WILLMAR 鈥� Farm animals, carnival rides, tractor pulls, car racing, baked goods and fried food are set to take over the fairgrounds in Willmar for the 123rd . The fair will be held Aug. 9-12 and there is a packed schedule, with something for pretty much everyone.
Tickets are $7 for adults, $3 for children 6 to 12 years old, and free for children under the age of 5. Senior citizens ages 65 and older can get in for $3 on Aug. 10. There are also season tickets available.
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Parking at the fairgrounds is $5 per vehicle. For those not wanting to park at the fairgrounds, there will be a free park-and-ride shuttles available from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day of the fair from the Ridgewater College Lot C East.
The fairgrounds won't be quiet Monday or Tuesday when project entry and some judging is taking place, but the gates open to the public at 11 a.m. Wednesday and 8 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The can be found on the fair's website.
Wednesday is Veterans Day, when all veterans and a guest can get into the fair free from 11 a.m to 2 p.m. There will also be a veterans tribute at 11:30 a.m., followed by a free veterans lunch, both at the Heritage Square Stage. Thursday is Senior Day when seniors 55 and older are admitted to the fair for $3. There will be free coffee and cookies for senior citizens at 2 p.m. Thursday. Saturday, Aug. 12, is Kids' Day with many activities geared toward the younger crowd including pedal pull, LEGO building contest, free juice and donut holes, minnow races and a project from Home Depot.
Each day there will be glass blowing demonstrations, Majestic Spectacular motorcycle stunt show, knockerball, monster coloring board, the FFA Children's Barnyard, antique tractor displays, the Little Red 歪歪漫画house programming, a Master Gardener display and evening bingo. Each night there will also be two cash drawings. There will also free entertainment all four days, including live music and historic presentations by Doug Ohman.
Animal judging and events will take place across the four days for 4-H, FFA and open classes. The schedule includes dog agility, sheep, rabbits, swine, cattle, horses, goats and even llamas and alpacas.
The grandstand will play host to bull riding on Wednesday, KRA car races on Thursday, a pickup/tractor pull on Friday and a second night of tractor pull on Saturday, Aug. 12.
Admission to the grandstand entertainment must be purchased separately from fair admission 鈥� either individually per grandstand event or there are four-day grandstand wristbands available for $30 for adults and $15 for youth 6 to 12 years old. Grandstand entry can be purchased now at the fair office or at the grandstand ticket booth starting Aug. 9.
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Midwest Carnival Shows will again be at the fair providing rides and games. Unlimited ride wristbands can be purchased daily to be used from 4 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday and 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. They can be purchased for $25 at the fair office starting one week before the fair, or for $30 at the fair. A new wristband is needed for each day.
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