The Barton County Fair officially gets underway Wednesday, June 25 and runs through Sunday, June 29. But the pre-fair events - 4-H Fashion Review and the 4-H Dog Show kicked things off this past weekend.
This will be my first time attending the Barton County Fair. There was a time when I was a kid when my friends and I couldn’t wait for fair week. I hope the same is true today for the younger kids.
Back in those days, we didn’t have a lot to do in the City of Pratt so having the county fair come to town was exciting. We didn’t have all the electronic gadgets to keep us inside the house like today’s kids have, so we played wiffle ball, went swimming and rode our bikes all over town.
The fair was a welcome event we all got excited for. Not being a 4-H member, I enjoyed watching my friends who grew up on farms show their livestock. But the real action was on the midway - the carnival. The rides were the biggest appeal but I was pretty good at winning stuffed animals by landing an object in a glass, shooting an air rifle and knocking over heavy jugs with light balls.
And just like that, the carnival loaded up and moved on to the next stop and we went back to our wiffle ball games.
This past week I had the opportunity to visit with Charles and Inga Atkinson. Charles is the president of the fair board and Inga is the office manager. The Barton County Fair is now in its 34th year. The Atkinsons have been a part of the planning for the past 33. In year one they had children in 4-H. They were at the fair, just not on the organizational side.
Visiting with them, it’s hard not to get excited about this upcoming schedule of events. They were excited explaining it to me and the enthusiasm was contagious. What a lineup. Between the 4-H events, the concerts, the games and events and, yes, the carnival, it all kicks off Wednesday. The Great Bend Tribune put together a special section for the fair Saturday and it took an entire page to list the schedule of events.
4-H events are scheduled throughout the week and weekend so here’s your opportunity to see the talented youth of Barton County compete in animal shows, crafts, cooking, etc.
Saturday is designated as Kids Day with events scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and run through the evening.
If you’re a music lover you won’t want to miss the concerts. Thursday night, Christian artist Megan Danielle will be performing. Friday evening it is the Arena Rock Tribute concert of 90s music and earlier. And Saturday is Country Rock night featuring the Jimmy Harris Band and Bangerz who will play tributes to the music of the 90s and 2000s.
If none of these are of interest to you, the Barton County Fair is a great place to people watch. In fact, several of these events do interest me, but I may spend most of my time watching the people.
A lot of people put a lot of time and energy into producing a great fair. The best way to show your appreciation would be to spend time there. Walk through the 4-H animals. Walk through the midway and win a stuffed animal. Watch the young kids give their all in the fun events Saturday.
Get off the couch. Support the Barton County Fair.
- Keith Lippoldt
