Stark County Fairgrounds — Attraction in Canton

Rarely do I make reviews, but I’m going to make one first off if you are looking for friendly do not go to the Stark county fair because the workers are not kid friendly. They more than half the time will treat your child like they are a nuisance the way my kids got treated today for acting like KIDS was not acceptable secondly, the guy that was running the ticket stand gets mad at you for just asking simple questions. I have not been to the Stark county fair since I was pregnant with my first daughter and that was seven years ago, so I was unfamiliar with how things worked and especially how different they were because it was Labor Day and like I said the guy running the ticket stand got mad at me for asking very simple questions. The vendors that they have there on the food side are rude and impatient I wanted a fried cheese stick and when asked if the had any marinara to go with it because I don’t like ketchup I got “YA GET KETCHUP OR MUSTARD NOW PICK!!” (Mind you there was no one behind me or in line) so I told them “no thank you” and left vendors will also try to scam you out of your money and when I say try to scam, I mean, I am literally looking at two separate charges on my cash app card for the same food truck even though I only ordered from them once. And another food truck that I only got fries from, tried to up their price on me and fight me on the fact that my fries were coming up more than what it says they Cost on their own sign and then tried to claim it must’ve been a mishap on the systems end. They will also automatically tip themselves if you pay with card. As a server myself I always tip no matter what unless the service is atrocious. For how expensive everything is you’d think they would be able to hire some friendlier Staff and better vendors I think next year we’ll save some money and try the...

Overall most of the events at the fairgrounds are nice, the fair itself has gotten a lot better over the past few years as well. The improvements to the grandstand were much needed and a nice touch. But if you're coming here for an event (for example the Olde Antique Faire) expect to pay $5 or more for admission and to find higher priced items. Vendors at these types of events have to up prices to account for lower turn out due to this being Stark County and drawing smaller crowds.

In terms of the yearly county Fair, the concession vendors and entertainment company have become a lot higher quality in recent years. The events associated with the fair are decent quality, the demolition derby and truck/tractor pulls draw a big crowd. And the concerts the fair board has been bringing in have been better than they were years ago. But overall it's still a slightly run down property needing improvements. If the fair board could afford to update some parts of the property it'd draw a...

I’m sure the business of running a fair is complicated so it is hard to criticize something you don’t understand. That being said, it really seems to me that the concessions and product over all has become watered down when you compare the fair to what it was in the 80’s - 90’s. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a pretty good product (just not a great one) that seems like it is just missing that wow factor.

I have a lot of cynicism concerning the fair and the Ribs Burnoff for many years now. These conversations often lead to “the people running it are to greedy and are overcharging for spots”. To me that sounds shortsighted, and for what it is, has all the musings of a rumor. I wouldn’t normally include that, but it is (real or perceived) what a large percentage of people in the metro area believe.

Don’t miss out on this event though, especially if you have children. It is a really good time even if it ain’t 😅what...