2024 Jefferson County Fair in Fairfield, Iowa
Greater Jefferson County Fair to begin June 24
Andy Hallman article for Southeast Iowa Union
The Greater Jefferson County Fair will entertain young and old alike with a week’s worth of livestock shows, carnival rides, great food and nightly spectacles in the grandstand.
The fair will run from Monday, June 24 through the following Monday, July 1. The fair parade is on a different day of the week this year from its normal Tuesday night, and instead will be held on Monday night, June 24 starting at 7 p.m. starting from the Fairfield High School parking lot. Parade floats will begin lining up at 6 p.m.
Fair board member Kolby Freeman said moving the parade to Monday makes sense because it’s a great way to kick off the week, plus it will allow the kids who show horses to participate in the parade. The horse show is always on Tuesday, and in years passed that made it difficult for those kids to bring their horses to the high school in time for the parade.
“Now they can participate in the parade Monday and showcase their show on Tuesday,” Freeman said.
On Wednesday night, all eyes are on the show arena at the fairgrounds for the Little Miss and Queen contests. The Little Miss Contest begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by the Queen Contest. The Bill Riley Talent Show is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
This year’s free entertainment is the Tumbleweed Crossing Comedy Show, which will perform three times a day Wednesday through Sunday at the midway. Freeman said it’s a Wild West comedy show with professional actors using guns that produce smoke.
“The neat thing is that, for any particular show you come to, it’s a little different each time,” she said.
Miller’s Petting Zoo is back, and it will be set up on the midway from Wednesday through Sunday. The zoo is run by Dennis and Kelly Rushing, who raise the animals on their farm near Geneseo, Illinois. Last year, the free petting zoo included baby goats, lambs, calves, pigs, ducks, geese, a Flemish giant rabbit and a donkey.
Kenny’s Funland Carnival has been a mainstay at the fair for several years, and it will return with many rides and games, also Wednesday through Sunday. Freeman said parents should know about the carnival’s unlimited-ride wristband for the whole week, which will save them a lot of money if they purchase them by Wednesday.
The Jefferson County Pork Producers will serve the evening meal at 6 p.m. Friday since that is the day of the swine show, and the Jefferson County Cattlemen will serve at 6 p.m. Saturday since that is the day of the beef show. Jefferson County 4-H will serve breakfast every morning from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., and then FFA will serve lunch and dinner.
Freeman said Sunday of fair week was typically a slow day with few events, but that’s changed now that the open class beef show and open class horse show are on that day.
“It’s filling up and now it’s one of the busiest days,” she said.
An adult bingo game will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday. It’s $10 to enter for six games. There’s a 100 percent payout, with 10 percent of the payout going to the winner of each of the first five games, and 50 percent going to the winner of the sixth game. On Saturday, a family bingo will be held from 4-5 p.m. in the Cambridge building. On Sunday, another round of adult bingo will be held at 4 p.m. in the Cambridge building.
For this year’s grandstand entertainment, the Dirt Drags will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday. Friday will have a tractor theme with the Farm Truck & Tractor Pull at 10 a.m., then the Twin States Pulling Association’s Truck & Tractor Pull at 7 p.m.
The new motocross track debuted last year, and this year the Motocross Track Race will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday. That night, the Quad Races will be held at 6:30 p.m. Sunday is the day of Crash the Clunkers at 7 p.m. followed by fireworks.
“Crash the Clunkers draws such a big crowd,” Freeman said. “There are so many people who come just to watch that. There will be jumps, sharp curves and some cars might not have back wheels. Every once in a while they’ll flip a car. If you’re a race fan and you enjoy the crash aspect, this is all about crashes.”
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