Lewis County Fair: Disarray and high water, the show must go on

LOWVILLE- When dawn broke on the morning of Thursday, July 11, 2024, the Lewis County Fairgrounds was in a state of “disarray” from what officials have described as “jaw dropping” flooding, which occurred the afternoon prior.

Talk about bad timing, because Wednesday’s storms fired off with only less than a week to go until the opening ceremonies, scheduled for the morning of Tuesday, July 16.

However, despite the chaos left in the wake of Wednesday’s exceptional weather, the local community has come together once again and no matter what, even with the high water, the show for this year’s Lewis County Fair must go on and will go on, thanks to a crew of volunteers and officials working to fix the grounds.

“We have made a lot of progress since first thing this morning,” Fair President Matt O’Connor told us on Thursday.

“We have had all kinds of agencies reaching out, even private organizations from all over asking if we need any more help.”

Some of the damage on the fairgrounds from Wednesday’s flash flooding is indeed stunning. The fence-line along the track, just up from the grandstand and right behind several of the renowned food vendors, was completely washed away.

Several buildings, including the horse/cattle barns, the Forest Park Pavilion and others, were all washed out during the flood.

“The show must go on,” Fair Manager Rachel Lisk told us Thursday morning, echoing President O’Connor’s comments about how much progress has been made with fixing up the grounds.

In terms of the fair parade, there may be a few modifications necessary amidst the pending improvement of the track and grounds.

Fair officials made clear that they will update any modifications for the parade, if necessary, as soon as possible.

The fair is scheduled July 16 – 20 at the Lewis County Fairgrounds in Lowville, NY.

Images by Brian Trainor.