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Lauderdale Lakes BREEZE Summer 2017 • Final Edition
MYWALWORTHCOUNTY.COM
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Fair aims for huge impact in 2017 Big animals, big acts, big fun slated at the Walworth County Fair
BY Ryan Spoehr STAFF WRITER
T
he Walworth County Fair returns in a big way for 2017. The fair, which will run from Aug. 30 through Sept. 4, will have a theme of “Are You Ready For Big?” and organizers are emphasizing this year’s event will be big in multiple ways. “We are pretty excited. I think we’re going to have a really good fair this year,” said Larry Gaffey, the general manager of the fair. “People are going to love it. We will have the biggest turkey, the biggest boar and biggest horse. No one will believe how big these turkeys are. It will be fun to look at all that stuff.” The fair will also feature some of the biggest names in music, including the recent announcement of Martina McBride performing. Also, Foghat and Blue Oyster Cult will hit the fair stage on Sept. 3 at 7 p.m.
Other events Riders won’t be taking any bull when the fair kicks off on Aug. 30. At the grandstand at 7 p.m., professional bull riders will participate in competitive riding. Also a part of the event will be the Pro Elite World Challenge barrel racing competition as cowgirls ride athletic horses through a course and around barrels. Professional riders will compete against sanctioned local riders. Then on the last day of August, more competition will be at the grandstand, as the Walworth County Fair Truck and Tractor Pull takes center stage at 11 a.m. and the Badger State competition will start at 7 p.m. The county pull is free, but there is a $5 admission fee for the Badger State event. “There will be big motorsports, bull rides and great carnival rides,” Gaffey said. After the month of August comes to a close, so will the fates of several old automobiles, as monster trucks will roar through the grandstand. All Star Motorsports Productions hosts the fair’s monster truck rally on Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. Returning to the fair this year are the arm wrestling tournament, which will feature tests of strengths by people of all ages with weigh-ins on Sept. 2 at noon, and the Strut Your Stuff Recipe Challenge the same day at 11:30 a.m. The fair will also feature Woody’s Menagerie, a live wildlife education presentation with tigers, lions and even ligers, a hybrid of a male lion and female tiger. The fair will also feature the entertainment that it has become so well known for. Foghat and Blue Oyster Cult will hit the stage on Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. in the grandstand. The mud will be flying and a See FAIR • Page 3
FILE PHOTOS Lauderdale Lakes Breeze
Kristin Mann (above), of Elkhorn, prepares an animal for show at the 2016 Walworth County Fair. Carnival rides, including this one that twists and turns in all directions (left), are perennially popular at the fair, which runs Aug. 30 through Sept. 4.
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