The Marion County Fairgrounds are coming alive in preparation for the 81st annual county fair.
Fair Board President Doug Telford says they are ready and excited after the fair had to be canceled last year due to COVID-19.
“All the fair board members put in a lot of hard hours the last couple weeks putting everything together. I’m really hopefully expecting good crowds. Hopefully, people bring out their items before noon for display in the exhibit building and come out the rest of the week and support the county fair.”
The exhibit building opens at noon Friday for entries. They will be accepted until six Friday evening and then again from nine to noon on Saturday. Judging will take place Saturday afternoon prior to the opening of the building to the public.
The first grandstand event is the motocross on Saturday night at six. There will be a free traditional gospel sing at seven Sunday night. The carnival will open on Sunday and run through Saturday, August 7th.
It’s also a big weekend for the Marion County 4H as the livestock shows will return after a year’s absence. The shows on Saturday include the swine show at eight, the dairy show at ten, the beef show at 10:30, and the sheep show at five pm. On Sunday, the Super showmanship award will be held at one and the tractor driving competition at 3:30. The Farm Olympics games have been canceled this year due to COVID-19 concerns. They will be replaced with games for the 4H members.
