Cheryl Klintworth throws candy at a cornhole board set up by Waterford resident Crimson Gribble as she walks up Front Street with the Plumbers, Pipefitters & HVACR Local 168 unit in the Washington County Fair parade on Saturday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Many spectators at Saturday’s Washington County Fair parade weren’t there as passive observers.

Rather than try to catch candy tossed by units heading up Front Street to the county fairgrounds, Waterford resident Crimson Gribble and her family offered a target – a cornhole board.

“It’s better than getting pelted with candy,” Gribble laughed. “It gives them a goal.”

Many people accepted the challenge, though not all were successful.

“Is that regulation?” joked one man walking with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 972 after the candy he tossed failed to find its mark.

Marietta cheerleader Maycee Kiggans, left, accepts a bag of popcorn from Josie Young with the Celebration Center as the Washington County Fair parade passes the church on Front Street Saturday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

“Don’t worry; we’ll make the hole bigger for you next year,” Gribble shot back.

She and her family have had the board for a couple of years, taking it to the Barlow Fair parade last year.

“We said, ‘You know what? We’ll just haul it with us'” to Saturday’s parade, she said.

Williamstown resident Maya Anderson, 7, watched the parade from in front of her grandmother’s house on Front Street. When a candy-dispensing group came by, she held a box on top of her head and invited them to toss the treats into it.

Members of the Celebration Center further up the street decided it was better to give than receive, handing out bottled water, hot dogs and popcorn to parade participants – and the folks who drove through after the procession ended.

From left, 2024 Ohio River Sternwheel Festival Little Mr. Sternwheel Jacob Ellison, Queen Genevieve XLVIII Amanda Rauch and Little Miss Sternwheel Adalyn Duley ride in the Washington County Fair parade Saturday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

“They come right by our church, and we’re just out here to show ’em Jesus loves ’em and we do too,” said Gordie Deer, the Celebration Center pastor. He called Saturday “a great day” for the church.

Over on Second Street, a couple of houses had yard sales set up.

Marietta resident Gabi Lelie and her friend Joy Roberts from Wirt County said they chose Saturday for a sale because it was a holiday weekend, not thinking about people being lined up just one block over possibly increasing their traffic.

“The parade was a bonus,” Lelie said.

The parade ended near the entrance to the fairgrounds, where the official opening ceremonies took place at 11 a.m. But the site had already been busy for a couple of days as 4-H and FFA members moved in their livestock and set up exhibits. While folks were watching the parade, some students were showing their animals in the arena.

Williamstown resident Maya Anderson tries to catch a sucker thrown from the Marietta Education Association trailer by first-grade teacher Cindy Burton during the Washington County Fair parade on Saturday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Backyard Gang member Trenton McVey has been working with his market steer since March of 2024. At age 16, he’s a veteran of multiple fairs.

“I’ve been showing since I was 7 years old,” he said. “I just love working with animals.”

Frontier FFA member Tyce Dunn, also 16, was an exhibitor for the first time with his own market steer, though cattle are nothing new for him. His family has a cattle farm that’s “been passed down from my great-grandfather.”

Dunn, too, has been working with his steer for more than a year, balancing the animal’s diet, setting traps for insects and moving the steer’s accommodations in the barn to deal with flooding.

Barlow residents Jim and Becky Woodruff sat watching the Holstein show Saturday morning, even though they’re a couple years removed from having children and grandchildren participating. Jim Woodruff said he has still comes “to look at the cattle and meet the people.”

The Marietta High School Wall of Sound’s percussion section keeps the beat as they move up Front Street Saturday in the Washington County Fair parade. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.

Judge Sarah Kitchen speaks to participants in the Holstein Show Saturday at the Washington County Fair. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Frontier FFA members Tyce Dunn, left, and Caelynn Beagle wash Dunn’s market steer Saturday in preparation for showing at the Washington County Fair. (Photo by Evan Bevins)