This year will be the first year of the updated grandstand built with a $750,000 grant from the state with a ribbon-cutting ceremony taking place Monday, July 22.
Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s fair.
Admission and parking
The fairgrounds is located at 1715 Fairgrove Ave. and opens its gates at 7 a.m. and closes at 11 p.m. Parking is off North Fair Avenue while another entrance on the north side of the fairgrounds is accessible by foot.
General daily admission is $10 per person and $5 for children ages 6-12 accompanied by adults. There are multi-day passes for seven and four days priced at $35 and $25 respectively. All admission has parking included.
Seniors above the age of 62 and veterans will have free admission on July 24. Saturday, July 27 will have a discounted price of $5 for adults and free admission for children ages 6-12.
For grandstand events, attendees will have to pay $10 to $15 for each event while children’s tickets are $5 for every event. A grandstand wristband for all events is available for adults and children for $40 and $15 respectively.
What’s new
This year’s fair sports a new entertainment tent next to the farm zone. The tent is part of another new addition; daily live music. Butler County Fair Board of Directors President Doug Turner said the event wanted to add something new for fairgoers.
“We try to add something different every year when you come to fair so everything’s not exactly the thing,” Turner said.
The stage will be full of local acts which Turner said the fair is “lucky to get.” There will be local acts from 2-6:30 p.m. every day.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Daily events
The main events for each day of the week vary. To get the most out of your trip or multiple trips, make sure to find what day has what you want to see.
Sunday - Sunday kicks off the festivities with a full day of tractor pulls. The day starts with a garden tractor pull at 10 a.m. and adds in an antique tractor pull at 4 p.m. In between the shows, open-class beef breeding judging begins at 1 p.m.
Monday - Junior fair sheep and poultry shows start the day at 9 a.m. Cake judging follows at 11:30 a.m. A ribbon-cutting event for the updated grandstands will take place at 10:30 a.m. The Dakre County Tractor Pullers Association will be featured at 7 p.m. with a tractor, semi and truck pull.
Tuesday - The junior fair begins horse showings at 9 a.m. including jumping and dressage. Fairgoers with a sweet tooth should stick around until the pie and cake auction at 6 p.m. before an action-packed rodeo at 7 p.m.
Wednesday - Wednesday is the start of four straight days of derbies with the first demolition derby of the week at 7 p.m. After the junior fair shows of feeder calves, market goats and rabbits at 9 a.m., the small animal showman of showman is at 3 p.m.
Thursday - Open class market goat and born-and-raised beef breeding kicks off the day at 9 a.m. followed by a men’s bake-off at 11:30 a.m. The second demolition derby of the week starts at 7 p.m.
Friday - Friday is full of exciting events including the horse fun show at 9 a.m. and the barnyard rodeo fun day at 10 a.m. For those looking to take home a souvenir, the woodcarving auction starts at 5 p.m. before the last demolition derby of the week at 7 p.m.
Saturday - The week winds down with a beer and wine tasting and judging from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. before the combine derby at 7 p.m. with free admission.
Rides and games will be open from July 23 to July 29.
Find a complete list of events and times in the 2024 Fairbook, which is online at butlercountyohfair.org/2021-fairbook.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
About the Author