Fun at the fair: Season kicks off this week with Jacktown Fair
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The tractor pull is a Greene County Fair staple.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
A school bus is totaled and out of the running at the Washington County Fair’s annual demolition derby last year. The popular event returns this year.
Is there anything more epitomical of summertime than funnel cake, live music, carousels and tractor pulls at the county fair?
Southwestern Pennsylvania’s county fairs are more than summer fun. They’re tradition, and this year, all four offer a nostalgic mix of old sprinkled with new. Fair season officially kicked off July 18 with Greene County’s Jacktown Fair and ends with an anniversary bang in Washington. Read on for all you need to know about this year’s county fairs.
Fayette County Fair
The Fayette County Fair boasts a wonderful mix of old and new this year, and folks can expect a lineup of agriculture shows and contests alongside thrilling shows every day from July 27 through Aug. 5.
“We’ve done some improvements on the grounds,” said fair President Bill Jackson. “We have what we call our family area. Some of the staples are petting zoos and pig racing. We feel like we have the best carnival on the east coast, Powers Great American Midways. Just top-notch.”
Demolition derbies and motocross events are always crowd-pleasers, and this year the fair announces the addition of new spectacles.
“Something new this year is drag racing,” Jackson said. “In the indoor arena on Thursday, Aug. 3, is RYES Wrestling. It’s a pro-wrestling group that’s somewhat local and has a big following.”
Other shows include a frisbee dog show, which performs three times each day, a circus thrill show and illusionist Josh Knotts, a Washington County native who travels the country performing at county fairs. The annual Milk Chugging Contest is open to competitors of all ages and takes place at 5 p.m. Aug. 3 at EQT Arena (which received a new roof this year as part of the fair’s beautification efforts).
Live musical performances by Twitty and Lynn, the grandchildren of Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, at 7 p.m. July 28 and The Clarks at 7:30 p.m. July 29 are sure to pack EQT Arena.
The fair fun – tractor pulls, open horse shows, a cheerleading exhibition, carnival rides and games, among other activities – is sandwiched between a firemen’s parade at 7 p.m. July 27 and a chili cook-off at 11 a.m. Aug. 5 (judging is at 2 p.m.).
But for Jackson, it’s the agricultural demonstrations, judging and sales that make the Fayette County Fair the Fayette County Fair.
“I’m like a lot of people: I grew up and that was kind of the highlight of summer. First and foremost, it’s an agricultural fair. Our goal is to showcase agriculture,” said Jackson. “For kids, the 4-H particularly, it’s the culmination of a lot of work for them over the year.”
This year’s county fair tickets include all carnival rides and shows, and are on sale throughout Fayette at a $5 discount through July 26.
A full schedule of themed days, discounts and events can be found online at https://www.fayettefair.com.
Greene County Fair
When the Greene County Fair first opened in about 1867, among the entertainment lineup were horse-racing, gambling and the “Shooting-Gallery Man,” and the latter two drew condemnation from local newspapers.
In the 1890s, the illegal sale of beer and whiskey was OK’d, and in 1912 Joe “Birdman” Stevenson crashed his 80-horsepower plane during takeoff over the fairgrounds (the weather that day was bad).
This year’s fair runs from Aug. 6 through 12, and kicks off with a draft horse halter show at 10 a.m. Aug. 6, followed by an afternoon draft horse hitch show.
The six-day affair continues with a variety of agricultural and carnival entertainment, including harness racing at noon Aug. 8 and 9, 4-H and FFA awards Aug. 10 and a Kids Power Wheels Derby Aug. 11.
“The woodcarving show’s coming back, he (Nate Howard) does a really good job,” said Eric Marshall, fair president, noting works made throughout the week are up for auction Saturday. “It’s always been pretty popular.”
Also popular: the Hardcore and Chaos in Coal Country Demolition Derbies.
“This is our fourth or fifth year working with the guys from Hardcore Demolition Derby. That’s always been our biggest night. We’ve had really record attendance the last couple years. The crowds really show up for that,” Marshall said.
The tractor and truck pulls are also fan favorites, he said.
New this year is a mini vendor fair for older adults, sponsored by the county commissioners and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Area Agency on Aging. The fair connects older fairgoers to local resources from 2 to 6 p.m. Aug. 10.
The fair will for the first time welcome country sensation Michael Ray to the grandstand Wednesday night as part of Ray’s 2023 tour. Ray, known for his song “Whiskey and Rain,” recently released a six-song EP and music video.
