Williamson County Fair wins awards at State and International levels

2019 event recognized by Tennessee Association of Fairs, International Association of Fairs and Expos Williamson County native Carsyn Hughes places fourth runner-up at State Pageant 

 

The Williamson County Fair has once again been recognized among the best state-wide and internationally for excellence and innovation at the 2019 Fair. Representatives from the Fair Board collected a total of 14 awards on behalf of the nonprofit at the International Association of Fairs and Expositions’ (IAFE) and Tennessee Association of Fairs’ (TAF) annual conventions, while Carsyn Hughes, the 2019 Williamson County Fair’s Fairest of the Fair winner, placed fourth runner-up in the TAF Fairest of the Fairs Pageant.

An annual celebration of Williamson County’s agricultural legacy, the Fair offers “9 days of fun” each August with educational and interactive exhibits and competitive events in categories like agriculture, livestock, creative, culinary and cultural arts, 4-H and youth, STEM, pageants and more. More than 217,000 Fairgoers attended the 2019 event, which marked the Fair’s 15th Anniversary, with nearly 6,000 competitive events entries.

Hughes, who entered the Williamson County Fair Pageants for the first time in 2019 and was crowned Fairest of the Fair, is a Franklin native. She attended Bethesda Elementary, Spring Station Middle School  and Summit High School. She is a 2019 homeschooling graduate and attended Belmont University for her freshman year.

“It is an honor to receive such recognition on the state level,” Rogers Anderson, Chairman of the Williamson County Fair Board, said. “We are proud of Carsyn for representing our Fair so well and extremely appreciative of our volunteers and board members who work year round to create an award-winning experience for the community.”

Several members of the Williamson County Fair Board traveled to San Antonio, Texas for the IAFE convention and received a first place award in Agriculture for its “Ag-Closer Than It May Seem” exhibit and first place for its Honey and Bee Exhibit in the Competitive Exhibits Photo Series category.

Second-place IAFE awards include the Drone Challenge Participatory Contest in Competitive Exhibits; Master Gardener Display in Competitive Exhibits-General Display; and an Agricultural award for Junior Fair Board Games that were available in the 4-H & Youth Village exhibit. The Williamson County Fair also received second place Communications awards for its promotional poster and unique advertising specialities, including merchandise and souvenirs. Third place awards include an Agricultural award for a sheep herding demonstration and for Innovation in Sponsorship for the Pick TN products display in partnership with Stoney Creek Farms.

The TAF recognized the Williamson County Fair with first place for its digital scrapbook and first place for “Creative Fair Idea Other than Agriculture” for the “Letters to Soldiers” station at the Post Office inside the 4-H & Youth Village. The Fair won second place for its jute tote bag in Promotional Merchandise and for the Pick TN Products Exhibit, and third place for its 2019 brochure.

The 2020 Fair will be held Friday, August 7 through Saturday, August 15 at the Williamson County AgExpo Park. For more information, including sponsorship opportunities, go to williamsoncountyfair.org.