Fair outlasts inclement weather to shine
Published 12:28 pm Saturday, August 20, 2022
Pictured are the girls crowned Tuesday, Aug. 9, in their respective divisions of the 2022 Little Miss Franklin-Southampton County Fair Pageant. They are, from left, Miss Heart Savannah Fowler, Pre-teen Queen Chelsea Epps, Junior Queen Gracie Story, Little Queen Kendley Taylor and Wee Queen Rowan Bryant. (Photo courtesy of Brittney Vandiford Photography)
From left, the three ladies pictured here were crowned Wednesday, Aug. 10, in the Teen, Miss and Ms. divisions of the 2022 Miss Franklin-Southampton County Fair Pageant. They are Natalie Pugh, Madison Lowe and Meredith Taylor. (Photo courtesy of Brittney Vandiford Photography)
Six-year-old Addyson Moss, of Emporia, is strapped in and holds on as an attraction at the fair turns her around and upside down. (Photo by Titus Mohler)
Lucy Carbonetto smiles as she begins her climbing wall journey Friday, Aug. 12, at the fair. (Photo by Titus Mohler)
Ed Griggs and his granddaughter Kaydyn Griggs make their descent on the Fun Slide at the fair. (Photo by Titus Mohler)
A’Layla Peterson smiles as one of the rides at the fair speeds up and sends its occupants through the air at an angle. (Photo by Titus Mohler)
The smile of Matthew Domer, of Southampton County, conveys his interest in the activity of the robots on the screen as Amy L. Phillips, promoting Blackwater Robotics at the fair, helps explain what the machines are capable of. (Photo by Titus Mohler)
Alfred Mackler, of Suffolk, enjoys some time at the wheel of a 1948 Farmall Cub that was on display at the fair. The tractor has belonged to Tommy Lowe for about 25 years. Standing next to the tractor with Alfred is Lauren Mackler. (Photo by Titus Mohler)
Competing in cornhole at the fair are Isaac DeShields, who tracks his beanbag as it flies through the air, and Mike Wood, who awaits his turn to throw. (Photo by Titus Mohler)
Jennifer and Jim Bolton run a fair booth representing their business, Choot’em Up, a marshmallow tactical supply company. They showcased marshmallow guns, operated by mouth, that can fire marshmallows at distances ranging from 45 to 90 feet, depending on the gun. (Photo by Titus Mohler)
Posing for a fun photo at the fair are, from left, Vickie Kearn, Mercedes Tierney and Barbara Tierney, all of Virginia Beach. (Photo by Titus Mohler)
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Thousands from the area and beyond gathered in Courtland for the 2022 Franklin-Southampton County Fair that ran from Wednesday, Aug. 10, through Saturday, Aug. 13, and outlasted some inclement weather that came during the week.
“I feel we had a good fair considering we had the rain Wednesday and Thursday,” Fair President Glenn Joyner said. “But overall, (the fair) really picked up at the end of the week on the weekend. Weather was perfect for it the last of the week. So it was, I would say, above average.”
He estimated that across all four days of the fair, between 8,000 and 9,000 people attended it.
Joyner stated that the majority of people attending the fair were local, meaning they came from Suffolk to Emporia and everywhere in between, but he did sense there were a decent number of people who traveled a bit to come this year, possibly for the first time.
“I’ve been here all my life — I saw a lot of faces I’ve never seen,” he said. “I saw a lot of different license plates in the parking lot.”
Joyner’s wife, Janet Joyner, ran both the Little Miss and Miss Franklin-Southampton County Fair pageants and was pleased with how they went. Due to the inclement weather on Aug. 9 and 10, both events were moved to Southampton High School.
“We had wonderful pageants this year,” she said. “Everyone loved them being at the school and in an air-conditioned building.”
Glenn Joyner made a point to highlight the 2022 fair’s sponsors.
“With all this, we couldn’t have done it without the sponsors.” he said. “They really, really stepped their game up with times like they are right now, and sponsors were up from the previous years, and we picked up right many new sponsors. I keep wanting to shout out to them as much as I can because they are my bread and butter when it comes to the events.”