“We’re very excited for him to be coming to our fair,” Marshall said.
Admission will be $15 on Michael Ray day, to cover the costs of having the country singer in town. Admission is $10 all other days, including KOI drag race night, another popular attraction.
“You can bring your motorcycle, whatever you want to bring, you can drag race against your friends,” Marshall said.
Laser tag is back, from 3 to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and amusement rides open at 5 p.m. nightly starting Monday, Aug. 7.
All the fair foods visitors love will again be available, and live judging of baked goods, including angel food cake and apple pie, are sure to draw a crowd Aug. 7. Of course, market and livestock events occur daily in the barns, and there’s plenty of beauty to be seen at the home and garden shows.
“There’s a good mix of everything for everybody,” Marshall said.
The Greene County Fair comes to a close with the ever-popular tractor pulls Saturday at 7:30 p.m., after a week filled with what Marshall hopes are large, happy crowds.
“Recently, since the pandemic, people were looking for something to do. For 10 bucks, you can pay one price to come do all the things we offer at the fair,” he said. “You only get this once a year. I think that’s what kind of brings everybody back.”
For a full schedule, visit https://greenecountyfair.org/schedule.
Washington County Fair
The Washington County Fair is pulling out all the stops for its 225th anniversary.
All visitors receive a commemorative 225th anniversary ticket at the entrance, and while the fair kicks off with the annual lawn and garden tractor pull at 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, followed by baking contests and a demo derby, the real celebration begins Aug. 13.
Sunday, Aug. 13, is a day filled with nostalgia and plain old fun.
“The first day of the fair will still be Saturday, Aug. 12. Typically we would have the opening ceremonies and everything that evening in the show tent. This year, that will all take place Sunday. We’re going to have a parade that Sunday afternoon,” said Wayne Hunnell, fair secretary.
The parade will march grandly down Main Street and onto the fairgrounds, where an antique classic car show revs up around 4 p.m. and the grand opening ceremony welcomes visitors at 6 p.m. at the grandstand.
“I think it’ll be great,” Hunnell said. “We’ve got a lot of interest in it. We’ve got a horse and carriage lined up, state fair queen, our fair queen, other floats. It’s going to be some exciting times.”
Exciting too are the new additions to both the fairgrounds and programming this year.
Visitors can admire the new memorial plaza near the draft horse barn, or the beautiful mural depicting fair history by Diane Adams. Trucks and tractors depicting the evolution of agriculture and farming in Washington County will be on display all week long in Hall No. 1.
A butterfly tent offers a magical experience to kids and adults alike daily starting Aug. 14.
“It will have at any given time 200 to 300 butterflies in it,” Hunnell said, adding that for a $1 donation people are welcome to feed the butterflies as the colorful creatures flutter about and an educational video plays. “That’s the first, to my knowledge, the first time we’ve had anything like it.”
While there’s plenty new at this year’s fair, old favorites are sure to delight, too. Magic4U is back with two shows daily Aug. 14 through 19, carnival rides run into each evening and there’s plenty of sweet and savory food to entice all palettes.
Demolition derbies will be held Aug. 12 and Aug. 18, and the school bus demolition derby kicks up dust Wednesday, Aug. 16.
“The regular auto derby is the first Saturday and the last Friday. Last year, that Friday night, if I remember off the top of my head, we had 13,000-plus people here,” Hunnell said, noting about that many people turned out for all three demo derbies. “You can hardly move through here. It was crazy.”
This year’s music lineup features country pop star Russell Dickerson on the grandstand stage Aug. 13. People may purchase tickets, including stage seating, ahead of time online.
Hometown favorite Aaron Margaria is slated to perform Aug. 14; Earth Wind and Fire tribute band Let’s Groove Tonight takes the stage Aug. 15, and Ruff Creek, Joey Adams and the Marcus Tyler Band will also perform throughout the week.
All week long, the fair will host livestock demonstrations, shows and auctions, which is still the main reason so many flock to the fair year after year, according to a survey taken a couple years ago, Hunnell said.
“The top reason was still to see the animals,” he said. “The No. 2 was the food, and I think third or fourth place was actually the carnival rides. The largest percentage was still coming here to view the animals and see the animal shows.”
Shows abound, and the 225th anniversary fair comes to a close with a cheese auction, a street stocks show and the Rock N Roll Pet Kids Show Aug. 19.
For a full schedule of events and more on the Washington County Fair, visit https://washingtonfair.org.