T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA The Causin Trouble Truck competes at the tractor pull at the Belmont County Fair.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — When you think of fairs you think of rides, games and food.

But the Belmont County Fair aims to provide live entertainment free of charge.

One of the many shows is the KidBuck$ Gameshow.

Florida residents Bryan Weller and Mary Swim are the entertainers behind the show.

Weller said that he believes it’s important for live entertainment at fairs to be included into the price of admission.

“Look at what you get for your entertainment dollar today. I love going to the movies, but I don’t get to go to the movies with my family because to take seven of us to a movie. You’re talking $300 a movie,” he said. “That’s one of the things I think we really like about working at the carnivals. I’m very proud, because here at the fair, for $15 you come in, you don’t just see my show. You see a thrill show, a circus, a dinosaur show, a concert and whatnot.”

Weller is referencing the Stone Age Show, The Steamers Thrill Show, and various local and regional bands as well as nationally recording artist Adam Calvert, who performed on Friday night.

In addition to the live acts, a Mobile Dairy Classroom and Mobile Glass Studio are at the fair to entertain while educating the children in attendance.

The Mobile Dairy Classroom is a dairy trailer that hauls a dairy cow named Clover, with the goal to educate the public of where their food comes from, how it’s made, and show them the milking process.

The Stone Age Show is a show where the entertainers dress and the Flintstones and juggle. They also use large-scale dinosaur puppets to interact with the children in attendance while informing the crowd of facts about dinosaurs.

Steamers Thrill Show is a high-octane acrobatic show with a wheel of danger, balancing chair act, hula hooping and various thrills.

The Mobile Glass Studio is a glassblowing demonstration with glass artist Ryan Gothrup.

Weller said that in pop culture the term “carny” gets a negative connotation, but he doesn’t mind.

He said that he loves the nomadic lifestyle that comes along with working at fairs around the country.

He added that one of his favorite states to work in is Ohio.

Weller said that not only Ohio, but West Virginia also tends to have the most energetic crowds.

“When I look at the route and I see that I’m coming to Ohio, I get excited,” Weller said. “The kids are just so spirited and competitive. We always look forward to coming to any place in Ohio.”

The KidBuck$ gameshow has Swim hand out raffle tickets to the children in attendance.

Following the distribution of raffle tickets, she then picks numbers out of a lottery spinner.

The children with the lucky numbers compete through various tasks for the chance to enter the KidBuck$ money booth. There, the winner gets a minute in the booth to collect as many KidBuck$ as they can. After that minute is over, the winner will be able to purchase various stuffed animals from Weller and Swim.

“I get paid to give away prizes,” Weller joyfully said when asked if he enjoys his job.

He said that the best part of his job is seeing all of the parents and grandparents with their children enjoying the show as well.

Weller’s a grandfather, so he knows the feeling of taking his kids and his grandkids to the fair.

“I always said when the boys are out of high school and can take care of themselves, we’re gonna do the carnival a little longer. Maybe we’ll do the show a little longer. Maybe we’ll make concessions,” he said. “Now that I have grandkids, oh my goodness, I would have had them first if I knew grandkids were so much fun. So for me, I like watching the grandparents and watching mom and dad. It’s really touching.”

Another free event at the fair both Friday and Saturday nights is square dancing.

Belmont County 4-H Program Assistant Sarah Galavich said that the live music to accompany the square dancing is Deep Down Country.

She added that no matter your square dancing experience, anyone is welcomed and encouraged to participate.

“It’s literally a group, and you stand in the square, and there’s people you dance with,” Galavich said. “There’s always people needing sets and needing couples.”

She added that the songs being played during the square dance will actually tell the dancers what to do, similar to the Electric Slide and the Cha Cha Slide.