MOUNT VERNON — Dustin Beheler predicted there would be a spike in attendance at last year’s Knox County Fair, after a 2020 summer where only Junior Fair exhibitors were allowed on the fairgrounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He was right.
Spectators from Knox County and beyond filled the grandstand each night, and livestock barns returned to full capacity. The fairgrounds’ sprawling grass parking lot, normally busy but with room to spare, filled up quickly for the rough truck competition and the rodeo.
Onlookers stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the Multipurpose Arena for the Sale of Champions, where Junior Fair exhibitors earned twice as much money for their projects as the year before.
There were lines for rides, lines for food, and lines for general admission.
Beheler predicts more of the same this year.
“Last year, we were above average,” the sixth-year fair board president said. “And we’re hoping to be above average – or around the same – again this year.”
Beheler cited the fair’s relative affordability – along with the entertainment and experiences it offers – as the main reason why.
The Knox County Fair increased its general admission fee to $8 per ticket this year – up from $7 last year – due to the rising cost of fuel and other goods.
This pales in comparison to increases seen at other fairs around the state, according to Beheler,
“We’ve kept our tickets down, the price of them down,” Beheler said. “A lot of fairs raised the price this year – a lot. We still tried to keep our’s minimal.”
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT: This year’s Knox County Fair – running from Sunday, July 24, through Saturday, July 30 – will offer a mix of new and old.
Grandstand entertainment will include the OSTPA Mid-Summer Challenge truck and tractor pull on Sunday and Saturday night; monster truck racing on Monday night; autocross racing on Tuesday night; rough truck and side-by-side racing on Wednesday night; championship rodeo (presented by Diamond J. Rodeo Co.) on Thursday night; and figure-8 races and demolition derby on Friday night.
Harness racing will occur from noon to 3 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, as well.
There will be no motocross racing this year and no NTPA truck and tractor pull. But the fair did bring back monster truck racing for the first time in several years, Beheler said, in an effort to provide “a change of scenery” for attendees.
“We had it a couple years ago and the following was pretty good on it,” Beheler said. “We try to do that every couple years – change it up a little bit.”
The rodeo was also moved from Friday to Thursday night, Beheler said, in an effort to improve the product.
“We moved it to Thursday so the rodeo could have more riders come and have a better show,” he said. “Because they go to Indiana on Saturday, and when we had it on Friday, it cut them too short, so we didn’t get near the (number of) participants. So this way, we’ll get more participants.”
Bates Brothers Amusement Company from Wintersville, Ohio, will provide rides again at the fair this year. And beer will be available in select areas, just as it was last year. Beheler said the fair’s expansion from a beer garden to broader access worked “really well” in 2021, with no incidents to report.
“We didn’t have any crowd issues; we didn’t have any fights; we didn’t have any problems with that at all,” Beheler said.
Live music will also return to the fair this year.
The second annual Musical Showcase will include local and regional talent throughout the day Thursday, beginning at 11 a.m. on the Midway Stage, and will conclude with a performance by Nashville recording artist Jess Kellie Adams at 8 p.m.
A NEW TRADITION BEGINS: The opening day of this year’s fair will feature a new event: the crowning of the first annual Little Mr. Knox County.
While the Little Miss Knox County pageant has been around for 30 years, Fair Board Secretary Emilee Hollis said it seemed appropriate to give the boys a chance to shine on the Midway Stage.
She began organizing the inaugural Little Mr. contest after last year’s fair and received 10 applications from boys across the county (there are also 24 contestants registered for this year’s Little Miss Knox County contest – up from five last year).
“It was mentioned a couple times (by) moms of little girls, ‘Oh, how cute would it be to do Little Mr. Knox County also?’ And I’ve got five grandsons,” Hollis said with a chuckle.
The Little Mr. and Little Miss Knox County contests were open to any boy or girl living in Knox County who turned 7 years old by July 1, Hollis said. Contestants are required to dress up and answer questions Sunday afternoon in front of a live audience on the Midway Stage.
