Fair ready to welcome people back for a reunion
Published 8:00 am Saturday, August 3, 2024
- Cars battle over the first jump in the first heat of the autocross event last year at the Mower County Fair. Herald file photo
The six biggest days of the year are nearly here as preparations continue leading up to the 2024 Mower County Fair, which begins Tuesday.
Running Aug. 6-11, the fair is one of the most anticipated times of the summer and by all indications this year looks like it could be one of the biggest in years.
“With the interest we’ve had in all the different areas of the fair this year, I think our grounds will be as full as it’s ever been,” said Fair Board President Kevin Finley. “There’s more excitement, I believe, than we’ve had in a long time.”
Finley said that livestock numbers are looking up, the commercial building is full and has had to turn away some and that the amount of food vendors is also up.
“It’s just amazing the interest and involvement from the community right now,” Finley said.
On the surface, the fair will look much the same as it’s looked in years past, with many of the old favorites returning that have had people coming back for years.
While there aren’t any particular big additions to the list of events at the fair this year, Finley said that the board has instead focused on a continual plan of growth. In growing, the fair only has so much space it can expand to, but by doing it this way, it can continue to grow the quality of one of the most recognizable fairs in southeastern Minnesota.
“The thing is, I believe we’ve been slowly trying to add all along something new,” Finley said, noting that the fair has embraced sponsorships, businesses in the community and activities of those participating. “We can only grow to a certain size, but we can certainly grow our involvement and activities and stuff like that.”
And it’s paid off with the addition and enhancement of Purple Ribbon Plaza just a few years ago and the renovation of the Fair Square this year that has added a permanent stage to the location.
These additions have only built on what people have remembered from previous visits.
“The grounds and facilities, bar none, are as nice as anything around,” Finley said. “People like to be a part of that. We try to provide those things for all different ages and all different involvements.”
That’s not to say that there aren’t some big things happening.
This year’s fair will mark the return of the Thorni Ridge Exotic Petting Zoo and the dinosaur-themed Jurassic Kingdom Lockdown, both of which were new to the fair in 2023 and were big hits.
There will also be some new food vendors that Finley said should draw plenty of attention.
At the same time, the host of grandstands events should be just as popular as ever, kicking off Tuesday night with the Motokazie Supercross.
On Wednesday, autocross returns for some four-wheeled action after finding a great deal of past interest.
“Wednesday we struggled a little bit to find what worked and filled the niche,” Finley said. “Autocross has filled that well.”
Wednesday night is the NTPA Tractor Pull that has registered enough interest to warrant the addition of new classes and then Friday and Saturday are the ever-popular Great Frontier Bull Riding shows.
“We’ve done very well both nights,” Finley said in speaking to the switch a couple years ago to two nights rather than one night. “We haven’t had to turn anybody away, but we’ve had a capacity crowd.”
Grandstand events end Sunday afternoon with the Master of Disasters Demolition Derby.
All events at the grandstands start at 7 p.m. except for Sunday’s show, which starts at 2 p.m.
These events have all proven to be popular in years past, but what really stands the Mower County Fair out is the family atmosphere of the fair itself.
Finley said that the fair each year is often akin to a family reunion with friends and family meeting up in familiar places and generations showing in the same buildings that family have shown in previous years.
It lends to a special event like few others.
“If you look up in the grandstands compared to different fairs and counties, ours are all family affordable,” Finely said. “You see it full of kids and families and that’s what the fair is all about.”
“It’s the best six days of the year I think,” Finely continued. “Truly the fair is like a big family reunion.”
For more on what’s happening at the Mower County Fair, visit: www.mowercountyfair.com/
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