Fair organizer says strong Saturday crowd helped make first week a huge success

Maya Williams, 3, of Rochester gets a birds eye view of various farm animals atop the shoulders of Gerald Diaz on Sunday at the Granite State Fairground. (Rochester Voice photo)

ROCHESTER - Various local Facebook pages had posts referring to possible serious injuries in the horse pulling ring on Saturday afternoon, but one of the fair's organizers said the ambulance was there to treat a spectator, who fell ill.

"No one was injured by a horse, no one was injured," said Mark Perry, one of the major organizers of the fair.

"When I was there they were checking her out in the ambulance," he said today.

Beyond that, he said the fair had had a very successful week, topped off by a Saturday crowd that was "excellent."

He said Sunday was another good day, but the weather got a little to muggy for many.

"We had a had good crowd on Saturday," said Perry adding the weather made for a "perfect fair day."

When The Voice arrived on Saturday traffic was backed up halfway down Lafayette Street.

"It stayed that way all day," Perry said.

The fair begins its second four-day stint on Thursday, with grandstand events scheduled for Friday (Endurocross), Saturday (Bus Derby) and Sunday (Demo Derby).

To buy tickets in advance click here.

Other major events include a Cornhole Tournament on Friday at 7 p.m. and a King Arthur Flour Chocolate Chip Cookie Contest on Saturday.

Info on the contest is below.