The Highland County Fair Returns For 66th Year
Schools may be starting back up and the days are getting shorter, but there’s still a major summer highlight on the horizon. The 66th Annual Highland County Fair returns with a theme of “Country Roots, Ribbons, and Rides.” On Saturday, August 26th, there will be food and several free events, such as an archery contest, horse show, and square dance. Main events and amusement rides run from Wednesday, August 30th through Saturday, September 2nd.
Kathy Beverage, secretary of the Fair Board, has more on some new attractions for the crowds. She says, “We have Virginia Giant, the monster truck coming from the Valley, and he’ll have a motorcross freestyle event as well if the weather permits. If you’re familiar with the monster truck, they’re usually big, and they like to crush things, so he’s going to have some vehicles to crush. He’s going to do a little freestyle, run-around-the-track, and he’ll actually give rides to people, too, so you can get in his truck prior to the show. As long as he has time, you’ll get to ride in his vehicle. We also have a promotion going on, so you can be in the parade, but we’re only having seven to ride with him at that time. And speaking of the parade, we have antique vehicles that are going to start the parade this year. They had several that participated last year, and we were happy to have them, but some of them didn’t make it all the way, so we decided to put them at the beginning this year, so if you see a little gap in the parade, don’t leave, because the grand parade is going to come soon. And we have the Great Lakes Timber Show this year. All the music events that we have will be on Saturday. The blue grass music will start at noon, go til 3 o’clock, and then at 8 o’clock, we’ll have the Gospel show. All of these will be held in the gym this year. We’ve had some outside under the tent, but this year, we moved everything back to the high school gym, so don’t forget to go inside and check that out. Also new this year, 4-H is going to be a food vendor for the first time in many years, and they are going to emphasize healthy foods, so we’re going to have fresh fruit and garden salad available, as well as some fruit drinks.”
Those in attendance may also notice some new upkeep and policies.
Ms. Beverage continues, “We’ve made a few improvements on the grounds. We’ve gotten some metal bleachers, which will seat some more people, and we’ve put up some new chain link fence in some areas, and we’ve spent a lot of money just on general maintenance on the grounds trying to make everything safer and nicer for everyone that’s coming. Amusement rides start on Wednesday, and the fair provides half of the cost of that, so the families can enjoy a less expensive night. So, it’s $6 to ride all night, which is quite a deal, and the other nights are $15 to ride all night. If you want a little cheaper night, come out Wednesday night with your family and enjoy that. We also have golf cart shuttles on the grounds to help people to get to their parking areas and back in. At this point, I still have a couple spaces open and could still use a few volunteers for that, so if you like to drive a golf cart, we’ve got a job for you.”
In addition, overnight reserved seating will not be allowed this year.
Ms. Beverage concludes with a grateful attitude to all involved in this small town event. She says, “The Fair Board really wants to thank everybody that helps with this event. We can’t do it without people from the county and people from outside the county. We’re small, so we take anybody that wants to volunteer, and we’re happy to have them. It takes an army, but we have a great army of people, so it’s a good hometown, homecoming event, so we’re happy that people still support it.”
Tickets are available at local Highland County stores, or at the fair gate. For current information and pricing, visit www.highlandcountyfairva.com or check out the Highland County Fair Facebook page.
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