Community finds a spotlight at Sarasota County Fair

By Ian Swaby
| 9:30 a.m. March 19, 2025

Fifth grader Grace Welden (front), won the grand champion dairy goat award. She is pictured here with her goat Paddy Whack and three generations of family members involved in agriculture: her grandfather Chuck Johnston, aunt Sarah Herlihy, brother Eli Welden, 5, mother Katie Johnston, father JR Welden, grandmother Peggy Johnston and aunt Jessica Duncan.

Sarasota
Neighbors

The Sarasota County Fair is a longstanding tradition, including for Grace Welden's family.

Her mother Katie Johnston grew up showing animals there along with her two sisters, and together with JR Welden, who is now her husband and Grace's father.

Johnston's parents Chuck and Peggy Johnston are beef cattle ranchers in Sarasota since 1979.

Now, as Grace, a homeschool fifth grader, made her first foray into showing animals in 2025, it resulted in her receiving the grand champion dairy goat award on March 15.

"It's really fun doing it," Welden said. "(The goats) finally get to know you, then they will listen to you, then they will know their name and stuff," she said.

Johnston called it "kind of a full circle moment for us as parents now."

"Whenever I was showing, we showed together, and now that we have Grace, now she's showing, so we had a 20-year break, but we're back at it," she said.

The Sarasota County Fair is being held from March 14-23, and also features rides, food, live entertainment, art projects by community members and more.

Raleigh Downing, 6, catches a toy shark.

Emma Baird, 7, and her mom Sarah Anderson, explore while carrying some colorful new purchases from the fair.

10th grader Delvin Evans, 9th grader Zaccheus Weeks and 9th grader Ashtyn Law-Johnson of 4-H grew plants for the agricultural display.

Inti Tambaco of Native Winds plays the pan flute.

Sarasota High School senior Briseyda Montiel-Torres won first place in her division as well as the best in show award in the fair's art exhibition. She spent two to four months on the project. "This year, creating that was a lot of work, and now that it's very valuable, and it's up on the front my last year as a senior, it feels really nice," she said.

Aralynn Santos-Meyer, 2, and her mom Rhiannon Santos-Meyer meet Jimmy the goat.

Sarasota High School senior Stormi McMenamin, the Florida Virtual School Future Farmers of America chapter representative, and Andrew Hopper, who was on the senior level in the dairy goat competition, stand by fourth grader Sofia Rose Peric as she sings the national anthem.

Colton Kuykendall of the intermediate competition walks with Confection.

Eighth grader Olivia Esenwein poses with Milky Way

Andrew Hopper of the senior level walks with Tristan, while Jason Henry of the senior level walks with Betsy.

Adeline Earl, of the junior level, walks Karat.

Wyatt Johnston of the senior level holds Bubbles.

Jason Henry of the senior competition handles Betsy.

Colton Kuykendall, of the intermediate level walks Bitter Sweet while Andrew Hopper of the senior level walks Daisy.

Pinson Skyhigh "Ivory" walks with eighth grader Kaleen Callahan during the costume contest.

Grace Welden of the junior level walks with Paddy Whack.

Madison King, 13, and her cow Pickles, make their way around the arena during the costume contest.

Second grader Ava O'Mahony walks with her guinea pig Lock during the costume contest.

Luca Passalacqua, 7, and Emmitt Questel, 8, meet Oscar the robot.

Gilligan the capuchin monkey, of Banana Derby, makes a lap in a race.

Matheus Siqueira tends to one of the seals.

Paul Meador starts his blacksmith's fire.

author

Ian Swaby

Ian Swaby is the Sarasota neighbors writer for the Observer. Ian is a Florida State University graduate of Editing, Writing, and Media and previously worked in the publishing industry in the Cayman Islands.