Photo by Derek Redd Ohio County Country Fair board members Mike DeArdo, left, and Nancy Lewis, right, accept a donation from Wheeling Rotary President Jamie Crow for family movie nights at the fair this year.

Organizers at the Ohio County Country Fair knows that finding things to do as a family can sometimes be a pretty big hit to the wallet. This year, at their annual fair, they want to give families a free event to enjoy — and they’re getting the Wheeling Rotary’s help to do it.

Fair organizers accepted a $500 donation from the Wheeling Rotary on Tuesday afternoon to fund two family movie nights at the fair, which runs Friday, Oct. 2 through Sunday, Oct. 4, at Oglebay Park Resort, running alongside Oglebayfest. On that Friday, the fair will show “Cars,” and on that Saturday, it will show “Paddington 2.” Fair board member Nancy Lewis said the fair wanted to expand its offerings to families this year.

“Families are going through the summer with prices where they are,” she said. “And then you get to the start of school and money gets even tighter. We wanted to make sure there was some extra entertainment that everyone can enjoy.”

Rotary President Jamie Crow said fair organizers recently spoke before the group, and their message struck the members in a way that they wanted to help in the endeavor.

“We’re just really excited with the work they do for the community and especially its children,” Crow said. “We’re excited to be able to give back to kids and doing things that they love.”

Lewis said the movie nights will include free popcorn, and families can bring picnic meals to enjoy during the showings. She also said that the fair will have a new cake-baking contest for children, where they can bring in their already-made cakes to be judged. Other new events are also in the pipeline, she said.