for the fairgrounds.
“We have the Webster County Fair page on Facebook if people want more information and the complete fair book is also posted there,” he said.
To find the fair’s official Facebook page, search Webster County Fair, Marshfield Missouri.
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