A panel of judges will select the winners. The winner of the Little Miss Knox County contest will receive the traditional tiara; the winner of the inaugural Little Mr. Knox County contest will receive an honorary trucker’s hat (both winners will also receive a trophy and cash).
“I’m excited,” Hollis said with a smile.
NEW-LOOK JUNIOR FAIR: On the Junior Fair side, coordinator Samantha Beheler said participation is up once again this year. There will be 1,017 youth exhibitors at this year’s fair, showing nearly 3,500 agriculture-related projects – up from 943 exhibitors and 3,000 projects last year.
Junior Fair shows and competitions will take place throughout the week – in barns, buildings and arenas across the fairgrounds. The Sale of Champions will take place Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in the Multi-Purpose Building.
While the Junior Fair will not crown a “Showman of Showmen” this year due to animal and exhibitor safety concerns, Beheler said additional awards would be given to livestock exhibitors during sale day, honoring their projects and the skills they exhibited this year.
“There are plans to rebuild programming for next year,” Beheler added.
Master showmen from each species will be honored this year, alongside outstanding market exhibitors and skillathon champions.
“It was just (about) giving the kids a bigger opportunity to be promoted for those other awards,” Beheler said, “because I think that they’re just as prestigious.”
This year’s Junior Fair will also feature pee-wee showmanship competitions for each species, allowing the community’s youngest individuals to get in the ring and get involved.
“It was starting to go by the wayside, so less and less people were wanting to run it. It was individually ran – completely individual people that were coming in and trying to run it, and some of the commodity groups,” Beheler said of pee-wee showmanship in years past.
“So we basically just streamlined it. We’re like, ‘OK, everywhere we have a master showmanship (competition), let’s put a pee-wee (competition) right after it and let all the kids that want to participate, participate.’
“We had the support for it, and it was something I was kind of passionate about, just because I’ve got a two- and a three-year-old, and they see their siblings showing, so they want to show. And so even if they don’t have that at home, it’s just a great opportunity to get them in the ring and get them started a little bit younger, and get more participants to be able to come in and (start) showing.”
LOOKING AHEAD: Both Samantha and Dustin Beheler said Wednesday they were excited to see Knox County’s 176th fair come to fruition.
Next week will mark the culmination of months of hard work and preparation, in an effort to bring the county seven days of memorable experiences.
For Dustin, it’s about bringing the community together for an annual tradition.
“We’re hoping the crowd comes. That’s what we’re looking forward to the most. …” he said with a smile.
“I hope (this year’s fair) provides entertainment and a way for people to get away and enjoy themselves, and just be able to take something from the fair and say, ‘You know, I like this,’ or ‘I like that,’ and learn something from it as well.”
And for Samantha, it’s about giving the county’s youth an opportunity to showcase its work – and have it recognized by friends, family and peers.
“I love getting to see everyone exhibit all of their hard work and showcase all their hard work, and then us being able to give them the recognition for that hard work. I think that’s probably the best (part). …” said Beheler, in her seventh year as Junior Fair Coordinator.
“My goal every year is just to give our kids that work so hard on their projects the best opportunity, and the best fair that we possibly can for them to come and exhibit at. Obviously, you can’t give everyone that feeling, but as many as we possibly can – that’s our goal.”
HOW TO ATTEND: Gates will open at the fairgrounds (601 Fairgrounds Rd. in Mount Vernon) every day at 8 a.m.
Tickets this year are $8 for adults, $4 for seniors and $4 for veterans. Admission for veterans is $4 every day until 5 p.m., and it’s free on Wednesday until 5 p.m. Admission for seniors is free on Thursday until 5 p.m.
Click the PDF below to find a complete schedule of events (both Junior and Senior Fair):
2022 Knox County Fair schedule
For more information, visit the Knox County Fair’s website.
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