‘Where the West was Wild’ is the theme of the 2024 Sumner County Fair, Aug. 1-4
Sumner Newscow report — Where the West Was Wild, the 2024 Sumner County Fair, will celebrate 97 Years of the annual Sumner County Fair and will be held August 1-4, 2024, in Caldwell.
The fair board has planned events for all ages to enjoy. Several pre-fair activities are planned as well. To start your fair fun, plan on attending the CORK and CANVAS at the Caldwell Creative Vibes Art Studio beginning at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 24, a portion of the ticket price goes to the charity event. RSVP to creativebivesartstudio@gmail.com to reserve a space to sip and paint to create a painting to enter the fair.
Then, on Friday, July 26, be sure that you are at Sugar Sisters in Caldwell at 7 p.m. to play SINGO; again, the proceeds will go to the charity event. The annual horse show will be held beginning at 9 am on Saturday, July 27, at 765 W 150 St S, located north of Caldwell at the Marc Neal home.
Entering of fair exhibits will be Thursday evening, August 1, from 5 to 8 p.m. and again Friday morning from 8 to 10:30 a.m. 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.
Several special theme contests will be held in conjunction with the 97th celebration. The Painted Rock Search will be held again this year; no more than two painted prize rocks have been hidden “in plain sight” on public property in each Sumner County town. If you find a rock, you must bring it to the fair to claim your prize. Another new contest this year is the Best Cowboy Cookies contest for youth under the age of 18. This contest is in honor of Clara Ginn, who was superintendent of the junior domestic art and science department for many years. Participants need to make and enter 6 cookies in the Junior Domestic Arts and Science department by 10:30 am on Friday morning; entries will be judged on presentation and taste.
Long-time domestic science superintendent Anna Mae Patton will be honored with a special prize for the overall adult winner in the domestic science department. Other theme contests include a photography contest that depicts any Western theme. The second theme contest is the decorated Western item; decorate a Western item such as boots, hats, chaps, etc. This contest will have two divisions: adult and youth. The final theme contest is to show us your brand contest; create an item using your brand. If you do not have a brand, create one, then use it. More details and information regarding each of these contests can be found in the Fair Tabloid and on the Fair Facebook page. Bring these entries down on Thursday evening or Friday morning. There will also be various contests, such as the biggest wild sunflower contest, in the departments, so check the fair tabloid and be sure to enter those contests as well.
The charity event this year will be helping the National Alliance on Mental Illness, known as NAMI. All monies raised will be donated to the NAMI in Sumner County. Lori Barnes is the charity event chairman and has several fun events planned for the weekend. 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, with the Round Robin Showmanship contest following. The Junior Livestock Auction will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
Friday afternoon in the rock building, there will be a Barnyard Trivia Tournament for all youth livestock exhibitors at the fair. Inside the metal fair building, there will be Friday Funday activities for youth ages 18 and under. Come create a lego masterpiece and play bingo where it is cool. The Pedal Pull will be held at 6:30 p.m.; all pullers will need a fair button as their ticket to pull. Be sure to register the kid’s buttons for the first kids-only button drawing before the Pedal Pull. The Friday evening platform program will begin at 7:30 p.m. with the Grand Opening of the 2024 Sumner County Fair. FARM OLYMPICS will be the featured entertainment beginning at 8 p.m.. Teams will compete in the area in front of the stage, so gather your team and be ready for some “down on the farm” fun. There is no entry fee to participate, and teams must have six members with at least one female member, two members under the age of 18, one member over the age of 40, and the other 2 members can be any age and gender. All members of the team will be required to participate in the event. Bingo players can try their luck after the farm Olympics conclude.
Saturday events include livestock shows; the rabbit and poultry show will be held at 1 p.m. in the cool fair building, and the other shows will be in the livestock facility. 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 have a new format this year. Button registration for the second Kid’s Day drawing will be open at 1:30 p.m. Then at 2 p.m. the drawing will be held and the sand pile dig will follow. From 2:30—4:30, there will be free water slides for the kids to enjoy; the slides will be set up on the lot across the street north of the rock building. The rest of the Kid’s Day activities will be held Saturday evening. Button drawing registration for the final kid’s drawing will open at 5:45 p.m., 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 and may leave the parade at the Stock Exchange Bank corner or may continue the entire parade route. The only “motorized” vehicles permitted in the Kiddie Parade are those kids’ vehicles such as a tractor or Barbie car. Parents are welcome and encouraged to pull their kids entry and/or accompany their children in the parade. Kids on decorated bicycles are encouraged to participate in the parade. ALL kids are welcome 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 courtesy of Gaston’s Flooring at the Jackpot food trailer. The Saturday night platform program, beginning at 8 p.m., will feature the JASON BOYD BAND on the outside stage.
Saturday evening from 7-11, there will be Tubs of Fun, a 24’ Rock Climbing Wall, a Wacky Jr. Obstacle Course, a Buccaneer Bounce & Slide Combo, Little Tykes Bounce Houses, and a Slide Bounce House. A new feature will be the Kid’s Korral, where kids of all ages can participate in races, games, and contests and earn great prizes. 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 to 9:30 a.m. at the Community Building. Country Church will be held at 10 a.m. following the breakfast. Speaking at this year’s church service will be Zane Brooks, with music provided by Crossfire Youth Worship Group and Freewill Baptist Worship Group. Sunday’s church offering will be donated to the NAMI charity.
Exhibits will be released and premium checks may be picked up following the church service. Exhibits removed prior to the conclusion of the church service will forfeit all premium money. The Buyer’s Lunch will begin at 1:30 p.m., and a ticket is necessary to attend. The livestock auction will begin at 2:30 p.m.
Don’t forget to purchase a fair button designed by Audrey Smith. Buying a fair button enters you in the grand prize drawing which is four $100 cash prizes; register your button at the platform programs for nightly prize 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 (at the Pedal Pull, Sand Pile Dig, and Kiddie Parade), with 15 $10 dollar bills being given away. Save your button and bring it to the race events on Aug. 16 and 17 for a $1 savings on gate admission. A new event prior to the Demo Derby will be the 1st annual Sumner County Fair Mutton Bustin’ contest for ages 4 – 8 (up to 65#). Also, add to your calendar Saturday, August 31, for the third annual Main Street Drag Races under the direction of the Sumner County Fair Association. We hope to see you at the 97th Sumner County Fair Aug. 1-4 in Caldwell and at all pre- and post-events.
