Assortment of ag, performing and exotic animals will be highlights of this week’s fair offerings and exhibit lineup

Tractor trailers, giant colorful carnival rides, food trucks and a steady stream of RV campers converged on the Jackson County Expo over the weekend in preparation for the 2025 Jackson County Fair, which kicks off Tuesday afternoon.

This year’s summer fair, declared on The Expo website as “Fun for Your Whole Herd,” was scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Tuesday — running through Sunday, July 20 — with nearly as many animal-themed activities, exhibits and shows as those without.

Fair hours are 4 to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, July 15-17; 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, July 18-19; and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, July 20.

Temperatures are expected to be above or near 100 degrees, and fair officials have set up water-refilling and misting stations at The Expo.  

Outside of the rides, food, livestock and other attractions, a big part of the fair each year is the concert lineup at Bi-Mart Amphitheater. 

This year’s concerts include The Outlaw Mariachi, scheduled for Tuesday night; Jo Dee Messina, Wednesday, July 16; Kansas, Thursday, July 17; Skillet, Friday, July 18; and “Are You Ready For It? A Taylor Experience” on Saturday, July 19. 

For more information about the concerts, including start times and ticket prices, visit attheexpo.com/fair/headline-entertainment. Admission is free for kids 12 years old and under and free for all on Sunday.

Fairgrounds manager Rob Holmbeck said Expo officials plan and conspire all year to ensure the summer fair is a little bit different each year, with a rotating assortment of entertainment and activities.

In addition to the hundreds of 4H and FFA members prepping and setting up to show their animals, animals with other skill sets were preparing to dazzle fairgoers in their own ways on Monday.

Holmbeck said this year’s fair will feature more “grounds acts” — free shows and exhibits for fairgoers to enjoy between rides, concerts and other activities with a heavy presence of animal exhibitions in the lineup.

Entertainment this year includes performing canines and exotic birds joined by longhorns, baby bunnies and other farm animals to complement two-legged performers including the hula-hooping Hillia Hula in addition to  Washboard Willie the one-man band and the California-based The Outlaw Mariachi band.

Setting the stage for a full-on ag experience for fairgoers, with more animals to check out, the Jackson County Farm Bureau’s “Agventures” inside the Mace Building will offer an expanded lineup of up-close experience with everything from longhorn cattle and horses to baby bunnies, herding dog puppies and baby chickens.

While filling a giant pool for her performing dogs on Monday, Canine Stars Stunt Dog Show President Keri Caraher said the excitement for the animal-themed attractions during summer fair — and return visitors who look forward to seeing the same animals — is heartwarming.

Caraher and other trainers travel the U.S. with their performing dogs and have fairgoers in every part of the country who come time again to see their favorite pups. One of the show’s top performers, a small pit bull and American Eskimo mix named Opal, practiced her tricks on Monday outside the Mace Building. Opal was a national finalist in 2021 for the “America’s Got Talent” TV show.

This year’s show will feature a dozen dogs putting on two shows per day through Thursday, then three per day Friday through Sunday.

There is a new act this year, “Wildlife Wendy” Horton, a professional animal trainer since 1990. She will host a show of her exotic birds inside the Mace Building during fair week.

Tending to some longhorn cattle inside the Seven Feathers Event Center while setting up this year’s  “AgVentures” exhibit, Jackson County Farm Bureau member Lerae Bradshaw said she was excited to see fairgoers of all ages enjoy hands-on activities this year.

The AgVentures attraction offers a chance to do everything from meet and greet with bunnies and chicks to ag-based activities like butter making and feeding a bottle to a calf.

Bradshaw said the AgVentures space, a newer exhibit, had been a huge hit with fairgoers and would continue to grow, providing an important connection for local families to the region’s agricultural roots.

“We just want to bring farm life to the kids who don’t get to experience it,” Bradshaw said Monday as the fair preparations were entering their final stages.

“Our community is losing agriculture, and we just want people to understand and to support what we’re doing. … We want people to see we are still here and we take really good care of our animals and that this is still really important. Plus the kids just absolutely love seeing the animals. … the bunnies and the baby chicks,” she said.

“It’s really great to watch all the families come in and have so much fun.”

Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 458-488-2029 or buffy.pollock@rv-times.com. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal.