PITTSTON — This year’s Pittston Fair kicks off with agriculture day Thursday, but the highlight for Peter Weeks, vice president of the Pittston Fair Association, is the fireworks show Friday night.
He said he has nothing but praise for Steven Marson and his Central Maine Pyrotechnics shows.
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“Last year he lit us up like New York City,” Weeks said. “This year I told him we’d like to look like Chinatown or something.”
The 61st Pittston Fair will be held today through Sunday at Pittston Fairgrounds, on Route 194, and will include livestock demonstrations, a demolition derby, a loader and backhoe competition, the frying pan toss, and various truck, and tractor and livestock pull contests.
The carnival rides at the midway weren’t expected to start until Friday, but Weeks said the rides will be ready this afternoon.
Weeks said the organizers have 60 to 70 bicycles for the popular bicycle giveaway on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
The annual Strawberry Queen, Strawberry Princess and Little Blossom will be crowned Sunday afternoon at the Strawberry Pageant.
Fair organizers added a burnout competition, a popular event at the biannual mud runs, to the Saturday night schedule, Weeks said.
“We let the cars go in there and get a plate of steel and let the kids burn out for a minute,” he said, “see how much smoke they can make.”
Around 30 to 40 volunteers help run the fair each year, setting up displays, measuring and judging events, and cleaning, said Weeks.
“We all want to judge the strawberry pie contest, but I’m only the vice president,” he said. “The president usually does that.”
Marson, also owner and CEO of Pyro City Maine Fireworks Store, said his crew has a few tricks up its sleeves for this year’s fireworks show.
“A lot of people thought last year’s show was spectacular,” he said, “and this year’s display will mirror what happened last year and maybe even be a little bit better because of the new special effects we have in the show.”
Marson said Central Maine Pyrotechnics has 43 new fireworks designs that it will be showing off for the Pittston Fair crowd for the first time.
“Fireworks can get boring if you do the same thing over and over and over,” he said. “We try to do a very good job of livening up every show with new products.”
Paul Koenig — 621-5663
pkoenig@mainetoday.com
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