Gogebic County Fair kicks off

IRONWOOD - The sun was shining and music was playing on Thursday for the first day of the Gogebic County Fair.

People entered livestock and poultry.

Later in the afternoon, the carnival rides opened for children and the young at heart.

Under the hot sun, Jaeden Lyons, 9, and Lexi Aspinwall, 5, rode horses on the merry- go-round, engineered the train, and had fun in the fun house.

"My favorite ride was the merry-go-round," Aspinwall said.

Having fun at the top of the slide, Steven Worthington, 4, from Wakefield, leaped and slid all the way down.

Off in the distance at the grandstand, young adults participated in the youth challenge. Among four other teams, the Bessemer Basketball Speed Girls participated in a wheelbarrow race.

During the race, a blindfolded teammate pushed a wheelbarrow with teammate in it who guided them around obstacles from one end the of course and back again.

With the word go, Emily Matonich pushed Megan Peterson in the wheelbarrow around haystacks, all the way to the end of the course and back.

Along the way, Matonich came close to colliding with the stacks and Peterson almost fell out, but they crossed the finish line in three minutes and 36 seconds.

"It was hard because it was dark," Matonich said after the race.

At 4:45 p.m., the racers and the audience paused for the National Anthem.

Under a tent next to grandstand, Ironwood's Alyssa Schwab sang the anthem. As she was singing, the Color Guard presented the flags, as the American flag rose on a pole in the background behind the tent.

In the evening, Marty's Goldenaires performed.

The fair runs through Sunday.