CHISHOLM—There’s a lot of excitement building for the 139th season of the St. Louis County Fair, taking place Wednesday through Aug. 4, at the St. Louis County Fairgrounds.
This year happens to be a special anniversary for the fair that has moved four times in its history, most recently to its current location along Highway 169 near Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm.
“I’m just excited for the 25th anniversary of being at the Chisholm site,” Karen McNeal, Fair Manager said.
The 2024 fair includes all of the traditional things that come to mind with a county fair: 4-H, agricultural, and animal entries, a midway, a variety of food vendors, live entertainment and more.
Wednesday, July 31 is Military Appreciation Day at the fair.
Gates open at 3 p.m. on July 31, and gate admission is free that day for all veterans and those currently serving. Proof of service is required. Parking fees apply and are reduced to $2 for veterans and active service members on Military Appreciation Day.
“The official opening of the fair would not be complete without the flag raising ceremony conducted by the Mid-Range Honor Guard at 4 p.m.,” Chris Magnusson, Secretary of the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Hibbing-Chisholm wrote in an email.
The first 50 veterans/service members that check in at the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon booth in the commercial building receive a resource bag and the first 100 veterans/service members will receive coupons from Schweiby’s concessions for their world-famous brats and lemonade, Magnusson noted.
From 3 to 7 p.m. fairgoers will find a variety of veteran resources on July 31 including the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon-Hibbing/Chisholm, The United Way for Veterans program, representatives from St. Louis County Veterans Service Office, Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans, Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs and the Veterans Administration.
At 5 p.m. on July 31 Jay Hagen from the Veterans Memorial Hall is telling a “History in a Pint” story about Mike Colalillo, a Hibbing native and Medal of Honor recipient.
“Army Private First Class Colalillo climbed the deck of a friendly tank, manned an exposed machine gun on the turret of the vehicle, and, while bullets rattled about him, fired at an enemy emplacement with such devastating accuracy that he killed or wounded several hostile soldiers and destroyed their machine gun,” Magnusson wrote. “And that was only the beginning of the battle.”
“PFC Colalillo has a brave story of his service, but he could not have done what he did without all of the thousands of service men and women that served alongside him in combat or provided support so that he was fed, clothed, transported, supplied with weapons and ammunition and had proper medical care when needed. All of those stories are so important the United Way has started the Service Stories program to interview and record the stories of veterans from all eras and services. Learn more at the United Way table in the Commercial Building.”
Senior Day is Friday, Aug 1. Gate admission is $5 for ages 62 and up on Senior Day.
Kids Day is Friday, Aug. 2 when kids ages six through 12 are admitted free from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. A kids tractor pull is at 5 p.m. in front of the Kids Barn on Friday. Registration begins at 4 p.m.
Free treats are being given away to the first 100 kids through the main gate Wednesday through Sunday, made possible by a host of corporate donors.
Entertainment for this year’s fair includes:
~Big Air ATV
~Glass blowing demonstrations by So Hot Glass
~3 T Bucking Bulls—new to the fair this year
Triple T Bucking Bulls of Long Prairie, Minnesota is scheduled for Thursday, August 1 at 7 p.m. in North Arena J
There are between 20 and 30 professional bull riders anticipated to be competing for prize money and a buckle, according to Mike Traxler, Owner of Triple T Bucking Bulls.
The show is also a mini rodeo with kids, ages 16 competing along with the professional bull riders, and also horse barrel racing.
~The Pittman Family, of Claremont, Minnesota, six horse hitch, returning to the fair for the first time since 2019. Their appearance is being made possible through a partnership between the North Star Draft Horse Association and the St. Louis County Fair.
Each of Pittman family’s horses, six black Percherons, each weighing over a ton, will be on display in the horse barn Thursday, Friday and Saturday during the fair, according to Ed Nelson, Secretary of the North Star Draft Horse Association. They’ll be performing in the arena, and will be available for photographing, he said.
“Fair goers can watch the family groom and harness the horses in preparation for the evening driving performance,” he said.
~ Amusement Attractions is again the midway provider, bringing a variety of rides for all ages and thrill levels. There are ride wristband specials offered at specific times throughout the fair. Individual ride tickets are also available.
Amusement Attractions was founded in 1992 by William and Lisa Purdy, according to the company’s website. The Purdys come from a long line of outdoor amusement business owners, and are fourth and fifth generation amusement business owners, it states.
The musical lineup is as follows:
Thursday, Aug. 1-Doc Thronson
Friday, Aug. 2-AJ and Ryan Grove
Saturday, Aug. 3—Dan Wolff in the afternoon; Duluth Transit Authority in the evening
A cornhole tournament is on tap for Sunday.
Gates are open from 3 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 31; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, Friday, Aug. 2 and Saturday, Aug. 3; and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4.
Event schedules are subject to change. More information and an up-to-date event schedule is available on the fair website at stlofair.org.
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