MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — The gates to the West End Fair near Gilbert are open for the 102nd year, and fairgoers are heading straight to the midway.
But it was a rocky start to the fun.
Just two hours into opening day Sunday, fair organizers were forced to make the decision to close for the day.
"Opening day, Mother Nature brought us torrential downpours. A lot of rain in very little time," said Peanut Greenzweig, West End Fair President.
"The cars, all of our cars, were halfway through the tires of water," said Kim Hoffman.
These photos show areas of fairgrounds flooded with several inches of water.
But Monday is a much different story. Only a few puddles remain around the grounds.
Kim Hoffman helps out at Our Lady Queen of Peace Kitchen. She says the rain filled the place up faster than she's ever seen, "We're lucky that we are in a building versus you feel bad for the vendors in tents."
A day after those downpours, things are drying up nicely inside the gates; however, outside the gates, fair officials are still working to drain out the parking lot.
"Out front right now, they took 20,000 gallons out of the holes and another 15,000 gallons to go. The parking lots look good; time and sunshine will dry them up," said Greenzweig.
For many of the organizations running food stands, the fair is the largest fundraiser of the year, and the rain won't put a damper on the rest of the week.
"Last year, I know we did 7k on the first day on Sunday, and we went down to 700 yesterday, so it was a big difference, but we are optimistic, knowing that the rest of the week is going to be sunny and cool," said Hoffman.
The West End Fair runs through Sunday.