Volunteers making all the magic happen at the Del. State Fair

Behind all the Delaware State Fair favorites — the rides, food, fun and games is the people that make it all possible.

"Everything is volunteer so most of my people have full time jobs or other things to do so it is kind of a lot on some people but it's just something we all love," explains Trina Stump, a long-time volunteer at the Fair. 

Hundreds of volunteers make their way to the fair all week long to put on the best experience yet. 

And for many of the volunteers, it's a tradition to help out just like heading to Harrington is for fairgoers themselves. 

"When I was younger, my mother was actually one of the superintendents of the culinary department so then I phased in so it is a generational kind of family thing here," says Stump. 

For them the fair is a chance to catch up with those they only see this time of year. That holds true for volunteers like Mike Hamm and Stump who have been doing this for decades.

Hamm explains, "It's like a family reunion every year. People we don't see the rest of the year we get together. There's eight of us on the team, but there's actually more people that aren't listed on the team that come and help out." 

"Most of us are really excited just to come to the fair to see our old friends and to see people we only see at the fair," says Stump. 

It's a lot of work, a lot of months preparing, but it's all worth it when they see the smiles on everyone's faces.