The Carroll County 4-H & FFA Fair is less than a month away, and fair officials said visitors can expect to see a lot of their favorite events from last year return.
The fair, held annually at the Carroll County Agriculture Center in Westminster, will officially run from July 28 through Aug. 3, though the events leading up to the fair have already begun.
Kathy Gordon, 4-H educator for the University of Maryland Extension, Carroll County Office, said youths participating in the fair had to submit their entry forms by June 10. The youths are now working on their projects, she said, while staff and volunteers are making preparations for the fair as well.
Fair Manager Debbie Weishaar said the fair schedule does not include any new events at this point, but will see the return of the grain truck racing and dog rally, which were both introduced last year.
The grain truck racing event is where people bring old trucks used to transport grain and race them, and will be the main event on Thursday night of fair week.
The dog rally was a last-minute addition last year, Weishaar said, and is expected to have more participation this year. The dog rally will be held Wednesday afternoon of fair week in the Activity Tent, Weishaar said.
The lawn mower races, which have been a staple for the past few years, are expected to draw 50 competitors from across the country, Weishaar said. The Sunday afternoon event now offers national competitors points that go toward their records and standings, she said, which is why fair officials believe the event will draw more than twice as many contestants as in previous years.
Other popular events that will return include the combine demolition derby, the car demolition derby and Wild, Wild West Night. One event that will be missing this year, however, is the skid steer contest, Weishaar said. While this event, which was sort of a rodeo for mechanical equipment, will be on hiatus, it doesn't mean it won't come back in the future, she said. But as other new events have begun to fill up the fair week schedule, the board decided the skid steer contest was one event that could be put aside for a year.
A new fundraiser for the 4-H program at this year's fair is a cow pie bingo, where a field is divided into squares that people can buy tickets for, and whichever square the cow's manure lands on, the ticket holder will receive a cash prize. The rest of the money will go toward 4-H'ers who qualify for trips to national competitions, said Becky Ridgeway, a 4-H extension assistant.
"The Carroll County 4-H program normally has a countywide fundraiser to help support the 4-H members and the program, and the cow pie bingo is a new idea to try to raise funds compared to more traditional fundraisers that have been completed in the past," Ridgeway said in an email.
The cow pie bingo will be held July 28.
The big concert of the week this year stars Kip Moore, known for his hit "Somethin' 'Bout a Truck." It will be Aug. 4, the Saturday after the fair ends, Weishaar said. The fair board experimented last year with moving the big concert from the Friday night of the fair to the following day to allow families to come back and enjoy the concert together after the busyness of fair week was over, she said, and they really liked the way it turned out.
But this year the fair will also offer a concert on the Finch Stage on Friday, Aug. 3, with local singer/songwriter Richie Fields, whose single "Smile" is catching a lot of attention, Weishaar said.
Advance tickets for several of the events, including the tractor pull, demolition derbies and Moore concert, will be available on the fair's website, http://www.carrollcountyfair.com, through July 15.
