POCOMOKE CITY – Southern Worcester County will celebrate the area’s agricultural roots next weekend with the Great Pocomoke Fair.
The annual event, held at the fairgrounds on Broad Street in Pocomoke from Aug. 4-7, features harness racing, livestock exhibits, carnival games and a variety of other attractions. Organizers are attempting to reinvigorate the longstanding event.
“There’s something for everybody this year,” said Maggie Ball, one of the fair’s organizers.
The 2022 fair will kick off with an opening ceremony at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 4. Once local officials conduct the opening ceremony, attendees will be able to view the fair’s indoor exhibits, which include produce, crafts and photography, among other things, and can check out the livestock present at the fairgrounds. The Little Miss Great Pocomoke Fair Pageant is set for 7 p.m. Thursday.
While a downpour dampened attendance at the fair last year, organizers are making a push this year to remind area residents that the event has a lot to offer throughout the weekend. Ball said there were 45 vendors who planned to set up at the fair. There will also be carnival games for kids, tractor pulls, cake auctions and other fair staples. On Friday night, Front Page News will perform on the grandstand stage.
On Saturday, the fair will host a goat show in the morning, followed by a car, jeep and motorcycle show. At 12:30 p.m. Saturday, the fair will host its always popular program of live harness racing. Standardbreds – both trotters and pacers – from throughout the region will compete. The Great Pocomoke Fair is one of just two in Maryland that still features harness racing.
For evening entertainment, the fair will host a tractor pull and offer a concert from the Petting Hendrix Band. On both Friday and Saturday nights, carriage rides will be offered.
The weekend will be rounded out with barnyard Olympics and sack races on Sunday. There will be opportunities for both children and adults to compete, with some cash prizes being offered.
Ball is hopeful the array of activities will renew interest in the enduring tradition of the Pocomoke fair.
“We’re trying to bring it back to what it used to be,” she said.
For more information, go to thegreatpocomokefair.org.
