Seven-year-old Austin enters the pee-wee contest with his cow at the Rockingham County Fair. Photo by Olivia McCarty.
The Rockingham County Fair is known for rides, food, concerts and exhibits, but perhaps the largest draw is the wide array of animals. Many of the entrances lead directly to the area where animals are held. Animals include horses, cows, pigs and even a giraffe.
Beth Bazzle, owner of North Mountain Agri-Enterprises located in Linville, Virginia, has been showing her animals at the fair for years.
“We’re showing two heifers this time and we’ve been showing here forever,” Bazzle said.
Bazzle became involved in the fair as a result of her family.
“We had cousins who showed for years and so we started doing it. It sort of became a tradition,” Bazzle said.
Rebecca Chittum of Erk Farm concurs.
“For a lot of people, showing at the fair is something that they’ve been doing for years. Their parents did it and their grandparents did it and now they’re doing it,” Chittum said.
Bazzle and Chittum both say they get thousands of visitors and enjoy talking with them.
“By the end of the fair, we probably talk to hundreds or thousands of people. It’s nice to have people interested in what we do,” Bazzle said.
This is part of a series covering the Rockingham County fair. For the other stories, click here.
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