Nebraska State Fair Preview

By Jace Pittman

From August 27 to September 6, 2010, the Nebraska State Fair kicks off at its new venue at Fonner Park in Grand Island. For 160 years the State Fair has been a source of education, entertainment, and celebration of the Nebraskan way of life. Families who make the annual trip to the State Fair will be glad to hear they can expect the same events and attractions from years past along with some new and exciting additions.

Equine shows begin Friday morning, Aug. 27, with Quarter Horses, followed by the Draft Horse Pull at 6 p.m. Saturday begins with Quarter and Appaloosa Horses at 8 a.m. followed by a Draft Horse Hitch Show at 6 p.m. Sunday opens with Mini-Shetlands and Appaloosa at 8 a.m. followed by a Draft Horse Halter Show and Youth Showmanship at noon, then a Draft Horse Hitch Show at 6 p.m. Monday provides a last chance to see the Mini-Shetlands at 8 a.m.

The action picks up Wednesday, Sept. 1, with Team Penning. Thursday, Sept. 2, starts with the first heat of Jackpot Barrel Racing at 2 p.m. with a nice Carriage Pleasure Driving Show at 6 p.m. Then the second heat of Jackpot Barrel Racing. Paint Horse shows start Friday Sept. 3, at 8 a.m. followed by a Carriage Driving Show at 9 a.m. in the open arena. Morgan Horse Shows are on Sunday and Monday, Sept. 5-6.

The State Fair also offers daily parades filled with floats, animals, tractors, marching bands, cars and many smiling faces and waving hands. The big parade is Saturday, August 28, at 6 p.m. Bring your lawn chair and grab some cool refreshments because it’s a long one.

Motorsports are going to be a big attraction this year. Stock cars, demolition derby, truck and tractor pulls will be roaring in high gear at the fair. Don’t forget earplugs for the kids.

If you plan on bringing your dancin’ shoes, beer gardens featuring some of Nebraska’s best musical talents will be playing after 5 p.m on weekdays and 2 p.m. on weekends; they like to play loud and well into the night. There are also stages located around the fairgrounds featuring daily entertainment from open to close.

The concert series this year includes Mel Tillis, Martina McBride, Josh Turner, Lifehouse, Phil Vassar, Casting Crowns, and Boys Like Girls. All concerts are free with paid admission into the State Fair except for Martina McBride, which is $25 per ticket.

As always, the Nebraska State Fair is the premier showcase for 4-H kids to show what they’ve learned. Along with the thousands of animals on display, there are also robotics exhibitions, tree and insect identification contests, Dog Skillathon Contest and many other avenues where Nebraska’s 4-H members can show what they’ve learned over the course of the year.

If the aforementioned events don’t get your pulse racing, authentic African performers, “never seen in America” before, will be dancing, tumbling, contorting, and more, will be performing daily. They’re also going to be educating the public on their cultural heritage of Kenya.

Like magic? There’s the Ag Magic Show, which teaches about agriculture while mesmerizing with magic. For a more exotic time, the Rainforest Experience Show runs three times daily, where the audience is taken to Asian ruins by a beautiful princess on horseback and encounters monkeys, parrots, lemurs, cougars, foxes and other exotic animals.

No fair would be complete without a carnival and Bell City Amusements, one of the best in the business, will be at the Nebraska State Fair. Throw your arm out tossing a softball at mysteriously immovable milk bottles trying to win a life-sized Scooby Doo Doll. Get nauseous and scream your head off on one of the many rides like the Dizzy Dragon or the classic Tilt-A-Whirl.

Need more incentive to come visit? There’s Brad Bodary the Human Statue, Budweiser Clydesdales, Hedrick’s Educational Petting Zoo, pony and camel rides, pig racing, Pirates of the Carribean Diving Show, Turbo the Robot, Stuhr Museum Exhibit, Festejo Latino, Great Nebraska Beer and Wine Festival, Veterans Day Celebration, Older Nebraskan’s Festival, Ag Equipment Display, Antique Farm Machinery Display, Art and Science Displays, Quilt Display, and many others.

And food. Amazing carnival food will be in abundance at the fair. Grab a funnel cake, snow cone or a smoked turkey leg that’s as big as your head while in-between contest booths at Bell City Amusements.

There’s something for everyone at the Nebraska State Fair this year. The new location alone is worth checking out, which is promised to be better and more convenient for fairgoers. The new livestock and exhibition buildings are sure to impress, and… well it’s the State Fair! How could that not be fun?!

For more information visit www.statefair.org.

Tags: 4-H, barrel racing, entertainment, equine show, Grand Island, music, Nebraska State Fair, parade

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 at 10:47 am and is filed under NCTA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.