Floyd County fair kicks off Tuesday, July 16, for six-day run

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Grandstand events like the Figure 8 Races and Demolition Derby, activities for adults and little kids and every age in between, bands, magic and tons of food choices – all that and more will be available next week when the Floyd County Fair has its run from Tuesday, July 16, through Sunday, July 21.

Animals play a big role in county fairs. Top examples of cattle, hogs, sheep, horses, poultry, rabbits and more will be on display in their various barns, and in the show arenas where the young folks who raised them (and sometimes trained them) hope their efforts result in recognition.

There are more animals in the petting zoo, chicks and rabbits in the Little Hands on the Farm building – even a “Butterfly Encounter,” where fairgoers can walk through a screened enclosure to experience butterflies up close.

And then there’s the sharks.

“This year for the kids the big entertainment is the Live Shark Encounter and we have that a few times throughout the day,” said Kelsey Uetz, the Floyd County Fair Board president.

Uetz was the guest speaker at a recent Rotary Club meeting and gave an update on the upcoming fair.

The shark show features live nurse sharks and a diver interacting in a huge see-through aquarium with information about sharks, comedy and audience interaction, as well as plenty of time for questions and answers.

The Live Shark Encounter is sponsored by a grant from the Floyd County Community Foundation, Uetz said. In fact most of the events and activities have sponsors.

“Honestly, the best thing about it and something we really strive for is everything’s free,” Uetz said, except for food and drinks, some midway activities and the grandstand events.

“We have so many sponsors and so we can offer the great entertainment for the kids,” she said. “It’s allowing people to come out and not having to spend an arm and a leg. That’s really something we’re proud of and that we strive for is you can bring your kids out and not break the bank necessarily.”

The free concerts are by Viva Knievel on Friday from 7:30 to 11 p.m., and two bands, Lonesome Road from 4 to 7 p.m. and Flatland Ridge from 8 to 11 p.m. on Saturday. The concerts are in the grassy area in front of the Youth Enrichment Center.

Grandstand events are Figure 8 Races on Thursday, Tuff Trucks on Friday, and the Demolition Derby and Power Wheel Derby on Saturday. Gates open at 6 p.m. and the events begin at 8 p.m.

Midway activities include inflatables, a mechanical bull, “Knockerball” and hatchet throwing.

In the Picnic Shelter for the kids there will by face painting, caricatures and a balloon artist at various times on various days.

Uetz said they get asked regularly if there will be a midway with carnival rides.

“We’ve kind of steered away from the carnivals,” she said. “Part of it is just safety with kids running around and you just can’t be too careful.”

She said they have gotten feedback from parents that they appreciate it’s safe to let their kids run around.

“We have the inflatables, we have magic shows, we have face painting, we have all these different things. So we have gotten a lot of good feedback not having the carnivals,” Uetz said. “We just feel more comfortable with the entertainment that we have and we try to continue to bring in fun stuff for the kids, like those shows.”

Uetz said reconstruction after the 2019 Memorial Day tornado has been completed, with some replaced buildings, some repaired buildings and some additional buildings.

“​​We really have been able to put up really nice buildings that we probably wouldn’t have been able to without the tornado,” Uetz said. “You don’t want that to happen, but it has let us have probably one of the nicest county fairgrounds in the state.”

The latest project, she said, was completing paved sidewalks through the fairgrounds.

“We’ve been working on it every year, but we finally have them all connected, which will be really great,” Uetz said. It will make things easier for people with strollers, walkers, wheelchairs or who are just less steady on their feet.

Complete information and schedules for Fair Week were in the Floyd County Fair insert in the Tuesday, July 9, edition of the Press, and that special section is also available online at www.charlescitypress.com by pulling down the “Special Sections” tab to Floyd County fair.

The schedule is also available on the Floyd County Fair website, at floydcountyfair.org.