Thanks to all who made county fair a success

On behalf of the board of trustees of the Middlesex County Fair Association, we would like to extend our thanks to everyone who came to the 69th annual Middlesex County Fair as well as all the volunteers who helped make this week possible.

Once again, fairgoers were provided with an opportunity to help those in need through the fair's daily blood drives and through our Charity Challenge event.

I'm pleased to report that we broke our record of blood donors with 131 people donating blood during the week, and that Charity Challenge raised over $2,700 for the 27 charities that participated. Thanks to Bonamici, Colletti, CPAs of Spotswood for giving an additional $500 to the winning charity, We Share Smiles; Mikie Dee's Texas BBQ for giving an additional $100 to United Way of Central Jersey; and Upbeat News for giving an additional $50 to St. Peter's Community Development Corp.

We would also like to thank the vendors who helped with our special Disability Awareness Day event at the fair. Over 75 special-needs children and their families attended a private opening of the fairgrounds and were able to ride the rides, meet our county sheriffs, see the 4-H animals and enjoy hamburgers, hot dogs and ice cream. Special recognition goes out to the Milltown Ice Cream Depot, Wild Bill's Olde Fashion Soda Pop, the Middlesex County Sheriff's Department and Public Works Department, the Middlesex County 4-H, Michael Pearseley, and Skelly's Amusements.

With approximately 50,000 people attending this year's fair, we hope that everyone had a good time, and we look forward to seeing you all again at next year's 70th anniversary Middlesex County Fair.

Kirk A. Bonamici

director of public relations

Middlesex County Fair Association