Fair grandstand events offer something for everyone
The 100th edition of the Holmes County Fair will wrap up with a demolition derby on Saturday, Aug. 12.
The 100th edition of the Holmes County Fair will offer several fan-favorite grandstand events — and a new addition.
Kicking off with a full rodeo and wrapping up with a demolition derby, there’s something for everyone at this year’s fair.
“I think that each event brings in a different set of spectators, so it’s nice to be able to put entertainment out there that hopefully attracts a large segment of the area population, so they can come and enjoy something in there,” said Kerry Taylor, fair board president.
The grandstand events will begin Monday, Aug. 7 at 7 p.m. with Rafter M Rodeo Company putting on a full rodeo.
“For many years (Rafter M Rodeo Company) has had the Monday slot,” Taylor said. “That’s a very popular event that kicks off the first night of the fair.”
A new but old event — the Holmes County Fair Truck and Tractor Pull — is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 8 at 4 p.m.
“We’re combining the antique tractor pull and the Holmes County Fair Truck and Tractor Pull, which is an event that we haven’t had for a number of years,” Taylor said. “Basically, we’re going back to two nights of pulling. It starts with the antique pull, then the heavier classes will follow after that. That will be a separate event from the OSTPA pull, which we’ve had for obviously a number of years, so we’re excited to bring that pull back, and we think the area people will really like that with guys that don’t pull in the OSTPA being able to come in, and I think we’ll get better attendance of the antique pull having it stretch into the early evening as well.”
The events will continue with motocross taking center stage on Wednesday, Aug. 9 at 7 p.m.
“Motocross has been a staple,” Taylor said. “It is a sanctioned event, so it always gets a good following from the region of participants, and people like seeing the small kids out there on their little bikes, and that’s always a fun evening.”
Two events will take place Thursday, Aug. 10 — the Northern Ohio Outlaws Mounted Shooting Show and the Holmes County Fair Bulls and Barrels Rodeo, which will be put on by A-Bar Rodeo Production.
The always popular Brad Giauque Memorial OSTPA Truck and Tractor Pull will take place Friday, Aug. 11 at 7 p.m.
The week will wrap up Saturday, Aug. 12 with a dirt drag race at 10 a.m. and a demolition derby at 7 p.m.
“(The fair board) wants to thank Kevin Hanna from Glenmont,” Taylor said. “He has promoted and managed the demo derby for many years and doesn’t charge anything for it, so we save quite a bit of money by him donating his services. He’s been involved with demolition derbies for many years. He’s really done a nice job managing that for us on Saturday. It’s one of the most popular grandstand events throughout the week.”
A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to make sure each grandstand event goes off without a hitch.
“Board member Myron Troyer takes care of the maintenance of making sure that the grandstands are ready to go (and) the track is done,” Taylor said. “It takes quite a bit of effort to go from a rodeo on Monday night to a tractor pull on Tuesday night, and then the motocross probably is the most amount of work. The motocross people come in and do most of making the jumps and things on it, but we have to make sure there’s an adequate amount of dirt there and then obviously switch that back for the Thursday event and then the Friday event, and then it closes out with the derby.
“Each night requires quite a bit of setup that starts after the event is done. They start to tear down and then prepare for the next night’s event. Some nights the grandstand crew is up until 4 or 5 in the morning starting to get ready for the next day’s events. We just thank the area businesses and individuals that donate equipment. It does require quite a bit of equipment to prepare the grandstands, so we rely on discounts and donations from the area here to get that equipment in for the week.”
Reserved seating for grandstand events can be purchased ahead of time online at www.harvestridgeohio.com/holmes-county-fair/tickets/. It costs $30 for a Monday through Saturday ticket; $10 for a Monday, Thursday or Saturday only ticket; and $5 for a Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday only ticket.