by Joni Astrup
Associate Editor
The Sherburne County Fair gets underway this week in Elk River with new attractions and old favorites.
Jenni Axelson, fair board president, said their philosophy of the fair is 80% tradition and 20% change.
There’s a lot of tradition to draw on, given the fact that the Sherburne County Fair dates to 1889. Axelson said it’s one of the oldest entities in the county.
“Our P.O. box number is 2. We’ve been here for a long time,” she said.
And so it continues in 2024. The fair opens Thursday, July 18, and runs through Sunday, July 21.
Redneck Races, bull riding, demo derby all coming up
Grandstand events in the Sportech Grandstand Arena this year will include a new event called Redneck Races at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 18 (see story on page 19).
Other grandstand events will be the Rice Bull Riding Company featuring bull riding, barrel racing and mutton busting at 7 p.m. Friday, July 19, and a demolition derby at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 20. Tickets for grandstand events are available online at www.sherburnecountyfair.org.
The parade will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 20, in Elk River. The parade usually has about 65 to 70 entries, according to Gina Finical, a member of the fair board.
The fair’s theme this year is “Pure Imagination” and parade participants are invited to decorate their floats or units accordingly, if they so wish, she said.
The 728 Cadets will also be marching in the parade.
Thursday, July 18, from noon to 4 p.m. is both Daycare Day and Senior Day. Registered daycares (register online) and seniors get in free during those hours. There will be special activities for kids and a Senior Day Business Expo during those hours.
People with special needs get in free to the fair beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday, July 18. There will be a free dinner for them that day and a dance party from 6 to 9 p.m. with Dean Downs as the DJ.
From aerial stunts to lumberjack show to a dairy mobile classroom
A number of the entertainers performing at the fair will be from other states. Axelson said they like to bring in out-of-state talent because it’s something other fairs in the area don’t have.
The Strong and Amazing Aerial Stunt Show, for instance, is out of Louisville, Kentucky. The Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show is based in St. Cloud, Florida.
The Southwest Dairy Mobile Classroom is bringing in a live cow from Oklahoma that will be milked during the fair.
Other fair entertainment ranges from Magic Joe to The Strong Man John Beatty Strength Show to Marcus - The Funny Man Who Does Tricks.
Emotion in Motion will offer participants a chance to do splatter painting while wearing rain ponchos and goggles.
The fair is also home to the World’s Funnest Photo Booth. It’s a green screen photo booth which creates pictures of people riding animals like a dinosaur or a 20-foot chicken and other amazing things.
A medallion hunt will be held on the fairgrounds. The first clue will be posted on Thursday, July 18. A new clue will be posted each day by 10 a.m. until the medallion is found. There will be a maximum of four clues published at www.sherburnecountyfair.org and posted on the fairgrounds. The person who finds the medallion will win $100.
The carnival runs all four days of the fair.
Bingo will go on during the fair as well. Winners will each get a ticket so they can come back at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 21, to play one game of blackout bingo where the winner will take home $500.
There will be a backpack giveaway for kids in preschool through sixth grade. To participate, kids need to get a free wristband at the fair. Names will then be drawn for the backpacks, which are filled with basic school supplies and a $20 gift card to purchase additional supplies.
The animal barns are open daily and there will be a variety of livestock shows.
One unusual happening at this year’s fair will be the Elk River High School Class of 1994’s 30-year reunion. It will be held on Saturday at the fair.
Fair president grew up attending the fair
Axelson is in her eighth year as president of the fair board. She grew up in Elk River and enjoyed going to the Sherburne County Fair as a kid. She now lives in Mille Lacs County, but began volunteering at the fair a number of years ago and eventually joined the fair board.
She became president in 2016. Axelson said she gave up her job as a zookeeper at Pine Grove Zoo in Little Falls to volunteer with the fair full-time. She recently graduated from the Institute of Fair Management and is going on to graduate school in that field.
She said the Sherburne County Fair is all about kids and families, adding, “Everybody has a memory of the fair.”
If you go
What: Sherburne County Fair
Where: 13372 Business Center Drive, Elk River
When: Thursday, July 18, to Sunday, July 21
Admission: Entry to the fair is $5 for ages 6 and up. Kids 5 and under get in free. Veterans get in free.
Info: For more information, including a full schedule of fair events, go to www.sherburnecountyfair.org/
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