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Many brave weekend heat to attend Delaware State Fair

Katie Peikes
/
Delaware Public Media
The Delaware State Fair

Temperatures reached the low to mid 90s over the weekend, but that didn’t deter thousands of visitors from going to the Delaware State Fair in Harrington. 

 

 

From drinking lots of fluids to using handheld fans, fairgoers, like Wilmington resident Griff Jordan, found many ways to beat the heat. Jordan reached for a watermelon slurpee for himself and a blue raspberry one for his wife to share with their two-year-old son, Griffy.

 

Jordan said he and his family have been to the fair for at least the last five years, not including last year when temperatures exceeded 100 degrees for seven of the 10 days. They were excited to see the fair livestock, but they said they didn’t remember it ever feeling this hot the other times they've been.

 

“No, not this hot. This is pretty bad,” Jordan said.

 

Meanwhile, New Castle residents Bill Russell and his wife Anne grabbed lemonades to cool down, while enjoying their second year at the fair after experiencing it for the first time last year.

 

“It's been hot both years,” Russell said. 

According to AccuWeather, the historical average for temperatures between July 21 and July 23 in Harrington, Delaware is 87 degrees fahrenheit. 

 

Danny Aguilar, the Delaware State Fair’s assistant general manager, said once the sun sets and temperatures cool, he always expects to see more people out and about. 

 

“The temperature does make a little bit of a challenge for us but we’ve been doing this long enough and we’ve got water stations and we make sure that everybody stays hydrated,” Aguilar said.

 

One way for people to stay cool, Aguilar said, is a new indoor space called the “social spot” inside of the fair’s exhibit hall. It features a digital photo booth and phone charging station.

 

Last August, Delaware State Fair staff reported attendance was down 15 percent. They blamed it on the heat.  

 

More than 260,000 people still showed up to the fair in 2016.

 

The 98th Delaware State Fair runs now through July 29.

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