by Sue Baxter
I had the pleasure of interviewing EJ Hein, Grandstand manager, and Dave Monix, Fair Board President.
In 2026, there’s a brand new show this year called “The Lumberjack.” The Lumberjack show is Friday, August 14th. They will have log rolling, log cutting, and what’s interesting about this show is they bring folks out of the audience and interact with them. And the audience participant also take part in a competitions that make it interesting. At the end of the show, everyone can come out and do the log roll, an official log roll complete with water and everything. “You won’t see the show at any other county fair,” stated EJ Hein, grandstand manager.
Two Live MUSIC Concerts, this year.
On the opening night, on Thursday, August 6th, Lee Brice is appearing, a famous country western singer. And on Friday night, if you’re a rocking rock and roller, right, we have a band called Eliminator, which is a ZZ top cover band. They’re going to open and we have a band out of Chicago called TNT Chicago. They’re an AC/DC cover band. There is a beer garden at the grand stand on both nights.
Most people don’t know that there are three ways to sit at the concert. You can have a VIP and stand actually on the track. So the V is the VIP on the track, too, the VIP’s seats are actually on the track. They’re just in front of you a little bit; Or you can get a grandstand ticket and sit in the grandstands. The third way to sit is to actually bring your own lawn chair and sit in the grassy areas. And , they also have two large screen TVs, that are very popular now, this is their second year for the Large Screen TVs.
Three Nights Of Monster Trucks!
NEW this year, the promoter offers actual rides in the monster trucks. The rides are available before and after the shows, so anyone can actually ride in the actual monster trucks!
The Monster Trucks will be shown on Saturday August 8th, Sunday, August 9th, and Monday, August 10th. Last year they didn’t have three so the Saturday night will sell out quick. Tickets available online. That’ll give gans Sunday or Monday as an option to still get a chance to see the Monster Trucks. During the Monster Truck shows, the cars race each other and the audience votes for their favorite performance. “Kids love the monster trucks.” stated EJ Hein, who is actually a dairy farmer, where his family has been in 4-H since 1948.
New This Year at the Micro Wrestling,
They have added ringside seats and the micro wrestling, which is also real popular. This is our fourth year for the wrestling, and it is always a great success.
The Rodeo is performing for two Nights
So, then we move on to Wednesday and Thursday. Our rodeo has been a sellout. They have bull riding, Barrel racing, bearback horse riding, saddle riding, calf roping, there’s even girls that rope calves. Barrel racing is when the horses race around barrels, which is a very difficult skill.
Two Nights of Demolition Derby
The Demolition derby starts out with a Hot Wheels competition where if you have a 2-year-old or a three-year-old or four olds. Next, there is also a demolition derby for little kids. It’s like a pee wee car demolition derby. This is followed by a riding lawnmower demolition derby, they are scored each time they hit somebody. Pit passes are only $20, and are also available for the demolition derby.
When asked why he likes running the Grandstand events, EJ Stated, “there’s no greater joy than to see the little kids just loving it and the joy on their faces.
Also New This year, is the Beer Garden, which is called “Happy Hour,” every day from 4pm thru 9pm.
There’s a little known secret about the end of the fair. This is a true story folks, “when the carnival turns the lights off on the ferris wheel, that is the signal to everybody else, we’re done,” continued EJ.
“What I like to see is new people coming in. Never experienced a fair. That’s the faces I like to see,” stated Dave Monix, Fair Board President.
Watch the Entire Interview on Youtube here.
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Susie Young Baxter, CEO, has published PanoramaNOW Magazine for 31 years. Her hobbies are Camping, Boating, Hiking, Nature, Gardening and Outdoor Activities. She is an Artist, Graphic Designer, an Avid Seamstress, Dabbles in Homemade Crafts and Landscaping. Since her Father was a Health Teacher, she also likes homeopathic Health Solutions. Since blogging started over 10 years ago, PanoramaNow has been added to Newsbreak – a national news affiliate.
