‘Never seen anything like this’

The New Jersey State Fair-Sussex County Farm and Horse Show closed Saturday, Aug. 12 after a nine-day run.

Lauren Flatt of Ho-Ho-Kus was a first-time visitor, attending the fair with a gaggle of friends born and raised in Sussex County.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before, including some crazy rides, plus farm animals all in one place,” she said. “I love it.”

Among the interesting culinary creations this year were Pickles on a Stick.

Jerry Morelli, a former Sussex County sportscaster, had fond memories of covering the fair when he directed Mugs Media Video Productions. He and his co-host, Niki Morville Brand, would walk around and do interviews for “Skylands Weekly” on Service Electric Cable TV of NJ’s Channel 10.

“It was always a great time and I even got to have my daughter, Pumpkin, on the show,” he said. “We covered the horse show, the Queen of the Fair and interviewed countless locals. One of my favorites was the Demolition Derby.”

Brand said, “There is something so nostalgic about the fair. I covered the fair with (Morelli) for over 10 years and boy did we have so much fun.

“I absolutely loved following around the Queen of the Fair for a day; I enjoyed letting the viewers see a different side to her. We always ended the interview eating some sort of fried Oreo or luscious dessert.

“More than anything, though, my favorite part of the fair was joking around with Jerry. He would do funny imitations and I would always be laughing and pulling him back to our featured stories.”

Mugs Media and its coverage of the fair ended in 2016 when the show was dropped.