96th Annual South Mountain Fair
 coming soon!

(6/29) The best part of the summer season is right around the corner. Yes, I’m talking about fair season! Are you ready for the throttling of tractors, the smell of corn dogs and kids screaming gleefully on the Tilt-A-Whirl? Well, buckle up, because the 96th Annual South Mountain Fair will not disappoint! This year the fair will open on July 31 and go through August 4.

The 96th Annual South Mountain Fair provides a chance for children to be acknowledged for their personal efforts ranging from hobby interests to animal husbandry, for local and national merchants to show off their wares, and for community members from far and wide to come together for an evening full great food, entertainment and fun.

According to the International Association of Fairs and Expositions, there are more than 3,200 fairs held in North America every year, but for Adams County, the only one that really matters is the Annual South Mountain Fair. Historically the fair began in 1922 and continued each year until 1930, when it was cancelled that year because of a drought. The annual event picked up again in 1931 and continued until 1941, when it was again cancelled, this time due to a polio epidemic, then World War II, according to the South Mountain Fair Association. The fair was resumed in 1948 and has been held every year since then.

Admission for the fair this year is $7 for adults and is free for all children under 36" in height. All entertainment and amusement rides are included in the admission price and parking is provided to the public for free. Livestock exhibitions scheduled to be held during the fair include swine competitions on July 31, goat and sheep competitions on August 1, beef, calf and steer competitions on August 2, and dairy cattle competitions on August 3. The annual junior livestock sale will be held on the last day of the fair, August 4.

Other activities include a chainsaw carving show on August 2 and 3. Exhibit buildings will be open every day for the public. Exhibits include: a photography exhibit; baked goods, wine, vegetables, and fruit exhibits; crafts and art pieces of all kinds; as well as 4H projects. Additionally, plenty of entertainment has been scheduled for this year’s fair – on August 1 at 7:30 p.m., a Battle of the Bands will begin and Tommy Cash will perform on August 3 at 7:30 p.m. Other competitions, activities and events are also planned.

South Mountain Fair Secretary Joanne Irvin said that many other fair favorites will return this year, including a baked goods auction on July 31 with part of the proceeds going to a local charity, a draft horse pulling contest on August 1, a fireworks display on August 2, and a parade of antique farm equipment on August 4.

Last year’s fair was a great success, with attendance for the week slightly over 11,000 and about 2,800 exhibits and animals were judged. Irvin recounted an unexpected surprise last year by stating, "We had some fairly strong thunderstorms almost every afternoon. Fortunately, by fair opening time they were done and we had great weather in the evenings. However, one night at about midnight a severe storm hit and an extremely large pine tree was struck by lightning. It fell down, missing a light pole and a vendor’s trailer by literally inches, not damaging either one of them. However, it did take down an electric line so most of the fairgrounds were without electric for the rest of the night. Needless to say, we got phone calls to come back and help clean up the tree. It was certainly a night none of us will forget anytime soon! As always, we are really hoping for a nice clear week with low humidity. We’ve got a really great group of volunteers who spend countless hours setting up the main exhibit building and display the hundreds of exhibits that are entered in the fair."

Irvin also mentioned that the organization of this year’s fair is going well so far. Most of the commercial vendors will be returning and quite a few new vendors will also be coming on board. As always there will be a variety of food vendors and most of the crowd favorites will be coming back again this year. Exhibit registrations are already starting to arrive but with the very wet spring Adams County has experienced, the fair’s organization team is worried that there will be fewer vegetable, fruit and floral exhibits. However, as Irvin stated, there isn’t much that can be done about the weather, everyone can only hope for the best. All in all everyone is looking forward to another successful fair.

For more information and a complete schedule, visit www.southmountainfair.com.