GREEN COVE SPRINGS – When they cut the ribbon to open this year’s Clay County Agricultural Fair, Executive Director Tasha Hyder was already thinking ahead to 2025.

Everything had been planned for months and was in place to make this year’s 11-day event “fair-tastic,” so Hyder focused more on exceeding expectations once again.

“This was the best fair I’ve personally been in during my nine years here,” she said. “Everything went very smooth. The setup was smooth. The 11 days were smooth. We had bad weather one day, Thursday, but it was early and moved out of the area quickly.”

Last year’s Fair attracted a record crowd of 157,000. More than 170,000 passed through the turnstiles this year, including single-day records for a Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. On April 13, the final Saturday, the Fair drew a single-day record 25,999 people, Hyder said.

Next year’s Fair will be April 3-13. Hyder said some new ideas would include celebrity showmanship contests featuring elected officials who showed livestock inside the Cattlemen’s Arena.

“That was a hoot,” Hyder said. “It turned out to be a big deal, especially since so many ‘celebrities’ participated in it.”

Another successful program was Our Fair Cares. With the help of Green Cove Springs Winn-Dixie Store Manager Mike Finnick and his employees and the Fair’s media partners, particularly Clay Today, nearly four tons of canned and non-perishable goods were collected for the Clothes Closet and Food Pantry in Orange Park on Tuesday, April 9. Significant donations were also made to Clay County Animal Services and Clay County Educational Foundation.

“That was a huge upgrade from the past,” Hyder said.

Nonprofits had their turns to man the Human Fruit Machine to raise $2,100 for their causes.

Next year’s Fair will feature more animal shows, especially on Sundays. Not only were they popular, but Sundays seemed to be more family-focused.

One thing, however, won’t change next year. The Fair is exhausting.

Hyder said she took Monday off to recover and didn’t get out of bed until mid-afternoon.

“I was planning to come to the office, but I couldn’t even move,” she said. “Our board and volunteers didn’t stop for 11 days, but it was worth it. It was the best Fair yet.”

And if everything goes as planned, next year’s will be better.