Rides are ready. Food is waiting. The 102nd Manatee County Fair is here

In a matter of days, an empty field in Palmetto became a neon city.

Food vendors, livestock competitors and ride operators completed the finishing touches as the Manatee County Fair prepared to open its gates Thursday evening. The fair runs from Jan. 11-21 at the Manatee County Fairgrounds, located at 1303 17th St. W.

In the arts and crafts area, inside a World War II airport hangar that gets its floors repainted each year, about 1,000 artists from beginners to professionals get to show off their work.

“We run the whole range of Manatee County and that’s what this department represents in so many ways,” said Eileen Hoffner, director of the arts and crafts department. “This is who we are.”

Lifesize puppets on loan from the Manatee Performing Arts Center will be available for photo opportunities, as jewelry, paintings, photographs, quilts and more will be on display. Hoffner added that there will be various demonstrations each day.

Until Tuesday — which not only is the night that has no admission fee but also the first veterans parade at the fair — the arts and crafts area will have a station for anyone who wants to write a letter to a veteran. Those letters will be given out after the parade.

The free admission day and parade will be put on by PalmettoBUILD, a coalition of Palmetto’s churches called upon by Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant to mentor the area’s families. The organization also runs the Palmetto Filling Station, which the Rev. Lawrence Livingston of Eternity Temple First Born Church of the Living God said usually raises $10,000, and will host a reading of the Bible for 89 hours straight.

“Primarily, we want to be sure that we recognize World War II veterans, because we’re losing them very fast,” Livingston said.

Veterans and their families are asked to meet in the Kendrick and Harllee buildings, and the parade will begin at 6 p.m.

A variety of livestock will take the stage throughout the 11-day event. For the past two years, 10-year-old Azariah Hendry’s pigs have been the biggest at the fair. This year, his pink, plump 300-pound Pumpkin may have some fierce competition at Wednesday night’s swine show.

Hendry grew up on a farm and has had experience from the birth to, well, the butcher.

“It’s fun, it’s hands-on and most people don’t get to have hands-on like that,” he said.

Showing a pig takes a lot more than just feeding it. Owners have to keep records of how much it has grown over the months as well as send letters to prospective buyers and inviting them out to their competition.

When Hendry started the process, his Pumpkin was just 35 pounds. When 12-year-old Jessilyn Harvey bought her Penelope in September, the pig grew from 48 pounds to 240 in just under five months.

“It’s fun, and when you get to the fair it’s even funner because you get to do the shows and be around people,” Harvey said. The prize money doesn’t hurt either, she added.

While the kids know what will happen to their pigs, it still can be an emotional process.

“First year, I cried. Second year, I cried. This year? Don’t know,” Hendry said.

“The first year I was (sad). The second year I didn’t care,” Harvey said.

So why name them, building a bond that could be even harder to break where there’s a name to that fat, fuzzy face?

“If you have a nice pig and it only likes you and it’s used to you saying its name, then it’s a good thing to have a name for it,” Hendry explained.

Big name entertainers include country acts Shenandoah, Colton Dixon and Phil Vassar. Those looking for a more demure, historical experience can find it in Les McDowell’s cowboy poetry readings.

“Let Dad show you a fancy step. If you ever need me, I’ll be right there you can bet. These are tears of joy; I’m not sad. It’s just not every day a dad gives away her little girl,” he recited in part.

McDowell created Dry Creek, Florida’s version of “Prairie Home Companion,” and for his honeymoon he took a covered wagon journey from Lake Tahoe to Sacramento.

“I’ve always kind of relived history and took part in the reliving of the history, and that’s what we’re doing here,” he said.

To him, there’s something special about Manatee County

“It’s never lost its small town feel. Even though it’s gotten bigger and everything, it’s still that hometown, small county fair,” he said. “In today’s world, that’s so needed.”

This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 6:58 PM with the headline "Rides are ready. Food is waiting. The 102nd Manatee County Fair is here."