New, free activities to come to 180th Medina County Fair

MEDINA — Fairgoers will see a variety of exotic animals up close at this year's Medina County Fair and take part in other new and free activities. A sea lion show will come from South Dakota to the Medina County Fair. Shows will take place at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday behind building #22. On Wednesday and Saturday, there will be three shows at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. "I know that they have drawn huge crowds at other places, so we thought it would be fun to bring them here and see what happens," Fair Director Pam Oberholtzer said. The Jungle Island Zoo will have a petting zoo featuring exotic animals behind the Pepsi building from noon to 9 p.m. every day of the fair. There will also be a babysitting area and an opportunity to purchase feed for some animals. "We've asked for exotic animals because we've got fair animals, obviously," Oberholtzer said. "We want something that we don't have at the fair." A sensory barn featuring interactive activities will be open in the Pepsi building at different times throughout fair week, and junior fair board members operate it. The junior fair board launched the concept at its fair friends event earlier this month, so children who have a disability can have different sensory experiences. "It's geared a lot toward our children with disabilities, but it's open to anybody," Oberholtzer said. "Sometimes the noise and the lights (from the fair) are disturbing to some people, so it has more relaxing and fun activities." Live wire electrical safety demonstrations will also take place during fair week, but there are no scheduled times, she said. As the crowd gathers, there will be an informational presentation regarding how to be safe around electricity. The Fair Board comes up with new activities by seeing what other fairs are doing and what fairgoers say they would be interested in, Oberholtzer said. "We're always open to new suggestions," she said. To see a list of all the events at this year's Medina County Fair, visit medinaohiofair.com. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.