WAUSEON, Ohio — The Fulton County Fair is one of the most popular fairs in the state and it continues to grow.
"It's the best fair in Ohio. who wouldn't want to come here?" camper Cory Sheller said.
Families come from all over and camp on the fairgrounds, which has become a tradition.
But, the tradition has grown so much there's not room for everyone and some families are forced to wait years to pitch their tents.
The Fulton County Fair is a family affair and a tradition for many for the last two, three or even four decades.
Virginia Lumbrezer has been participating in the tradition for nearly 60 years and remembers a time when there weren't this many people.
"I'd say tripled in size because the original fair was just this little go-round and now it's expanded," she said.
But now, families wait in lines.
Douglas Bauman, who has been camping at the Fulton fairground for 42 years said he counted 65 campers one year, when the fair was less crowded.
But this year, he estimates "there are close to seven or eight hundred campers here and there are campers across the woods trying to get in here."
Everyone who already has a spot secures it for the next year before the fair is over. But even as the fair grows, the number of camping spots stays the same.
The waitlist is about 10 years long.
"We were on it for at least two years before we got in," camper Jolene Myers said. "When we arrived we were down by the horse barn first, but we were cow people and needed to be at this end. They allowed us to switch with someone that needed to be in that direction."
The coveted lots at the Fulton County Fair are so important they're even passed down through the generations. Lumbrezer's family is one of those who hope to hold a generational camping spot.
What makes me feel good is that my children are camping, they are married. Hopefully, my granddaughter here as she gets married will hold on to my spot until it can go over to her," Lumbrezer said.
Those with a place on the fairgrounds aren't planning on giving it up any time soon.
"As long as we can, until I can't handle it anymore and set things up," Brian Myers said of the spot he's held for 27 years.
One woman on the waitlist said she has been waiting seven years and is praying next year is her lucky year.
She said some people don't have to wait as long because the size of the camper also plays a factor in getting a spot.