Marion County Fair begins Wednesday
Old favorites combined with new attractions will highlight this year's Marion County Fair, which starts Wednesday.
The most well-known of these new attractions is the Women's Ranch Rodeo, which will be held Wednesday night after the parade.
Never before has the county fair featured a ranch rodeo — let alone one for women, said Vida Bartel, fair coordinator.
"I really think that could be a winning event," Bartel said.
In addition to the traditional rodeo activities like roping and bull riding, the ranch rodeo brings in activities that would be done on the day-to-day operations of a ranch. That includes cow-milking, roping, and branding.
"The ranch is all activity-driven," Bartel said.
Another new aspect of this year's fair is the use of local performers as nightly entertainment, instead of bringing "career" entertainers who make their livelihood performing.
"We said, 'Let's look at local things,'" Bartel said.
So Wednesday night, while the women's ranch rodeo is in full-swing, Vicki's School of Dance will perform at the pavillion. After they're finished, the Hillsboro Community Band, led by Greg Walker, will perform.
On Thursday, another relatively new activity returns to the fair for a second year: the Van Der Creek Pedal Pull. Action for the mini-tractor pull starts at 1 p.m. for ages 4 to 12.
Winners of the county pedal pulls can qualify for state competition, which will be held at the Kansas State Fair in September. For that reason, many youngsters from outside the county should be competing, Bartel said.
Thursday night, the Sunflower Stompers Clogging Team will kick it up on the pavillion. They hail from McPherson, and it will be their first appearance at the Marion County Fair.
Friday night, the contemporary Christian group "Just Cuz" will make their fair debut at the pavillion.
Something brand-new that all 4-H competitors should take note of involves the money awarded to winners.
Instead of mailing checks at a later time, 4-H'ers will get one shot to pick up their winnings on Saturday, between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., at the portable fair office, Bartel said.
But don't come to the fair just for the new stuff — come for the old favorites.
Like the demolition derby, which is always the fair's biggest draw, Bartel said. The demo derby starts at 7 p.m. — but Hillsboro residents should be able to hear it from their homes.
Bartel predicts that there will be spectators standing at the 2,000-seat arena after all the seats are taken.
"They will be full," she said.
And of course, the men's rodeo, held Thursday and Friday nights, is always a traditional favorite. Attendance has increased at the rodeo for the past few years, Bartel said.
But beyond the rodeo and the food and the carnival rides, the ultimate purpose of the fair is to display the hard work of county 4-H groups.
"The whole thrust of the fair is to create a forum for 4-H," Bartel said. "Basically, we are there for 4-H."
Schedule
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 7
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Open class entry check-in
10 a.m. — 4-H entry check-in
4 to 10 p.m. — Rock climbing wall
6:30 p.m. — Fair parade, begins at Main Street/Third Street intersection, continues south to D and west to fairgrounds
7:30 p.m. — Emprise Bank watermelon feed
7:30 p.m. — Women's Ranch Rodeo
7:30 p.m. — Vicki's School of Dance
8 p.m. — Hillsboro Community Band
THURSDAY, AUG. 8
2 p.m. — Van De Creek pedal pull, ages 4 to 12
4 to 10 p.m. — Rock climbing wall
6:30 p.m. — Sunflower Stompers clogging team
7 p.m. — Horseshoe pitching tournament
7:30 p.m. — 4-H style review
8 p.m. — Men's rodeo
FRIDAY, AUG. 9
1 p.m. — Ag seminar
1:30 p.m. — 4-H round robin showmanship contest
6:30 p.m. — 4-H livestock sale
7:30 p.m. — "Just Cuz" contemporary Christian music
8 p.m. — Men's rodeo
SATURDAY, AUG. 10
8 a.m. to 1 p.m. — Open class removes exhibits, collects winnings
8 a.m. to 11 a.m. — Young Eagles airplane rides at airport, ages seven to 17
7 p.m. — Demolition derby
