LUMBERTON — The Robeson County Agricultural Fair brought plenty for people who have an affinity for motors and heavy machinery on a muggy Thursday evening.
Along with the high-flying Cycle Circus show that has several showings each night, fairgoers also saw the next crop of farmers in the area show their skills maneuvering a trailer in the FFA truck- and tractor-driving events.
Students from Fairmont, Lumberton and Red Springs high schools competed in the grandstand area right as the fair opened up, with the goal of traversing the course laid out with both a tractor and a truck, both with a trailer in tow.
Contestants would have to back the trailer into two separate spots barely wider than the trailer itself and weave through a cone maze. The challenge was scored on time and accuracy.
Fairmont’s team won both the team truck- and tractor-driving contests. Fairmont’s Dustin Chavis won the individual tractor-driving competition and came in second in truck-driving.
Chavis, 18, showed he was comfortable behind the wheel, and rightfully so. He has been driving trucks and tractors since he was 10 years old, Chavis said.
Red Springs came in second in the truck competition, and third in the tractor, while Lumberton placed second in the tractor competition and third in the truck competition.
Red Springs’ John Beasley won the individual truck competition.
After the sun set over the fairgrounds, a large portion of the crowd made its way to see the most-talked about new attraction at the fair, the Cycle Circus. The show mixed daring moves on dirt bikes with acrobatics in front of the packed bleachers on the south end of the fairgrounds.
Professional motorcycle riders wowed fans as they hurled themselves into the night skies on daring jumps and showed touch in close quarter in the Motor-Ball — a 14-foot-tall metal cage ball — where three bikers defied gravity looping around in circles, riding upside down at times.
“It is pretty awesome and the people have been excited about it,” fair President Allen Faircloth said. “We are fortunate to already book them for next year. They are already that good. We have asked them to come back next year because they fill up the stands every show.”
After the shows ended, vendors’ sales in the proximity saw spikes in business. The booth for Faith Assembly of God from St. Pauls was on prime real estate adjacent to the excitement and sold water and ice-pops to the fairgoers enduring the sweltering heat.
“We have been selling close to $100 to $200 a night just in waters,” booth worker Hannah Clark said of the heat wave over the fair this week. “Right after the show is over, everybody comes over here.”
Heat has been a major factor at the fair this week, but Faircloth said the sunny skies haven’t deterred many.
“Every day we have been up over what we were last year,” he said.
With more than 9,100 people in the fair this past Saturday, Faircloth is banking on the second Saturday, which is traditionally the higher attendance day, to produce another large showing.
“It’s supposed to cool off,” Faircloth said. “It will help because we have had so many that couldn’t handle the heat. It’s not your normal October for a fair.”
Another new fixture at the fair this year, the Bump and Run demolition derby, highlights Friday’s schedule.
