Loudonville Street Fair coming to town Oct. 3-7
The Loudonville Street Fair lights up downtown. This year’s fair will run Oct. 3-7. Visit www.loudonvillestreetfair.com for more information.
One week each fall, several of Loudonville’s streets close, becoming a hub known as the Loudonville Street Fair. This year is no exception, with fair festivities going from Oct. 3-7.
A complete fair full of rides, animals, crafts and shows takes over Main, Market, Wood and Water streets, drawing in crowds from all over the state. The street fair is similar to a county fair, said Jill Adams, fair board secretary.
“Just cut it in half,” Adams said. “We have everything that a county fair has.”
The fair will start Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 9 a.m. with category judging, followed by food concessions at noon and exhibits, rides and games starting at 3 p.m.
At 6 p.m. the opening ceremony and introduction of the queen and court will commence in the show tent at Central Park.
“The whole fair is something I look forward to every year,” Adams said. “It gets more interesting every year.”
Entertainment is planned for every night with the headliner being Grammy Award-winning band, The Kentucky Headhunters. The country rock band will perform on the main stage on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. The first 100 seats can be reserved for $15 each by calling the fair office.
Entertainment will kick off Tuesday with Rising Star Martial Arts at 7 p.m. at Central Park. Wednesday, Oct. 4’s main stage entertainment includes Shining Light Christian Fellowship Choir at 5 p.m. and country band Callunaw Rednecks at 7:30 p.m. TCRXP will perform Friday, Oct. 6 at 5 p.m., offering a range of rock, metal, punk, pop and progressive sounds. The Lovedays, a mixed folk-bluegrass-gospel group, will follow at 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 7 will conclude the main stage entertainment with Cedar Valley Cloggers at 1 p.m., Shining Stars Dance Studio at 2 p.m. and classic rock band Tightrope at 5 p.m.
Saturday’s Livestock Club Auction is another big hit, Adams said. The auction will start at 10 a.m. in the show tent. Throughout the week entrants will exhibit their animals in the tent starting Wednesday at 6 p.m. with the Livestock Market Lamb Show, followed by Breeding Sheep and Non-Sale Market Lamb Show. Thursday at 10 a.m. will be the Market Steer Show, Breeding Beef Show, Feeder Calf Show and Dairy Feeder Steers. Shows continue Thursday at 3 p.m. with the Market Hog Show. The Show & Go Poultry, Rabbit Show and Costume Show cap it off Friday at 10 a.m.
This year the junior fair board is organizing Showman to Showman, a presentation in which the champion and reserve champion of every category swap animals to show. Entrants will receive prizes for their efforts.
“They trade animals in the ring,” Adams said. “It just kind of shows how good of showmen they are if they can handle, like say, a 1,200-pound steer and that exhibitor is used to showing a lamb that only weighs 120 pounds.”
Another highlight is the Kettering Awards on Saturday at 9:30 a.m., along with the reintroduction of the fair queen and court and presentation of trophies. Eleven Loudonville High School students will be presented with either the FFA Agriculture Scholarship or the Science and Technology Scholarship. Each qualifying student in the Agriculture Scholarship must be an affiliated FFA chapter member and graduating senior who plans to study agriculture, food or environmental science.
Science and Technology Scholarship recipients must be graduating seniors who plan on pursuing post-high school education in biology, physical sciences, computer technology or engineering. The awards were started by Loudonville native Charles Kettering, an inventor, engineer and businessman.
Power pulls are another crowd pleaser, Adams said. Shows are separated by divisions, giving fans the option to choose their favorite. The Garden Tractor Pull will kick off Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., followed by Wednesday’s Truck Pull at 7 p.m. Friday will begin with the Antique Tractor Pull at noon and conclude with a Tractor Pull at 6:30 p.m. The final pull includes open tractor, modified farm stock and farm stock models. Shows will be held on Wally Road.
The fair is home to all the traditional displays including antiques, flowers, quilts, art and photography, hobbies and collections, industrial arts, fiber arts, and culinary. All will be on display in the Loudonville Fair Event Center. The South Wood Street tent will hold the Paul Bunyan garden project, farm produce, FFA, 4-H, Scouts, school and Kettering displays.
This year a special quilt will be on display at the Charles Kettering booth in the junior fair tent. Norma Snyder donated the quilt, which showcases Kettering’s life and accomplishments.
Instead of ticket gate fees, the fair relies on the community for support. The biggest source of income comes from Wednesday’s pie auction and cake contest, with the items getting sold off by an auctioneer at the corner of Main and Water streets at 6:30 p.m.
“Some of them go for $500,” Adams said. “Some of them go for $300. It just depends on how the bidding war goes.”
The fair enjoys its longevity with records going back as far as 1876. Early fairs were held on privately owned farmland until the farmer decided to plow it.
“From there on it’s been in the streets of Loudonville,” Adams said.
Setup will begin Sept. 28 and 29, just days before fair week. On Monday, Oct. 2 Main Street closes as prep work continues. Teardown will begin Saturday evening, and “by Monday the 8th, you won’t know there was a fair in town,” Adams said.
For more information visit www.loudonvillestreetfair.com or call 419-994-4391.