Maneuvering on a zero-turn mower is surely not your run-of-the-mill contest.

But this newest entry to the schedule of events for the 65th annual Howard County Fair stands out amid the field of unusual and wacky physical games making a comeback on network TV this summer.

Then again, the county fair is not your usual festival.

Opening at 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 7, and running through Aug. 14, this year's weeklong celebration of the county's agricultural roots brings back all the beloved events, from pie-eating to pretty babies to cow-milking.

Yet fair organizers have a trick or two up their sleeves to keep the fair fresh and exciting for seasoned and novice fairgoers alike.

This year, for the first time, all past and present directors were invited to participate in the Grand Opening Parade at 2 p.m. the first day, according to Mickey Day, fair president. They will ride or walk alongside county officials and to the musical accompaniment of the Baltimore Ravens Marching Band.

Day has also teamed up again with Kenny Livesay, a real estate agent and son of former Howard County Police Chief Wayne Livesay, to cook up even more crowd-pleasing events. Their latest brainchild was inspired by the Skid Steer Competition, which already draws one of the fair's largest crowds to the West Friendship fairgrounds.

A skid steer is a vehicle often referred to as a Bobcat, named for its method of maneuvering by engaging tracks or wheels on one side in a skidding motion, Livesay said.

"Mickey and I have been putting our heads together for the past couple years to come up with some new stuff," he said.

"Since one of our county's big industries is landscaping, we thought a zero-turn mower contest would be a great way to give people who can't operate a 7,000-pound skid loader a chance to show off," he said.

The course is "designed to simulate the uphill battle of lawn care," according to the 2010 fair book. The contest will be held at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 11, with registration opening an hour earlier.

There will be three main tasks in the Zero-Turn Mower Challenge: transporting a basketball from a cone to a barrel, moving a half-ton tire from point A to point B, and carrying buckets of water through a figure-8 course, Livesay said.

Three entrants compete at a time, and winners are determined by overall best times.

Livesay is also hoping to attract more women and teens to the new challenge, he said.

As with the skid steer contest, experienced operators pay a $5 registration fee "to have a lot of fun" and get a free T-shirt, and cash prizes will be awarded for first, second and third places, he said. New equipment will be provided by local vendors.

The winner of 2009's skid steer challenge took home more than $1,000 in cash and prizes, so it's worth the $5 investment, he said.

The Skid Steer Competition, at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 9, will have one new element this year. Many of the contestants who also worked to clear county roads during February's record-setting snowstorms will get the opportunity to not only stand up and be appreciated, but to work out some leftover frustration, Livesay said.

Competitors will use the skid steers to push junked cars out of their way, something nearly every operator was dying to do last winter when their paths were blocked by vehicles as they cleared parking lots and roads of snow, he said.

"These people were the backbone of the county [during the storms], but they got little or no recognition, so this is our way of letting them toot their horns a little and have fun," he said.

Another returning competition that got a big turnout in its debut last year is the archery contest, which has youth and adult divisions, said Livesay, who used to own an archery shop.

"Hunting is still a big industry around here, yet with more and more houses being built and the number of farms shrinking, [the sport] has become much more challenging," he said.

"People who have turned to bow hunting also turn out for the archery contest as a way to fill a void and stay fresh" with their skills, he said of the competition, which is slated for 2 p.m. Aug. 7.

Livesay, who is a volunteer firefighter in Lisbon, and Day, who is fire chief at West Friendship, both say their roots are in the county and the fair is in their blood.

"The fair always draws between 95,000 and 100,000 people, but it wouldn't even happen if it weren't for the thousand volunteers who help out each year," said Day.

"It can be difficult to get people to commit to volunteering that first time," he said. "But once they do, they catch the fever."

If you go

For a complete schedule of events, directions and other information, go to howardcountyfair.org or check out the fair's new Facebook page.