Sumner County Fair will be 95-years-old this August 4-7 in Caldwell
Come help celebrate Aloha, It’s Fair Time and 95 Years of the annual Sumner County Fair held August 4-7, 2022, in Caldwell. The fair board has planned events for all ages to enjoy. Entering of exhibits will be done Thursday evening August 4 from 5-8 pm and again Friday morning from 8-10:30 am so bring items and come enter them in the fair! You might win a special prize in the Entry Lollapalooza.
Each item you enter in the fair will entitle you to one ticket for the grand prize entry drawing; for example, if you enter a quilt, a plate of cookies, a craft item, and a watermelon, your name goes in the drawing box 4 times! The more items entered, the better chance of being a cash winner! There will be an adult division (ages 19 and over) and a youth division (ages 18 and under). Prizes for each division will be $100 first; $80 second; $60 third; $40 fourth; and $20 fifth. Winners will be drawn and announced before the Saturday night program.
Three special theme contests will be held in conjunction with the 95th celebration; they include a photo contest featuring a photo that demonstrates the theme (either the Aloha part or It’s Fair Time part), a creepie crawlie, and garden totems, tikis, and other garden art. Information regarding each of these contests can be found in the Fair Tabloid. Bring these entries down Thursday evening or Friday morning. There will also be various contests, such as the biggest bug contest, in the departments so check the fair tabloid and be sure to enter those contests also! Plan on attending the CORK and CANVAS at the Creative Vibes Art Studio beginning at 8 pm Thursday evening; a portion of the ticket price goes to the fair prize fund. RSVP to creativebivesartstudio@gmail.com to reserve a space to sip and paint!
•The charity event this year will be OPEN A DOOR TO HELP SUICIDE PREVENTION. All money raised will be donated to the American Foundation for suicide prevention. Lori Barnes is chairing this event and has a free concert planned for Friday night and lots of donated raffle prizes. Check the fair tabloid for more information.
•Livestock shows will be held on Friday and Saturday; check the fair tabloid for times. The Herding Heroes show will be at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Following the Herding Heroes show, there will be THE BIG EVENT. County mayors and other elected officials have been invited to come and show sheep! They will have a quick lesson from youth livestock exhibitors before the show! Plan on attending this event and cheering on your favorite official! The Junior Livestock Auction will begin at 2:30 pm on Sunday afternoon. The Horse Show will be held on Saturday, July 30 and will be timed events only. The show will be held at 765 W 150 St S north of Caldwell at the Marc Neal home. All details about these events can be found in the fair tabloid.
•Friday afternoon there will be a Barnyard Corn Hole Tournament for all youth livestock exhibitors at the fair. Inside the new fair building, there will be a paper airplane, drawing, and food art contests. Be sure to find one of the jigs saw tables and help complete the puzzle! The Pedal Pull will be held at 6:30 pm (please note the new time); all pullers will need a fair button as their ticket to pull! Prior to the evening program, Sumner County Farm Bureau will be passing out free ice cream bars. The Friday evening platform program will begin at 7:30 p.m. (new time) with the preshow featuring Midwest Dance Expressions followed by Gus Burns and the Saddletramps free concert. FARM OLYMPICS will be held in the livestock barn beginning at 8 p.m. Gather your team of four and be ready for some “down on the farm” fun. There is no entry fee to participate and teams must have four members with at least one female member, one member under the age of 10, and one member aged 11-18. All members of the team will be required to participate in the event. Bingo players can try their luck after the platform program.
•Saturday events include livestock shows, and paper airplanes, drawing, and food art contests. A new livestock event will be the Rabbit and Poultry Show at 8:30 a.m. There will be jig saw puzzle tables scattered throughout the buildings for those of you who like to work puzzles while you visit with your friends. Of course, the Kolache Kitchen will be open, and the popular beer garden and Czech food trailer will be open for business.
•Kid’s Day events will be held again on Saturday afternoon beginning at 2:30 pm. Turtle races will be held again; PARTICIPANTS SHOULD PROVIDE THEIR OWN BOX TURTLES! There will be a few turtles available in case you cannot find one. Various games will be held and will include the popular sand pile dig. Format for The Kiddie Parade will change this year. Registration and line-up for the Kiddie Parade will be held at the KanOkla store beginning at 6:00 p.m. ALL kiddie parade entrants will be a part of the Grand Parade at 6:30. The Kiddie Parade entrants will follow the color guard down Main Street to the Stock Ex Bank corner where they will be released to their parents. ALL kids are encouraged to come join the fun!
Following the Grand Parade at 6:30 p.m., everyone is invited to come to the fairgrounds and grab a free hamburger at the Jackpot food trailer courtesy of Gaston’s Flooring. The Saturday night platform program will feature BIG FAT FUN on the outside stage. Big Fat Fun was formed in 1998 and plays Pop, Rock & Funk, Disco, Country, Alternative, and Standards types of music. Their goal is for everyone to have fun at their concert. Saturday evening from 7 to 11 p.m. there will be Extreme Inflatables & Rides including the extreme rock wall, meltdown, rockin’ pirate’s ship, bungee trampoline, and brave knight combo. The cost of the four hours of fun is a $20 armband. The evening’s activities will conclude with bingo.
Sunday morning everyone is invited to come have breakfast at the fair courtesy of Mid-Kansas Coop. It will be served from 8-9:30 a.m. at the Community Building. Country Church will be held at 10 a.m. following the breakfast. The worship service this year will be led by Rev. Richard Awtrey. Sunday’s church offering will be donated to the Suicide Prevention charity and a drawing for the raffle prizes will follow the church service. Premium checks can be picked up from noon to 12:30 p.m. in the Community Building. Exhibits will be released at noon so the building can be prepared for the Buyer’s Lunch which begins at 1:30 p.m. The livestock auction will begin at 2:30 p.m.
Don’t forget to purchase a fair button designed by Kayleigh Rhodenbaugh! Buying a fair button enters you in the grand prize drawing which is four $100 prizes; register your button at the platform programs for nightly drawings. Be sure to search for the medallion; clues will be posted at the fair building and on the fair’s Facebook page. Finding the medallion will earn a prize of $100! Kid’s Day button drawings will also be held with 15 ten-dollar bills being given away! Save your button and bring it to the race events on August 19 and 20 for a $1 savings on gate admission.
See you at the 95th Sumner County Fair Aug. 4-7 in Caldwell!
