For many, the Barton County Fair starts next Wednesday, July 5. But for Michelle Beran with the Cottonwood Extension District, the fair starts on Thursday, June 29.

The 4-H Clothing, Fiber Arts & Fashion Revue judging, and judging of 4-H banners, starts at 8:30 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, 2701 24th St., and the public is invited to a Fashion Revue in the fellowship hall of the church at 7 p.m.

At the fashion revue, 4-Hers get to model some of the outfits they were evaluated on in the morning in the fellowship hall at Trinity Lutheran.

“We do an abbreviated version of that on Friday (July 7) during the fair, so catch it in one place or the other. It’s always a lot of fun,” Beran said.

The Barton County Fair Association and the Cottonwood Extension District work together to provide a family friendly event with a focus on celebrating our agricultural heritage here in Barton County, Beran said. “Our theme this year speaks to that: It is ‘Country Pride, County Wide.’ We often think about livestock shows when we think of the fair. It is a big piece, but we are so much more than cows and cookies.”

The fair is a place for 4-Hers and others to show off what they had spent all year learning, she said. The 4-H year starts in October and kids have been learning and practicing new skills all year. “If you come to the fair, you’re going to see an awful lot in the fields of nutrition, cakes, pies and cookies. Throughout the year, those kids have been learning kitchen skills, they’ve been learning safe knife handling, they’ve been learning how to measure, and hopefully they’ve been learning how to read some ingredient labels.” 

There are many activities to look forward to this year. The Great Bend Tribune will have more fair information in Saturday’s edition, or people can view the fair book and schedule online at bartoncountyfair.com.

A couple of highlights Beran mentions are:

• The business appreciation breakfast on Thursday, July 6, taking the place of the usual Great Bend Chamber Coffee. “We will start serving at 7:30 that morning and would invite all of you to come out and check out the business breakfast, meet and greet with some folks and just really enjoy that time together,” she said. “While you’re there, please make sure you make time to walk through Expo II and check out all of the kids’ exhibits. There will be both Open Class and the 4-H exhibits.”

• Anyone can enter Open Class exhibits. Beran encourages people to check out the fair book for details.

• There will be concerts Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, July 6-8. Thursday night is the free Christian concert, paid for by sponsors, featuring Katy Nichole. Friday night will be the country concert featuring Madd Hoss Jackson, for $10, and Saturday night is a rock concert featuring the tribute band Rock Gods, also with a $10 admission.

The concerts have moved from their traditional location. They will be out in the grass on the infield right behind the SRCA dragstrip tower. People can bring their own lawn chairs or rent a chair for $1.

• The 4-H Youth Rally at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Expo III is open to all youths, not just 4-Hers, Beran said.

• WEEE Entertainment will have a carnival Thursday through Saturday.

• Thursday through Saturday the fair will also feature a “Jelly Ball Event” from 5-11 p.m. Soft gel balls are fired like a paintball but they are soft, leaving no stain or sting.

• Watch for motorcycle drag races at 3 p.m. on Saturday and belt sander drag races at 7 p.m. on Friday (with test and tune at 6 p.m.).

• Sunday, July 9, offers the 4-H BBQ and more before it’s time to check out exhibits.