Washington County gears up for fair week

WASHINGTON — Volunteers, 4-H’ers and families in Washington County are counting down the days to the fair next week.

Fair Board Vice President Kurt Dallmeyer said anticipation was running high.

“There’s a lot of new exciting things that haven’t been to our fair before,” he said. “We’ve spent a little over $120,000 on entertainment this year, and the great thing about that is once you get in, everything is free. You can buy season passes for $25 … or it’s $10 a day admission.”

Dallmeyer said the goal of giving fairgoers a new experience was what made the week for many families.

“You’re probably guaranteed see something or experience something at the fair that you’ve never seen before,” he said. “That’s one of the things we pride ourselves on, is getting new entertainment along with some of the stuff that have been fan favorites for a lot of years.”

Fair administrators hope to outdo themselves this year. The bar to do so is high after last summer’s events drew massive turnout.

“Last year we had a spectacular year, I would say record attendance,” Dallmeyer said. “We’d love to try and continue to get more and more people coming out to the fair, we are always looking for new entertainment and new things to do.”

Washington County ISU Extension 4-H and Youth Coordinator Amy Green said kids’ participation for the 2022 fair showed promising trends.

“Almost all the project areas are up from last year,” she said. “That’s exciting, to know a lot of kids are more excited to bring more back, or more kids are excited to be a part of it.”

The energy among fairgoers — from staff to 4-H’ers — is high, according to Green. For many, the week before the fair is crunchtime.

“All this week, we’ve got a different major event or meeting every night, so it is nonstop,” Green said. “We are doing all the things so that once the fair comes, it’s ready for everybody else.”

Some pre-pandemic programming is set to return to this year’s fair.

“Pride of Iowa has always been a popular food tasting exhibition, so we’re excited to have that back again,” Green said. “We have a great group working on our Little Hands on the farm which is a very strong tradition … so we’re excited to have guests come and be a part of that again.”

A full schedule of the 2022 Washington County Fair’s events the week of July 17-22 can be found on the group’s website.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com