United High School freshman Danika Anderson walks away with the first-place trophy Thursday in the Canfield Fair’s Intermediate Showmanship dairy class. (Photo by Ron Firth)

The Canfield Fair is underway – with a host of traditions and new innovations on display as the celebration of agriculture, industry and community kicks off its 179th year.

New this year – all entries and registrations for vendors and exhibits were completed online – a major change for the organization, when all previous entries were filled out on paper.

“If you grew a flower, entered an apple, painted a picture, everything, especially our vendors, was registered online,” said George Roman, Director of Concessions and Entertainment for the Canfield Fair Board. There were some hiccups, he said, but overall everything went smoothly.

Signs of other technological upgrades were evident as well – more vendors are accepting cashless payments – tap to pay and credit/debit cards – albeit for an additional fee.

“A lot of places now are cashless,” Roman said, “We aren’t there yet.”

There are many vendors who still have “Cash Only” signs on their stalls and food trucks, and there are ATMs in locations around the fairgrounds to help people who may run short on greenbacks for concessions.

Attendance: 27,916 people attended Wednesday; that’s a 5,306 increase over 2024, when 22,610 people walked through the gates

Friday highlights: 1:15 p.m., “Spherical Snacks” in the Hay, Grain, Fruit and Vegetable Building; 3 p.m., Bike Night in the Concourse;

5 p.m. Dog Agility Demonstrations in the Small Animal Tent; 8 p.m., Demolition Derby in the Grandstand.

Check out: The new Canfield Fairgrounds app. Users can drop a parking pin and create a schedule of events. Tickets: Friday is Senior Day, with guided shuttles from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for Seniors. Senior tickets on Friday are $6; children 6 and under are free; youth ages 7-12, $5; and all those 13 and over, $10. Grandstand tickets are extra and can be purchased onsite; ticket packages are available online at www.canfieldfair.com. Ride tickets are handled separately and can be purchased onsite.