(KIWA Staff Photo)
Northwest Iowa — The county fair season is nearly upon us. Starting on Friday, we’ll have fair action almost nonstop through nearly the end of the month in our four-county area.
The fairs start this year with the Sioux County Youth Fair at the old airport site — now the county fairgrounds — north of Sioux Center, near Carmel. That fair starts this Friday and runs through next Friday, July 17th.
While that fair is just barely underway, the Osceola County Fair in Sibley will start. The opening date for that fair is Monday, July 13th, and it runs through Saturday, July 18th.
That day is one of the preliminary days of the Greater Lyon County Fair in Rock Rapids, which gets underway in earnest on Monday, July 20th. The main part of the fair goes through Wednesday, July 22nd, with a few activities on Thursday, July 23rd, and free races at the Rapid Speedway, which is on the fairgrounds, on Friday, July 24th.
The very next day, Saturday, July 25th, the O’Brien County Fair gets underway at the fairgrounds in Primghar. That runs through Thursday, July 30th.
All the fairs have 4-H and FFA exhibits and open exhibits. Other things vary a little. The O’Brien County Fair will have fair royalty, the Bill Riley Talent Search, and a rodeo, which are a little unique in the area. They also are one of two fairs with auto races. (Three if you count figure-8s)
The Sioux County Fair has the Skid Loader Olympics and the greased pig contest. They also host a mud volleyball tournament.
At Sibley, the Osceola County Fair has such activities as figure-8 races, a demolition derby, extreme bull riding, lawn mower barrel races, and more.
The Lyon County fair also has figure-8 races, as well as auto racing, a demonstration garden tour, and the historic round barn history exhibits, just to name a few.
This year’s Iowa State Fair will be August 13th through the 23rd at the state fairgrounds in Des Moines. The theme this year is “Fair Spirit,” and features the America250 celebration and a “Spirit of ’76” historical exhibit.
This area’s regional fair, the Clay County Fair in Spencer, will be September 12th through the 20th.
