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Greater Jefferson County Fair to begin Monday
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
FAIRFIELD – The Greater Jefferson County Fair promises a week’s worth of thrilling entertainment from June 23-30 at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, with a theme of “Barn in the USA.”
Last year, the fair board moved the day of the fair parade from Tuesday of fair week to Monday to accommodate the kids participating in the horse show, since it was sometimes difficult for them to make the parade in time. The parade is once again on Monday this year, and will make its usual route from Fairfield High School to the downtown beginning at 7 p.m. June 23.
JEFFERSON COUNTY 4-H
The fair really ramps up on Wednesday, when Jefferson County 4-H will start the day bright and early by serving breakfast from 7-10:30 a.m. in the Cambridge Building. 4-H will offer breakfast every day through Sunday, and money raised will go toward 4-H clubs’ activities and projects. 4-H members will also offer soft-serve ice cream in the Activity Building Wednesday-Sunday, and money from ice cream sales will go toward deferring the cost of 4-H enrollment fees, which are $45 per member per year.
The 4-H Teen Council is sponsoring a new event this year, free square dancing at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the show arena. Jessica Howard will be the caller and accompanied by The Punches Family Band. Square dancing will occur after the Teen Council’s Ag Olympics for Clover Kids, 4-H and FFA members, which starts at 6 p.m. in the show arena.
Jefferson County 4-H County Director Courtney Burkhalter said fair-goers should note that a few shows have moved to different days this year, with the dog, cat and pet show moving to Monday morning at 9 a.m., with the dog agility show in the horse arena, then the cat, pet and remaining dog classes in the show arena. The 4-H Communications and Clothing Event will be at 1 p.m. Monday in the Cambridge Building.
The rest of the week will follow a familiar schedule of the horse show on Tuesday, goats and sheep on Thursday, swine and poultry on Friday, and finally cattle and rabbits on Saturday.
QUEEN CONTEST
The Queen Contest has anchored the Wednesday night entertainment in the show arena for many years, and this year will be no different. The Queen Contest and Little Miss Contest are both slated for 7 p.m. What’s new this year is that those shows will not be followed by the Bill Riley Talent Contest, which has been moved to Thursday night, at 5 p.m. in the show arena. Fair board President Mike Filson said that was done to make Wednesday night less congested, and to encourage the public to come back to the fairgrounds another night.
GRANDSTAND
Filson said the public will notice the new grandstand bleachers when they’re enjoying the grandstand acts this year.
“The new bleachers will be awesome, and we’ve needed new ones for a few years,” he said.
The fair board is using money it received through the Greater Jefferson County Foundation, from the estate of Edd and Darlene Felgar. The Felgars left money in their will for a new race way at the fairgrounds, though Filson said the fair board realized it was not cost-feasible to move the track, and thus decided to instead renovate the existing track and surrounding infrastructure. The fair board is working on installing new lights and speakers, too, though those won’t be ready for this year’s fair.
There is no admission to enter the fairgrounds, and tickets for grandstand entertainment will be collected as you enter the grandstand. This year’s grandstand acts are:
Thursday, June 26: Dirt Drags, 7 p.m.
Friday, June 27: Farm Truck & Tractor Pull, 10 a.m.
Friday, June 27: Twin-States Truck & Tractor Pull, 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 28: Motocross, practice at 9 a.m. followed by races
Saturday, June 28: Quad Races, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 29: Crash the Clunkers, 7 p.m.
GROUNDS ACTS
Fair-goers can look forward to a couple of new and free entertainment acts that will perform all week. One of them is called “Dangerous Feats of Comedy,” where performers do contortions, juggle fire, escape from straitjackets, balance ladders on their chin, swallow swords and much more.
“It’s a combination of funny yet dangerous feats,” Filson explained.
Dangerous Feats of Comedy will perform at least twice and usually three times per day starting Wednesday of fair week, though times change from day to day so consult the full fair schedule.
The other grounds act this year is “Wolves of the World,” which bills itself as the “only traveling wolf pack in the world.”
“This beautiful show demonstrates natural behaviors of wolves, their alertness, pack structure, ability in climbing, jumping and a whole lot more,” the group shared on the fair board’s website.
Filson said the fair board tries to have one grounds act every year, so this year is special because it will have two. He said members of the board attend the annual fair convention in Des Moines in December, where fair boards from around the state meet entertainment acts and sign contracts to perform at their county fairs.
“We’re lucky with our fair being early there are not many conflicts, so it’s easier for us to get our entertainment and carnival,” Filson said.
CARNIVAL
Speaking of carnival, Kenny’s Funland Carnival returns for another year. The carnival will be open 6-11 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, then 1-11 p.m. Friday, 4-11 p.m. Saturday and 5-10 p.m. Sunday.
“They’ve been here several years, and always do great,” Filson said. “They’re a good, clean carnival, and good to deal with. There was a good crowd last year for them, and hopefully we’ll get the same or more this year.”
Weekly ticket pre-sales are available now through June 25 at 5 p.m., and this gets a wristband with unlimited rides all week long. Tickets can be picked at the Jefferson County Extension Office, Libertyville Savings Bank and Iowa State Bank.
KID’S DAY
Jefferson County Farm Bureau is putting on Kid’s Day Friday, June 27. Jefferson County Farm Bureau Outreach Coordinator Hailey Shultz said Farm Bureau will set up a booth near the Cambridge Building from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., where active Farm Bureau members can receive a T-shirt and food voucher for either the FFA or 4-H booth. The organization will have a giveaway open to the public, and anyone can sign up for Farm Bureau membership that day.
Kids’ activities will run all day from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., including Farm Bureau’s Saw Dust Dig where children can dig for coins donated by local banks, which starts at 4:30 p.m., and Ohana Pedal Pull that starts at 6 p.m. In addition to these, there will be other activities for children such as pony rides, face-painting and a petting zoo. Miller’s Petting Zoo of Geneseo, Illinois, will be at the fair Wednesday through Sunday.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
