BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY RICH HEWITT Tom Booth of Pittsfield drives his draft horses Ted and Shorty during one of the pulling events Sunday at the Blue Hill Fair. The team took first place in the 3200 class. Buy Photo

BLUE HILL, Maine — Mother Nature smiled on the Blue Hill Fair this year, providing a perfect long weekend of sunny weather that boosted attendance at the fair.

“Mother Nature certainly cooperated,” fair president Rob Eaton said Tuesday. “That makes life a lot easier.”

The fair ended Monday after a five-day run with good crowds each day, according to Eaton.

“The crowds were good. Nothing record-breaking, but we had good strong crowds every day,” he said. “In this kind of economy you just try to hold your own, and I think that’s just what we did.”

Eaton noted that many of the attractions and events at the fair were free with admission, including musical acts and other features such as Timber Tina, the pig racing and the New England Trampoline Show, which was a new feature this year. The trampoline show, he said, particularly attracted a crowd.

“Whenever they were performing, there was a crowd there,” he said. “They were very well-received, and for good reason. They were very acrobatic and very exciting to watch.”

Despite the economy, people seemed willing to spend money, especially on food.

“One thing people did — they ate,” Eaton said. “No matter what the economy, the one thing people will do is eat. I talked with some of the vendors, and they said they simply just ran out of food.”

Monday’s crowd was light during the day, but as usual, attendance picked up in the afternoon. For a number of years now, the fair organizers have scheduled the main musical act — this year’s was the country band Ricochet — for a Labor Day performance. They combine that with a wristband special for the rides, which, Easton said, make an attractive package.

“A lot of the parents like to come; they like to watch the show and they can kick the kids loose on the rides with the $20 wristband,” Eaton said. “That’s a pretty good deal.”

On Tuesday, most of the vendors were packing up and getting ready to clear off the fairgrounds. They have until Friday to be off the grounds, but most were moving out already.

“They’re clearing out in pretty good shape,” he said. “Tomorrow this’ll be a ghost town. That will give us a chance to clean the place up and start getting ready for next year.”

rhewitt@bangordailynews.net

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