Walworth County Fair celebrates 170th birthday through weekend
The 170th Annual Walworth County Fair opened Wednesday at the fairgrounds in Elkhorn and runs through Labor Day.
The annual festival puts the spotlight on agriculture in the area and gives the county’s youth a chance to shine. Often local 4-H members, the youth raise and show animals along with competing in multiple other contests to highlight farming and home-crafted goods and food.
The festival – known as The Big One – is the largest county fair in the state and is a “dry” festival, with no alcohol served on the fairgrounds.
The fair also hosts the largest demolition derby in the state.
Along with the agriculture judging, the fair features a large carnival, Kiddieland, Log Cabin demonstrations, Barnyard Adventure, live music, food vendors and more.
The annual Fairest of the Fair competition finals are set for Sunday, Sept. 1, on the Park Stage.
For the kids
The family friendly festival offers boatloads of fun for free on the fairgrounds. Kids of all ages can enjoy touring the barns and buildings, live entertainment, harness racing, horse pulls, the Nick’s Kid Show, Learning Coop, Log Cabin demonstrations, racing pigs and more.
The Barnyard Adventure gives kids a chance to explore the workings of the farm. Children can pick apples, gather eggs, milk Helene the Holstein, drive a tractor, and harvest vegetables in the garden.
The fair’s Barnyard Adventure has won numerous awards from the International Association of Fairs and Expos, the umbrella fair organization of all fairs across the country.
The Barnyard Adventure Stage is in Kiddieland next to the Barnyard Adventure Tent and the Pony Rides and hosts multiple family friendly acts all day long at the fair.
The Barnyard Adventure Tent has hands-on activities for the kids, including a corn and soybean bin, honeybee display, canning demonstration, classes on hydroponics and cloning, and other educational activities.
Barnyard Adventure requires the help of about 25 to 30 volunteers to guide the children and their families through the various stations of “From Seed to Supper.” The job of the volunteer is to help the little farmers maximize their experience by making sure that each simple step is completed.
Butterfly Barn
Kids at the fair love the Butterfly Barn as they try to catch one of the winged creatures and learn about their habitat and lifecycle. The barn is filled with all the foods butterflies love, including amaranth, butterfly bush and goldenrod.
The butterfly barn was built for indoor plants and about 250 butterflies.
Around May, the Walworth County Fair received a shipment of caterpillars and nourish them into butterflies for the fair. Dozens of adult butterflies also are ordered; so there will be plenty in the barn during fair week.
Special attractions
Headlining at the fair this year are country band Home Free on Saturday night and Christian rock band Newsboys United Sunday night. The Newsboys were scheduled for the fair in 2018, but severe weather cancelled the concert.
Tickets for both concerts are on sale at walworthcountyfair.com.
The Grandstand is also where visitors will find the All Star Monster Truck pulls on Friday, harness racing on Saturday afternoon and the antique tractor and car parade followed by the draft horse parade on Sunday.
Musical acts also perform for free on the fairgrounds at the Park Stage and other locations.
For tickets, full schedule and additional information, visit walworthcountyfair.com.
