Pictured above is the 2017 Seaman Fall Festival Queen and Court. From left, Second Runner-Up Lydia Truitt, First Runner-Up Lakyn Hupp, Fall Festival Queen Jalyssa Carson, Third Runner-Up MacKenzie Toole, and Fourth Runner-Up Rylee Clift.

 

County’s oldest street fair ends with marathon tractor pull – 

By Patricia Beech – 

The 2017 Seaman Fall Festival concluded after a marathon Open Tractor Pull event that began at 9 a.m. Saturday morning and continued throughout the night until 6 a.m. the following day. The event featured Lightweight and Middleweight categories.
According to organizer Ernie Butts, more than 100 competitors showed up for the final event.
“Nothing went wrong,” said Butts. “It just took that long for everybody to finish.”
Hot, humid weather and clear skies greeted visitors to the festival which this year celebrated its 104th anniversary.
“We were very pleased with the crowds that turned out despite the hot weather,” said organizer Doris Bailey, who along with her husband Ralph, served as Grand Marshals in Saturday’s parade which featured local festival royalty, imaginative floats, Shriners, horseback riders, vintage cars, and a variety of classic and collectible tractors. The street fair is the oldest and longest-running festival in Adams County.

Driven by the dapper Rob Davis, the Grand Marshals of the Seaman Fall Festival Parade were Ralph and Doris Bailey.

“The festival is such a tradition in our community,” said long-time resident Lisa Toole. “It’s a great way to reconnect with people you haven’t seen in a while and catch up on old times and memories.”
“Beautiful Blessings of the Harvest” was the theme for this year’s festival which featured amusement rides, street food, and a wide variety of vendors along Main Street and in the Lions Club Park.
The festival kicked off Wednesday evening with the crowning of the 2017 Festival Queen, Jalyssa Carson, a senior at North Adams High School.
“I’m so proud to have the opportunity to represent my community,” said Carson. “Seaman is a great farm town, and all the people are so down-to-earth and humble, it’s a great place to grow up.”
Carson says competing in the pageant required that she step out of her comfort-zone.
“It felt like something I should do to support my community,” she said. “Plus, it gave me the chance to speak publicly, which is something I’m not very comfortable doing.”
She says she hopes to pursue a career in nursing after being graduated from high school.
“I plan on going to Southern State, then transferring to UC to get my BSN, after that I hope to work at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.”

Fruits and vegetables filled this float by Church 180 in Saturday’s Fall Festival Grand Parade.

The Queen’s Court included: First Runner-Up Lakyn Hupp; Second Runner-Up Lydia Truitt; Mackenzie Toole, Third Runner-Up; and Fourth Runner-Up Rylee Clift.
Also crowned during the event was the Festival’s Little Mister Jax Kingsley and Little Miss Emily Glenn.
Thursday the traditional School Parade led by the North Adams High School Band, marched the length of Main Street as parents and grandparents cheered them on. Each of the elementary classes carried an identifying sign and featured a parade theme including, but not limited to the U.S. Constitution, Music, Science, and Animals.
A wide variety of entertainers took to the stage during the four-day long event including: Storyteller – Miss Penny; gospel singer Debbie Palmer; the Inside Out Band; Hot Rod and the Fastlane; Like Father, Like Son; the Church 180 Praise Group; Mark Tolle; the Blood Bought Trio; Brandi Courtney and Pat Sagen; Mama Tam’s Blues Band; and Blackwater Soul. The Good Time Cloggers also gave several performances throughout the festival.