75th Central States Fair kicks off August 21

Story and photo provided by the Central States Fair

Seventy-five years ago, the first Central States Fair took place. The group who began the fair probably never imagined there would come a time when we had to question, “Would we be able to hold the fair or not?” We are excited to continue with the fair this year and want people to be rest assured that the safety of our fair participants, guests, volunteers, and staff is important to us. The Board of Directors has worked diligently to set forth a plan toadd safety planning into our plans to host this year’s Central States Fair.

We recognize that an event such as the fair is not for everyone, so please take personal responsibility for your decision to attend. If you don’t feel comfortable or are at high risk, we encourage you to sit this one out. For those of you that are looking forward to concerts, rodeos, carnivals and all the fair has to offer, you will have the option to come and enjoy. We encourage you to take any precautions you deem appropriate and help us celebrate our freedoms.

The fair will kick-off on Friday, August 21st with Supercross racing that evening preceded by other events throughout the day. There will be nine full days of fair fun including the Mountain States Ford Demolition Derby, PRCA Range Days Rodeo, PRCA Xtreme Broncs Finals, carnival, concerts, food and more! We encourage you to keep an eye on our social media and website for the most current updates.

There are some attractions and events you won’t see this year such as the German Tent and Open Class events. The staff has been working tirelessly tocome up with fun, new ideas for this year’s Fair. We will have special carnival days, Military Appreciation Day as well as a First Responders Appreciation Day, Cars and Carnival Car Show and more!

The 75th Annual Central States Fair exists to bring people together and strengthen Pennington County, Rapid City and the State of South Dakota,” said Ron Jeffries, General Manager. “We are dedicated to being part of our collective well-being and look forward to our annual celebration.

This year the fair is selling a limited number of tickets to each event to allow for personal spacing. Purchase tickets and view the Central States Fair calendar at centralstatesfair.com.