JACKSON -- Steak, chuckwagon races, a vast array of 4-H projects and a llama show are a few of the attractions at this year's Jackson County Fair, beginning today and ending Sunday.
"We have 47 new members in Jackson County 4-H this year. Over the last three years, we've welcomed 147 kids to our program," said Andrea Ruesch, Jackson County 4-H Program Coordinator.
The new blood in the program coincides with other new features for the fair.
First and foremost of the new attractions is the llama show, starting at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Olson Pavilion. Llamas and alpacas are a new 4-H project in Minnesota this year, and Kelly Williams will bring her llama, Dakota, to the fair for everyone to see.
Judge and llama promoter Bill Fischer of Heron Lake will judge Dakota and help inform and educate the crowd about llamas.
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Another new feature will be the made-to-order omelettes served from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the 4-H food stand. The Jackson Knights of Columbus are sponsoring the stand and all funds raised will go toward Jackson County 4-H.
Last year the fair had to rent a tent because there wasn't enough room for all the animals being shown. This year, Ruesch said, the fair had to rent an even bigger tent and horse stalls too. There will be 36 horses at the fair, compared to 19 last year. Ruesch also arranged for 50 goat pens, which will have one to four goats in each.
Also new at the fair this year is new hog equipment. Formerly, gating from the hog barn to the Olson Pavilion meant that people had to climb or walk around the hog runway in order to get to the bathroom. The new runway features a walkway, so that fair-goers can swing gates and cut through the runway.
Additionally, new PVC gates have been put into place where the hogs are shown. The equipment was purchased with a $2,500 County Fair Grant from AgStar Financial Services.
The Ribeye Steak Supper will return from last year, but instead of 400 steaks, the Jackson Beef Producers are donating 500 ribeye steaks to be grilled from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Friday. All proceeds from the meal will go toward 4-H.
The popular chuckwagon races are back too, starting at 1:30 p.m. in front of the grandstand.
Other big events during the fair will be the teen karaoke at 9 p.m. tonight at the armory, the demolition derby at 7 p.m. Thursday at the grandstand and racetrack, the Johnny Holm concert at 8 p.m. Friday at the grandstand, the car races at 7 p.m. Saturday at the track.
"One of my favorite things to see happening at the Jackson County Fair is when you get to people-watch, and you get to see people who haven't seen folks since last year's county fair," Ruesch said. "... there's that energy and excitement, and just the support for the fair."
