With all the disturbing national news this summer, I was especially appreciative of my week attending the Boone County Fair. While the fair has always been something I enjoy, this year felt especially enjoyable. As I sat in the grandstands Saturday night watching the horse shows with a full moon overhead, I couldn’t help but think that the fair is where old meets new in Boone County.
The Boone County Fair is world-class, and we owe much appreciation to the fair board for working diligently year after year to make it so. Perhaps no organization in Boone County has so many prominent Boone County natives working on it. Family names like Burcham, Walton, Wallace, Cupp, Rudicill, Doll, Dolwick and others, can trace their legacies hundreds of years in Boone County. We are blessed to have families like these and so many others dedicated to making our annual county fair so successful.
Personally, My favorite part of the fair is the rich agricultural aspect, which is the root of this week-long summer event. The plethora of flowers, produce, quilts, and livestock expositions are truly something to behold. Each year, I enter my “Schickel’s pickles” into the fair. However, after two straight years of blue ribbons, I fell short to place this time. Watch out for next year!
If pickles aren’t your strong suit, the many shows are sure to impress. It is always heartwarming to attend the youth livestock shows. I can’t help but think of how lucky these kids are to still have this kind of instruction in today’s digitally-driven society. The “Shoot em’ up Cowboy” show is also very popular with participants gallivanting at full speed in the ring while shooting at balloons with their pistols. From the demolition derby, to the tractor pulls, and frog jumping, there is truly something for everyone at the fair.
The Boone County Fair is a great opportunity to gather and enjoy friends and family. For only $12 kids can enjoy the attractions and ride the rides all day while the adults enjoy nightly live music performances. Not to mention the food is wonderful and offers a wide variety of Kentucky culinary delights.
On Tuesday night, the Miss Boone County Fair Pageant was a top event. In this day and age it almost seems innocent. As Merle Haggard might say, in Boone County we still love and respect our Boone County Fair queens. I would like to congratulate this year’s winner, Miss Lauren Kiser, who is a sophomore at Transylvania University. We know she will represent Boone County well.
Boone County is one of a kind. What once was a primary agricultural community has now become one of the most populous counties in the state. If you have never been to the Boone County Fair or know little about it, I would urge you to mark off the first full week in August next summer and enjoy a week of Boone County heritage and agricultural charm.
After my week at the Boone County Fair, I think my blood pressure went down a bit. I felt good about all of the wonderful people, young and old, who I had time to visit with that week. Many of them I will not see again until the Boone County Fair until next year, and I am already counting down the days!
John Schickel represents the 11th District in Boone County as state senator.
JOHN, nice article about the Boone County Fair (good luck with your pickles in 2020, thionk I’ll work on some of my gourds to craft and enter). I agree that the Fair is great especially for the rural flavor it retains and for sure Dave and I make it a point to go, rain or shine BUT we feel lkie the $12 admission fee is pretty steep so we only go one time instead of multiple times as in the past. This year my guests from S. Carolina got to accompany us and given that we could get on the rides for the $12 EACH ($48!) we took a spin on the Ferris wheel and got a nice sandwich from Eddie’s . Any chance the board would, 1) have a senior discount; 2) one price per person for all week; 3) have a small fee, up to say,, $5/ at least one evening to scope things out, especially if one has entries in other than livestock. Thank you for the information on the party affilation status on non-partisan elections, VIP.