In a little less than a week, the Seward County Fairgrounds will be flooded with crowds and activities for the 156th Annual Seward County Fair.
The theme this year is ‘A Barn Good Time,’ meant to reflect on the traditions that have made the fair so special to so many generations. And with how many events are packed into the schedule, visitors are practically guaranteed to have a good time.
While the fair technically is a four-day event—Thursday through Sunday—visitors still have plenty of activities to choose from in the days leading up.
The archery shoot will be held at the Reunion Center at 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 18, and later in the evening at 7 p.m. in Harvest Hall, visitors are welcome to attend the Public Fashion Show. Horse shows on Monday and Tuesday start off the 4-H animal shows. Wednesday will be a perfect evening to tire out the kids with the Kids Cycle Pony Races at 5 p.m., carnival games and a bounce house from 5-8:30 p.m., at 6 p.m. the Mutton Bustin’ show in the Arena, and a 7 p.m. show by the String Beans at the O.K. Corral.
Thursday, July 23, kicks off the official start of the fair with the 4-H/FFA rabbit, hog, dairy and meat goat shows. In the afternoon and evening, visitors can swing by the Exotic Animal Petting Zoo or Garry Moore Amusements Carnival, both of which are open during all four days of the fair.
The Ag Pavillion will host a number of events such as a 5-8 p.m. wine and beer tasting event with live music by Ken Miller and Captain Morgan and his array of exotic birds from 5-9 p.m. Captain Morgan will also be in the Ag Pavillion from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday with a 2:30 p.m. Friday stage act and a 4:30 p.m. Saturday stage act.
The Baby Olympics will also be hosted at 6 p.m. in Harvest Hall Thursday, July 23, the Ranch Rodeo will be at 7 p.m. in the Grandstands, and the first night of live music at the Beer Garden will be with Mojo Filter at 7:30 p.m.
Friday is even busier with 4-H/FFA poultry, dairy cattle, and sheep shows, and the Ag Pavillion will once again be stuffed with activities and performances. Visitors can have their caricature drawn between noon and 5 p.m., enjoy face painting and balloon art with Colors Da Clown from 2-5 p.m., or take a nice tractor ride between 2 and 4 p.m. on the west side of Ag Pavillion. The Leo Lonnie Polka Band will be performing in the pavilion from 6-9 p.m., and the live music series in the Beer Garden will continue with The Punching Pandas from 9 p.m. to midnight.
Saturday is no less packed and is specially marked as Senior Day at the Fair! Seniors get free cookies, and are invited to attend some special events such as the 10:30 am “Bob Ross” Painting Demo, 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Music Bingo, and the 1:30 p.m. Elements Dance Concept Dancers.
Other Saturday activities include the Kids Fishing Contest at City Pond at 9:30 am, the Pedal Tractor Pull at Harvest Hall at 1 p.m., and the Demo Derby in the Grandstands at 8 p.m. The Lancaster County Line will close out the live music series at 9 p.m. at the Beer Garden.
And at long last, Sunday has arrived. Rounding out the fair is the Clover Kid Pet Show at 11:15 am at Ag Pavillion, the noon Livestock Subsidy Auction, the 6 p.m. Figure 8 Race in the Grandstands, The Exotic Animal Petting Zoo and Garry Moore Amusements Carnival will be open for part of the day—11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 1-5 p.m. respectively.
Whether you’re looking to watch some livestock shows, listen to live music, take the kids out for a day of fun, or just wander around the fairgrounds to see what catches your eye, make sure to swing by the Seward County Fairgrounds next week for some well-deserved fun.
